Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 9 - Spring is sprung, its getting really busy!

[bookbook]

Well, the last thread filled up quickly - maybe due to the horrid weather . Its time to battle slugs, snails and weeds !
Last Thread HERE

Oh no Eating! They do like to make it a challenge for us don't they.

One day DP was chopping down branches and then mowing the lawn afterwards. He was moving the branches onto a pile and then going off to get the lawn mower, and every time he turned to head to the mower, GinDog picked up a branch and took it to the middle of the lawn. It was like watching a comedy sketch seeing DP spot the branch, move it away, head to the mower to turn around to the branch there again! Over and over

We won't talk about the time DP came home from work with only one shoe because GinDog had stolen the other and buried it in a crop of maize

Thanks for the advice happy to say the broad beans are out and doing fine. Cabbage are hardening off with the leeks and will go out tomorrow. Runners and courgette are still going in at night but might leave them out for a few nights from today then plant out on Sunday.

eating my kale last year got decimated by bloody pigeons, happy to say it all came back just fine but it taught me a lesson about sturdy nets for brassicas.

Your mentioning of sturdy netting Bitchfromhell reminded me. Has anyone ever used something like this bamboo cane connectors

My planting this year means I've got some taller things in the raised beds so I can't just use cloche hoops as I have done in previous years to support netting.

I've got cut off plastic pipes for mine- left to me from the previous plot tenant. They seem to be working so far.

Evening!
managed to quickly skim through all the posts :)
Gnome - obviously don't forget beetroot in the cake for sweetness .
Alpaca - I would try and get some feed on the rhubarb , and more water than you can imagine :) See how it survives. Usually , they throw up flower stalks if congested/under stress, so see how it goes .
tizwiz - I have those, but tbh , they are not particularly useful sadly when it comes to canes in various diameters - they either won't stay in as they are too big, or wont stay in as they are too thin......! And canes are not standard diameters .
At about 3 o clock this afternoon, the clouds went and we got sun! and the temperature shot up to 15º - just in time to make sure we have a chilly night tonight .....so my dining table is crowded with aubergines, peppers, tomatoes, courgettes and squashes , and the green house is stuffed with anything that isn't a brassica...

Tis, I have used those connectors but did find them a bit annoying if the cane was too wide or too narrow. Too wide and they wouldn't go on, too narrow and the cane would just flop out. I now just put mine on the ends of row marker canes to stop me poking myself in the eye when gardening without my glasses on.

x posted with book!

same here Gnome - they are toppers now :)

We've had a frost here overnight! It was lows of 5 degrees, but the wind completely disappeared yesterday which has contributed to the frost I think. Beautiful morning though! Hope everybody's plants are safe.

Morning, lovely photo. We've also had a touch of frost which is annoying as I left my runner beans and sweet peas outside. They were right against the house which may have helped protect them. Possibly. Anyway looks like being a beautiful day.

A touch of frost here too, can't see it on the ground but all our houses have flat roofed kitchen extensions and they are all glistening white. I took in my runner beans, squashes, cucumber etc last night just in case.

Gorgeous photo Gin whereabouts in the country are you?

We're in Herts

My bird bath was frozen! Surrey/Hampshire borders.

Lovely photo, Gin.

I can't believe you're still having frosts!

Morning!
Lovely pic Gin
well, its the first morning for a long time that I have woken up to wall to wall sunshine , and its now 12º ! ( expected last frost date - second week of May does seem to be about right this year)
Re organised everything out of the house to the greenhouse, and so on.
First really nice day - DH needs me to help reroof a shed at home. So I have no idea if I will get down to the plot. I am out tomorrow looking after DGS, and its forecast rain for Friday ..... Thats life.

It's been a glorious day today, hasn't it? I've been emptying a bed out the front which will have stepover apples along it once we've had the digger in to clear all the roots. So lots more flowers in the kitchen garden although none of them edible!

I've also had a big clear up. We were piling garden waste up preparing for a bonfire, but I don't think we'll have time to do one for a while now, so I've shoved a huge amount in the garden waste bins instead. Then started getting the garden furniture out ready to paint when we have a reliably dry few days!

Buggering bollocks, we must have had a frost here last night too as everyone of my potato plants is black. They are anya and just sprouted in the last 2 weeks. Does anyone know if they are salvageable? All other plants appear fine.

I was on the road at 7.10 am this morning and saw a few white verges too. But DP managed to get a bit of sunburn on his back yesterday! (building a wall shirtless the showoff!)

evening!
no plot here , just keeping seedlings happy at home
Bitch - if the sprouts are not too well advanced, I think you should be okay, there will still be some due to break through - I would leave , and see what happens .

hi, does someone have experience with cauliflower in a shallow bed? the old sandpit is 20cm deep on a hard surface.

Morning all. Ive been swamped with work for a few days and so haven't been around to deal with the veggies. DH has been watering though for me (no DC with the jet hose!) and they look ok but the ground is very dry (water butt is empty!)

Has anyone used a worm tower in raised beds? Ive been looking at them on pinterest. Basically a piece of downpipe with holes drilled into it, sunk into the ground left open at the bottom and a cap on the top. Then you whack in leftovers (peelings etc suitable for composting) and a handful of worms and then let them get on with it, topping up regularly with fresh scraps. It could be a good solution for us since the soil already reaches the top of the beds.

Not sure though whether its one of those things that is ok on pinterest but not in real life and I'd just find that I have a stinky tube full of rotting slime in each bed.

Morning! I think my beans survived the frost. They look OK. I bought them in last night anyway but I think it clouded over during the night so no frost. Potatoes were only just popping through so hopefully they'll be OK. I might pop over later if I get the time and check on them.

Newtsuitcase that sounds similar to a wormery but doing on the bed rather than separately. I've never heard of doing it like that before but might be worth having a go.

We've used beer in pots as a slug deterrent for the first time and I have to say I am impressed at the number it's caught given that its been quite dry and not many slugs around (last year I had them swarming over my shallots!). Roughly how long does the beer last before you have to change it? And what do you do with the drowned slugs? I was going to bury them so that the blackbirds don't get at them.

Yes I'm thinking it might save some effort Cedar. If the worms are doing all the work at distributing the nutrients through the beds and all I ever have to do is put the scraps straight into the tube then it saves an awful lot of faff. I am time poor and so I think we'll have a go and see what happens. At the end of the day it's minimal effort to remove a piece of downpipe if it doesn't work.

I've planted out my runners today - am I going to regret that? Probably. They are out growing their pots though and it's so warm, I just couldn't be bothered repotting them again. I've still only got one sodding pea plant coming up too!

I'm going to have a go at scrubbing the shed today in preparation for repainting. DP just wants it repainted black but I'm wondering whether to be sneaky and paint it a nicer colour while he's at work