Allotment?Veg Patch Thread 10 - Plotmenters busy into summer ! and loving James Wong

[bookbook]

Last thread has filled up so quickly! Thought I had better get one up and running before I get off to the plot.
Busy, busy people, just waiting for the harvests to start, fighting the bugs, slugs and weather :)
Last thread here
THREAD 9

Checking in. Relief to get some rain but it does mean I've not got outside on my day off and I need to pick peas. Raspberries very disappointing so far- not nearly as many fruit as last year,not sure what's going on there. Just bought two copies of James Wong to give as gifts - I feel like I'm in a cult. Red pvc strawberries are nice but so are non pvc ones. It's kept them clean and off the soil so there is that.

Have just braved the rain to get some broad beans for dinner. Have enough for a whole meal, despite the beans not really producing this year.

I think I can hear the courgettes swelling after the rain!

French onion soup last night with plotty onions. Ate our own bodyweight in peas, broad beans and courgettes. First early potatoes are doing well. Very nutty flavour.

Newt, that's very poor show by the 'gardener'. Got a bit strimmer happy I think.

Afternoon!
The rain has helped and hindered. But - no rain today here.
DH and I have just got back to see if we could find the rabbit, and it seems I managed to chase it off this morning. While we were there , we re- netted the jostaberry -. I went and picked the blackcurrants off one of the bushes in the fruit cage .-( not all the eggs in one basket thankfully!) - the second blackcurrant is still a way off, but has loads on , the branches are bent right down to the ground. And dug up some potatoes for tea . Feeling less aggrieved this afternoon. :)
Cath - so at least you now know about red pvc!
Grouchy - its surprising how few broad bean pods you need actually - fingers crossed for your blackcurrants.
Gnome - do you leave your onions to dry,? or are they straight out of the soil?

Book these onions were actually spring planted sets. I was just thinning out the bigger ones so they were taken straight off the soil.

Once they are proper full grown I will dry them. DH built a drying stand on the plot. People keep mistaking it for a beehive!

Still drizzling here, I have a horrible feeling the courgettes are all going to ripen at once now they've had a bit of rain.

What else? Hmm, ripped out some of the calabrese (main heads harvested, rest going to seed) to create a bit of space for the caulis. That means I can leave the garlic for a bit longer (I'd forgotten there's hamburg parsley growing up in between and I'd prefer not to disturb that). Beans are shooting up, keep finding new pumpkin stems all over the place, and enjoyed an unexpected rhubarb crumble due to trying to stop the big plant overwhelming my new little ones.

I'm going to have a big lettuce gap because the first lot are gone to seed and the second successional batch failed, but the new seeds are on proper leaves and at least I have peashoots, beetroot leaves and chard. I feel I have far too many tomato flowers but most of them are cherry-type (ildi, with two san marzano and one green zebra) so hoping it will be OK.

My summer and autumn raspberries (glen coe and all gold respectively) appear to be fruiting at the same time which I wasn't expecting! Having lost most of the blackcurrants, I've netted the redcurrants so fingers crossed.

Newt how infuriating! Tayberries I could understand but currants look totally different!

Hope the rabbit is gone for good, book.

To be fair to the 'gardener' the berries were all planted in a stupid place (long before my time) right at the entrance to the woods. Its one of the reasons we lose most of them to birds and animals before we get near them. I suspect he didn't even think that there might be anything deliberately planted there and just went in with the strimmer. Even so its annoying since it seemed like it would probably be a better crop than usual this year.

Hey ho. My parsnips are looking happy and so I'm focussing on that and planning what to put in the large potato bed once they start to come out. I have a potato jungle where I planted them a bit too close together!

newt my dp nearly did the same to my solitary rasperry cane. In fact I think there was more than 1 but he got a bit strimmer happy too.

He is a bit gung ho with everything to be fair. Wants to just chuck everything in and hope for the best. We were given a couple of trays of seed potatoes when we first got the plot. I only had 3 1.2 x 1.2 m beds ready so had 1 for earliers and 2 for main crop. Was carefully planting the earlies the right distances apart and he was chucking handfuls of main crop in.

Now they have come up he sees what I mean. He was chuntering about my tiny courgette plants and how I had loads of space left until it started growing into a triffid.

Book ds would be thrilled with a rabbit. Very annoying though. Something has dug up 1 of my lettuce tapes but I think it was a bird rather than a rabbit.

