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

Book wise I have Customers who viewed The Edible Garden: How to Have Your Garden and Eat It which was picked up for 50p in a charity shop somewhere. Perhaps less suited to allotments than veg patch gardeners. Charity shops are a great source of gardening books because the subject matter doesn't really date too much.

How tall should the potatoes be before I earth them up? Do I do it as soon as they poke through or when they're a few inches above ground?

tiz my potatoes seem to be doing the same! The rain has really done them good I think.

Wow, Frouby! What an incredible amount of work you've done. It looks fabulous!

Gnome Your plot gives me garden envy too.

I've done nothing all weekend. We had rain on Saturday, which was propitious as we were painting the living room anyway. Sunday was spent recovering from the painting, and today it rained all day as well.

Hopefully will manage to get some weeding done tomorrow, and I plan to finally build the obelisks I bought for my peas. I need to make some structures for sweet peas and tomatoes as well so will think about that.

SIL and her husband are taking out a built-in bed from their flat so I've asked for the wood from that. Will be interesting to see what I can do with it when it gets here (not for ages, I should imagine).

it rained intermittendly today, but still the earth is dry and powdery 10mins after it stopped raining.
the plus side is less slugs&snails...

We have had a good soaking today and more is forecast for Wednesday. I have done 2 slug and snail culls tonight in the garden and feel like I have collected eleven millionty probably about 50

Evening!
been out this afternoon.
Gin - that is loads of space - I think that my first quarter plot was something along that size .
It has rained most of the day, forecast rain for rest of week just about . So good, apart from the fact I need to get some more prepping done...
tizwoz there were 4 varieties at Aldi - I was able to check on the website - Maris Piper,/Desiree,/Charlotte / Pentland Javelin.
Newt - I would let them get to a good bushy set of leaves - about 9" or so before earthing up.

Morning everyone. Wow this thread moves so fast. Apologies for not having read through everyone's comments on the last few pages - will go back when i have a bit more time.

It's pouring here today and we had masses of rain yesterday as well. I managed to get to the plot late on Sunday afternoon. My 2 manure piles now have a butternut squash and a courgette plant adorning the top - each under a big plastic bottle cloche. Radishes are doing well and i have quite a few little green strawberries coming along. My potatoes still aren't doing much - hoping the rain will bring them on as it's still very mild too.

I had to plant DS2's runner bean last week as it was too large for the house & i kept knocking bits off it when carrying it in and out to the yard. Sadly I don't think it's survived, all the leaves look very crispy. Probably still a bit cold for it.

I've planted some sweetcorn seedlings out under cloches and have a few more seeds in pots at home, as well as some climbing French bean seeds (only 1 germinated out of my first batch so I'm trying again - i think they were too damp & rotted in the pots). Also my golden beetroot seedlings are getting a bit leggy so if the rain stops I'll go up to the plot and plant a few. Although i expect the slugs will be out in force after all this rain!

Hello all

Just a quick one before I start carefully tending it. Can anyone tell me if the below plant is something nice? I am hoping it's a rasperry bush!

And another

Evening!
no plot today - have had DGS and it has poured , due more rain over the next few days too - just in time to halt my stride. I have spinach, carrots, perpetual spinach and sweetcorn to plant out. Ah well, was complaining of the dry earlier I suppose ! And everything is putting a right spurt of growth at least.
Looks like a raspberry to me Frouby - there are crosses too - loganberry and tayberry that look similar . Is that set fruit too? you'll soon know if so !

I am browsing the www.realseeds.co.uk and it's not a good idea. I just want to buy it all

The chillies look amazing and you get lots of seeds in the normal vegetables packets.

Planted some cauliflower plug plants today and hoed, also earthed up the potatoes. They have gone crazy with the lovely rain.

Tomorrow me and my MIL is clearing the shed of old stuff. Need the roof bars for this job. The strawberries also need weeding.

I have good experiences with real seeds. the great thing is you get instructions of how to collect seeds so you can justify the hefty price tag.

I was hoping for quick visits to the plot after work on the dry days this week, but I have had the letter about the JKW on the allotment site from the town council today. We have to clean shoes and tools if we are taking them on and off plot etc. Perhaps I could leave a pair of crocs inside the gate and change in and out of them? Nobody would want to nick my crocs! I won't be able to take 'me barra', but I could buy a cheap trowel to leave on the plot. Anyone else got any good suggestions? I have left my hoe and rake on the plot as well as my extra spade.

