Allotment/Veg Patch -Thread 8 - Its spring - time to get busy!

[bookbook]

Thought I had better get a new thread ready to roll!
It has been a long, soggy winter , but the clocks go back soon, we may see the sun , so it will be all go, go ,go
Everyone welcome, join us the celebrate and commiserate on the joys of vegetables
previous thread HERE

Good work Al! Mares tail is prehistoric I think but is slow growing and doesn't cause a huge problem - I have it at my plot. It doesn't like improved soil too much, so keep bunging the poo on!

Los of weeding and mulching for me this weekend I think, and yet more cutting down of ivy, and chopping the massive bay tree in the veg patch, it's about 15 feet tall. Just finished school for the Easter hols (office bod) and is supposed to be a good forecast - fingers crossed!

Tomorrow is super Saturday for me, my first early potatoes are going in along with my new raspberry canes and strawberry plants.

I've still got about 1/3rd of the plot to de-weed and fork over. The other plots are all looking really good with sheds, paths etc but I'm not sure how I want my final layout to be so I'm reluctant to put in anything permanent just yet. I do still feel a bit inadequate though.

I'd like to attract frogs and am near a brook so am thinking of a "marshland" type thing at some point.

For now I'm just sticking with marking out beds with twine and planting stuff in a reasonable grouping.

Check out my allotment daff though

I love the idea of Super Saturday, 1112.

I had more humble plans for the weekend - I just wanted to finish digging out my couch grass paths and laying paper/card/bark. But I can't find any bark! I don't know any handy tree surgeons alas, and we don't have anything like that at our plot site. Actually, that's the most annoying thing about plottery for me -all the schlepping. Moving compost and bark in, and taking rubbish away. Tedious.

Anyhoo... I just watched Gardener's World and saw Monty making his turf stack. He said it would all rot down to lovely loam in c. 6 months. BenSquash was basically a turf stack. 18 months old. I have yet to find loam. I want to finish moving that this weekend too.

In seedling news, my broadies are up, but 90% seem squidgy and grey. Most odd. They're definitely not too wet, and nothing else seems affected. I'm hoping that they magically recover and green up. Er, and get less squidgy. It's quite unlikely. I shall re-sow. ..

Lulooo I have tomato envy already

Monty lies a lot but I still love him (and wouldn't say no if I bumped into him in the potting shed). Got gardeners world on catch up to watch tomorrow but Friday here is all about Gardeners Question Time on Radio 4. My plants are always so behind those in Montys garden (more northern).

I am quite excited about the ginger, it just feels so exotic.

We are east midlands, weather tomorrow is looking showery but as we only have weekends, needs must. There is always the shed to shelter in.

This weekend's planting plans:

• broad beans
• flower bulbs
• peas

Cant wait!

East mids here to but have no shed to hide in. I'm taking a hip flask of whiskey for a rain emergency 😂

With all the shed business last weekend and the bindweed I forgot to report I have a NEWT in my bath pond. DD says she saw a frog as well, but seeing is believing. I really enjoyed the bit on GW this evening about encouraging wildlife and the change in perceptions. Do newts eat slugs?

Ooh, a newt! What sort?

Outside of spring, they spend the majority of their time NOT in water, and then they'd eat anything really - slugs, worms, grubs, beetles... But in spring they mostly stay in the water and don't eat slugs, but do eat nymphs and water flies, and especially frogspawn.

Spotted I honestly don't know what sort of newt. I mentioned it at work and I know it is not crested from the questions asked. It basked at the top of the pond for about 10 mins whilst I got DB and DD to verify it and then it scuttled back under the stone ladder. So DDs mention of a frog is to taken with a pinch of salt then? It was quite small about 50mm long, a lot smaller than some slugs I have encountered.

Hello all, posters old and new. Just checking in.
After a difficult 6 months where I have left the poor garden untended completely, I have some growing mojo back again - hurrah.
Way behind as ever, but I have planted many sweet pea seeds, which have cheered me my germinating v quickly. Will sow more this weekend.
I am trying to be realistic for the first time(!), and admit that I can't devote the amount of time I would like to the the huge garden. Therefore concentrating on easier stuff that we will use - lots and lots of fruit, toms, chillies, herbs and salad/spinach/chard/kale.
I have to set up some posts and netting to stop (a) birds and (b) our 2 labradors scoffing anything edible that I do manage to grow.
I saw tumbling/thornless raspberries and blackberries for sale recently, apparently suitable for hanging baskets - anyone tried them?
I am really enjoying the photos and descriptions of all your plots. Although ours is garden rather than allotment, I inform the family that I am off to the veg plot and disappear with a sandwich and flask for as long as possible...