Hoping to get to the plot for an hour this afternoon. Not looking quite as wet today. We could really do with some sunshine now!

Morning all, thought I would say hello while I'm watching In the Night Garden.

My strimmer has broken so the meadow is making a come back. The strimmer motor itself is fine, I think the problem is with the battery or charger. I've bought a gadget to test them, I just need some time to do it one evening.

I've managed one visit to the plot this week. I got lots of weeds out of the beds and we've been eating some lovely chard. My v late planted potatoes are doing well, I think they'll like all the rain. I've also rescued my apple trees from a sea of couch grass. I'm going to move them this winter as they're definitely too close together and too close to the path.

Also picked some mystery fruit - I'll have to take a picture to show you. It's something like blackberries and raspberries, I think it might be a tayberry? The kids love them, and even my DH likes them and he usually hates raspberries. It's a bit vicious though and is trying has taken over a corner of the plot next to the shed (it's actually now growing up the shed). I'll have to try to tame it at some point - any tips gratefully received.

Hope you're all having a good week .

I also have a mystery fruit which is either a tayberry or maybe a boysenberry. Plot neighbour called it a loganberry but it's not similar enough to my loganberry. Definitely a blackberry cross of some kind as the fruit have that blackberry sweetness. We had quite a few off the plant and then the next lot got too wet the other day which is a shame. But lots of raspberries of various sizes and quality so I'm not complaining. Needmoretea my approach with my loganberry is to tie in the new shoots which will have next year's fruit on them and hack back where I don't want it as it always seems to produce one or two shoots inconveniently in the middle of the flower bed (I have a loganberry in my back garden).

Visit to the plot yesterday. Everything seemed quite pleased about the rain, particularly the weeds Harvested peas, mangetout, spinach and chard, raspberries and mystery fruit. I love eating fresh peas straight from the pod. Then tackled some weeds. Something has tugged out the leaves from my one carrot from the first sowing. I reckon it must be pigeons or magpies and I will have to net them properly. There are pods developing on my runner beans and borlotti.
Then DD came over whining that she was bored and hungry and we had to go home as there is a limit to how much I can stand it when she's complaining.
Hope to get back over there this weekend for yet more weeding. And I think I may be time to harvest the garlic which has got an attack of the rust and looking a bit sorry for itself.

Sorry, I haven't been keeping up with the thread. Off up to the plot in a moment as we have had some torrential rain this week and finally the ground is soft enough to plant out the last few things (celeriac, PSB and leeks), also weeding, thistles are taking over my plot but I haven't been able to dig out the tap roots.

First sweet peas are in bloom, strawberries are over but raspberries starting (mine are autumn fruiting but I left a few canes unpruned and they are fruiting now). First courgettes are swelling, broad beans are doing well and potatoes will be ready soon. My onions are swelling nicely too. At home my tomatoes and cucumber are doing well in the greenhouse.

I have to tackle my redcurrant. I pruned it hard two years ago and got no crop last year, it fruited this year but was stripped by pigeons. It is too big now and leaning over next doors plot, also has some leaf curling pest or disease so I need to prune selectively I think as I gather they fruit on two year old stems. To be honest I'm not that bothered about the currants, I wouldn't have planted it myself but it was there when I got the plot and looks nice as a shrub and even nicer covered in red berries.

A combination of not feeling well and lots of rain over the last few days has meant the weeds here have got out of control. I've just walked around the garden, heavily sighed and come back in to make a cup of tea. Does it ever end?

Oh Gin, I am sorry you aren't feeling well. I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks Cedar, I've looked at pictures of the berries you mentioned and I'm pretty sure my mystery fruit is a loganberry. Looks just like these
goo.gl/images/DmQf5Z

Ah if it's a loganberry then the fruits for next year come off the shoots which are growing everywhere now. Try and tie them in if you can - or poke them back out of the way - they always seem to grow in the wrong direction. They're good for jam making if you get enough fruit. Delia Smith recommends using slightly underripe fruit for it. I don't think I'm getting enough to make any this year.