That's good to hear Red. I also like to help small companies where I can, I love getting my milk delivered in glass bottles

I have a few pairs of crocs Elephant, one pair stays in the back of the car to take on and off at the allotment. What an odd rule. It must be for weed and decease control.

Can JKW be spread just from shoes? I didn't realise quite how bad it was!

We've had some lovely rain overnight. It's absolutely roasting - we've had all windows wide open all night. I'm sure every plant has grown about a foot overnight. The tomatoes are looking great, and I feel as though we could Earth up the potatoes every hour and still not keep on top of it

I've completely cheated and bought some mangetout plants alongside the chive plants. I've still only had success with one pea seed, and it's the plant I was most looking forward to eating this year!

Sorry just realised you said JKW.

The Real Seeds website is wonderful! I have a veg trug in the back garden (which I had before I got my allotment) - it's got onions and garlic in at the moment but I reckon I can fit some of Read Seeds amazing looking leaves in between and after...

Elephant - I keep all my tools at the plot (I have duplicates at home for most of them) - I have one of those bench storage boxes and anything that is too long gets hidden behind it. I take the long tools home in winter. Shoes is harder, I do actually keep a pair of rubber clogs in my bench box, in case I pop in wearing unsuitable footwear, but changing att the gate or cleaning isn't very practical.

Lots of rain so far this week and more forecast. I didn't get to the plot yesterday but mowed the lawn and weeded my raised beds at home. Who was asking about minimum size for raised beds? I have two at home that are 90cm square, one is about 8" deep and I use it for flowers, the other is 18" deep and I grow compact veg in it (radishes, spring onions, carrots, lettuce).

Hello hello. Well, the heavens have finally opened here. I'm at I'm at home, and had wanted to get some gardening and plotting done today but I guess not. Instead, I have covered my garden with rain - catching items - trugs, buckets, spare cat litter trays, old washing up bowls that I hoard.

Yesterday I got a bit done - the first toms have graduated to the outside world - I did 2 hanging baskets worth. And I have more, plus I have pricked out a lot of salads, and flowers have gone out too.

Oh and my first runner beans have been planted out. I can almost feel the slugs stampeding...

That was me asking Wh0! Good to know things can still be grown in a smaller bed!

I've just been out in the garden despite the rain, and saw my first slug! Tiny thing. It is no more. Will have to start keeping an eye out. It's lovely out there though, so warm. And a pleasure to be out seeing everything look so green and happy. If nothing else, gardening and farming has made me happy when it rains. I can't imagine wishing for rain before!

elephant maybe have a think about what tools you'll actually use. I only have hand tools at the allotment, in a small storage box. Plus a cheap spade that lives outside. Anything else I can take on as and when I need it - but I am very close to home so that'd be easy for me. I don't really hoe or rake as I'm no dig and plant out plant let's sown from seed at home. My most used tool is oddly probably an old steak knife that I use to hoick out weeds. That and a good old trowel.

Today I am very enthralled by my chives. I divided an old old garlic chives, and gave it all a good chop. They are genuinely growing 2-3 cm a day, they seem so happy!

Yy Gin I too am grateful for the rain. There are so many shades of green out right now, it's a thing of beauty. And the rain just heightens that.

(And also I need to think about what colour I can add to my garden for this time next year.)

Hello !
I was holding out hope that the forecast was wrong , as it was only light rain this morning, but the steady stuff has arrived , supposedly for the day, so plot is a no go. Tomorrow morning I am away looking after DGS, so roll on tomorrow afternoon.
elephant - I have a shed at my plot with the things I need, all second hand extras to what I use at home, including wellies, which I wear all year around . I think JKW relies on people inadvertently picking tiny bits of root on shoes/tools and transferring , so understandable I suppose.
I have used RealSeeds too - some mixed salad and slightly different lettuce .
My runner beans are half coming up upside down , half not - who was saying this upthread? I could understand all one way or another ... just weird !
The plants are now going beserk with the rain - and the weeds....!

My smallest raised beds are 3ft square (2 foot deep) and I'm hoping they will still be productive. One is now housing the rescued rhubarb (which is looking very sad but at least is no longer providing a banquet for the slugs) and the other two are currently empty and were going to house the peas and beans once they're a bit bigger.

Very rainy again today here in the East Midlands. I have 15 potato plants above ground though which is exciting. I also either have loads of weeds or else the marigold seeds I chucked around (rather haphazardly) are springing to life.