Morning all.

Took DD1 to the garden centre with me this morning to get 6 bags of compost and some other bits and bobs. We had fun choosing some plants together, and have picked up some dwarf purple beans to try growing. They'll be interesting. Also got a few things for my tiny bog garden. Pretty pretty flowers.

Spotted I have a lovely loam stack made when the gardeners created my vegetable garden over a year ago. The soil is beautiful and is slowly filling my new border garden. I've made a new loam stack from the border garden and will turn that into a shade area when it's ready.

Afternoon!
a newt elephant - lucky you
Spotted - do you now have a plasticine mountain instead of loam - (maybe not enough air as its heavy clay.?) grey and squidgy broad beans ...most odd!
quince - that sounds like a sensible decision , no point in stressing. - Not heard of tumbling rasps/blackberry. The only thing is - I had a thornless blackberry, and it didn't have the flavour of the prickly ones -( I don't know if I was unlucky, ) so I actually grubbed it up.
Purple beans are lovely Grouchy - I grow the climbing ones.
I spent a good while forking over ready to plant potatoes next week. Also had a good look around. I uncovered my overwintering broad beans the other day as it was so warm, and today got rid of hoops and fleece - they are looking good and full of flowers ready to open. I have another load at home in pots to plant out too. Took down hoops and nets over shallots too - they are galloping away, so I think bird damage is past .
It then looked remarkably black overhead, so came home .
I put my germinated peas ( in pots at home) outside to get a breath of cooler air - so starting hardening off ready to plant in about 10 days, and I will direct sow some tomorrow, and hope the mice don't find them....
I think I am going to risk sowing my sweetcorn this afternoon, while praying to the gods of germination that they actually germinate this year

Just got back from a marathon 3 hour stint, raspberries and strawberries are in along with a peony but I was too knackered to put the spuds in so they'll have to wait until next week. It's been hard digging today as I've hit a clay stretch but my plot is really starting to shape up 😄

Potato planting is hard work , good plan to not do yourself in Anon - you deserve a good hot soak !

You're so right book. I'm going to have a glass of wine in a lovely hot bath then see if I can muster the energy to finish a skirt I'm making (or maybe not).

I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures, hopefully my plot will someday look as good as some of these.

The sun is teasing me, keeps coming out so I think finally I can get some stuff done and then 5 mins later it's raining again!

On a side note, has anyone had success baiting slug traps with yeast instead of beer? I don't drink beer so last year I was buying beer just for the slugs!

hi you lot. have not been on here a while.
my toms look mixed. had some 'floppage' after potting them on but some are looking great and will have enough for my garden and a couple to give a good friend.

the bonsai looks good as well, the buds are just breaking open.

any advice on underplanting a shrub hibiscus? it's in a 30 l pot and looks quite bare. and the squirrels like digging it up.

pic of the hibiscus

tiz I tried it but didn't find it as effective I'm afraid. If it helps though my slugs like very, very cheap beer from tescos.

Been playing and weeding at a friend's small holding this morning. One enormous veg bed weeded. Lots of good ideas pinched. New born lambs cuddled. Ran away early to get more stuff ready for the allotment. Once this cup of tea is finished, extra long bamboo canes are calling me.

I feel like a bit of a fraud commenting on this thread when I barely have any garden to speak of, but am dead keen to learn and wondered if I could pick the brains of you seasoned pros, please and thank you?

I'm trying my hand at growing veg in containers this year, and wondered if I could ask for any tips/advice on doing courgette from seed? I've got plans to plant them up into some giant terracotta pots, they're probably 50cm(ish) high and about the same across the top. How many seedlings would comfortably grow in that space?

Also, this might be an incredibly stupid question, but do I need to put top soil/mulch on all pots/beds/containers etc? Or is just compost fine?

My plans for the summer are lettuce (already sown outside, not sure if I should've done so this early? ), tomatoes (I've bought some little plants), courgette from seed, and some seed potatoes. Oh, and when it comes to chitting

Oops, posted early! When it comes to chitting potatoes, is it best to keep them as warm as poss?

Thanks in advance for advice! And apologies for crashing thread with rookie questions...

courgettes are monster plants.
so one per pot. they are hungry plants, so I would mix the compost with a handfull of chicken dung pellets and water well.