Evening!
Gnome - thanks about info - mine were over winter onions , first time of growing in 7 years!
Gin hope you feel better soon - the weeds don't stop growing sadly. I always have weeds....
My loganberries are nowhere near ripe yet . But like others, my autumn raspberries are setting, while my summer ones have only just started to ripen.
whoKnows - my redcurrant has had a severe attack of aphids too , I virtually chopped those branches off, and sprayed the rest with washing up liquid - it seems to have worked.
Managed to get up to the plot for a quick trip this afternoon - no sign/news of rabbit , but I'm still looking out for it. Won't be able to tell for a day or two ( when the beans get new leaves showing)
Picked strawberries, the first summer raspberries, the few peas that the rabbit had missed and a bit of spinach to wilt into my tomato pasta sauce for tea. Even managed a bit of hoeing too.

I over planted again
toms and courgettes are so tiny as seedlings.
might have one or 2 caulis too many too.

I popped to the plot yesterday after work to harvest some broad beans and chard. I really recommend the BBC recipe for broad bean and feta frittata. The chard is the white stemmed one, it seems very tough compared to my perpetual spinach. Am I leaving the leaves to get too big perhaps? Went to the plot today to do some weeding and I noticed I have flower buds on my raspberries. I only put them in this year and didn't expect any fruit at all off them. They are Poundland ones so didn't have any information on the packaging. If they are just beginning to show flower buds now, does this mean they are an Autumn cropping variety?

gnome your picture really brought home to me the difference an allotment makes- I've got 2 corgettes in pots! Cut down and ate the rest of the spinach as it had bolted. Cut down the peas that are over and will find something to sow there. Went to harvest strawberries and most were full of woodlice. I've put straw under them to see if that helps . Had the first tomato- was a bit under ripe so I'm trying to sit on my hands. elephant my summer raspberries are just cropping now and my autumn ones still in bud so I think probably autumn.

My question- does the advice not to pull
any rhubarb the first year still count if the rhubarb in question is enormous??

Oooo Cathpot I am of a similar persuasion re the rhubarb. One plant of the divided crowns I got from a colleague has gone bonkers. I think I might have a 'thug rhubarb' on my hands. DD has to make a fruit crumble at school on Monday. I was sooo tempted to send her in with rhubarb. Instead I have had to buy Bramlies, all kinds of wrong. DD however wants me to buy tinned peaches....even more shades of wrong, in my book. Thanks for the advice about the raspberries.

Sun returned today after feeling like winter all week. I've done some weeding, sorted out the gooseberry bush which was collapsing, and decanted my comfrey tea into bottles. They're in Coke bottles and about the same colour so mustn't mix them up!

Nice little harvest, courgettes and beans to accompany tonights dinner, wild strawberries (half as big but taste twice as nice) and some of the gooseberries are going into a fool. Then I think I'm going to put the rest with the rhubarb and make jam.

I've had more than half my courgettes go rotten though, which is disappointing because they looked so promising.

My brussel sprouts have also got mealy cabbage aphids, I've blasted them off with a hose tonight so fingers crossed they won't be too damaged.

Got my first decent harvest of blackcurrants today. It's about 1/5 or less of what's on the bushes so I'm very happy about that.

Evening!
yes, its a real eye opener when you move from garden to allotment - it seems huge and I under sowed the first year - one row is a different beast when its 8 metres long :)
If the rhubarb is huge, i would pull a bit - really its to allow the plant to recoup ready for next year, so why not?
elephant - I agree with Cath - if they are just flowering, I would say they are autumn ones. The new summer ones I put in last spring are setting fruit - though it will take a year or so to get a decent crop I think - its a bit thin this year. I tend to only grow perpetual spinach tbh - I prefer it to chard.
Lovely day today, warm and sunny, so zipped to the plot to water squashes and courgettes. The first crown prince squash has set . DH repaired the net around the brassica cage - that dratted rabbit ( which I think now has gone) had made a couple of holes and had a browse on a lot of the plants. Nothing that won't sort out, but it's set them back a bit.
tiz - its odd about the rotting courgettes - I get the very odd one, but not many. Is it worth putting a bit of straw or weed membrane around and underneath the plants , see if that helps?

yay! Grouchy

tiz half my courgettes have had flower end rot this week, mainly on the yellow ones that are just coming in. Think that as discussed earlier may be to do with poor fertilisation.
My new this year Aldi gooseberry bush has five gooseberries.
Discovered that it is the sparrows that are taking out the chard and beetroot and perpetual spinach seedlings. They were following DH around today and even started pecking out the seedlings from the seed tray before he had planted them. One bed has now been fleeced and the other has a chicken wire cloche.