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

Thanks for the welcome, bookbook. We're in the South East. Parents have been allotmenting (plotmenting?) for 5 years in the midlands.

Do people tend to have electricity in their allotments? I had assumed so, and bought a strimmer, but there's no electricity in our allotment so I can't use it.

I very much doubt it Elle - I am on a big, old , established site with lots of facilities, but no electricity. Everyone has petrol strimmers and lawnmowers.

ElleDubloo I think the answer is no. Mostly two-stroke or four stroke strimmers. Rechargeable batteries are getting better, but many moan that a rechargeable strimmer will do half a plot at best. I think we are quite lucky we have water on stand pipes, although I do have 2 waterbutts as well.

We have no electricity or water. We have a push mower and a scythe. Yesterday evening we scythed the empty plot as the weeds were flowering abundantly and starting to go to seed. There are only four allotments on our plot and we are scheming to take over the empty plot if the council don't get their act together and let it. A co-op plot would be so cool.

No electricity for us either, I have a cordless strimmer and it's very good, I can do all my edges, the paths alongside the short sides of my plot, my grassy bit round my compost heap and my friend's long edge, I've never had it go flat on me so no idea how much more I could do. Elle - have you used the strimmer? Could you return it?

What strimmer do you have Wh0? Whilst we do have electricity (we grow at home), the garden is too long for cords. Petrol tools are just too heavy for me these days.

It's a Black and Decker Lithium ion one, can't remember which model without going out to the shed and looking. It wasn't cheap (was my birthday present!) but it has made life so much easier. We use it at home as well, I just take the battery off it and pop it on the charger every time I finish using it.

I feel really silly :( The strimmer was £48 from Amazon and it'll cost me £9 to send it back for a refund. Oh well, maybe we'll just keep it and use it in the garden.

Pestilentialone - scythe sounds amazing! Where did you buy it from?

mowing with a scythe takes a little practice (the movement and whetting the blade) but for small areas it is very good.
the blade is very sharp so long sturdy trousers and good shoes are a must for protection.

Cordless strimmer here. It's about seven years old and the charge last about twenty mins. Which is all I need to do the grass round the fruit trees.

Have occasionally borrowed plot neighbours petrol strimmer that he got from free cycle when. Come back from summer hols to a jungle. But I find it heavy to use for any length of time.

Someone gave us an old petrol strimmer, but it was very hard to start, heavy and made our shed stink of petrol so we didn't keep it.

Welcome to the new plotmenters.

Finally got onto the plot for a few hours yesterday morning after doing long hours at work for the week plus a visit to Norwich to see UEA.

Lots of watering. Picked blackcurrants. Flowers are really coming on as is the wheat.

We seem to have barley growing unintentionally in the front garden - it made me think of you and your wheat crop Gnome!

Morning!
don't feel silly Elle - its just a lack of knowledge - not the same thing at all.
I must admit I am lucky in that DH is a whizz at mending/sorting things, so we picked up a petrol strimmer on a local selling site - it wasn't working, so really cheap , and he serviced and sorted it. But they are heavy - ours has a harness. We only really use it maybe twice a year around the compost bins -and DH does that. At our site the committee have a lawnmower and strimmer that you can borrow for a donation , but they are only available at weekends, when somebody is there that can unlock the store .

Gnome your flower beds are looking lovely!

I'm another whose strawberry bed was really unproductive this year. Plant is not even throwing out many runners. Definitely not happy.

We have a rechargeable electric strimmer and it seems to hold its charge really well. I will find out the brand and report back. I don't remember it being particularly expensive.

Who was it saying they thought things were behind this year? I definitely agree. I think we might manage to start harvesting courgettes this week and I'm sure we've done that in June before. July here so far has been unseasonably cold. The central heating has clicked on in the house a couple of times (the thermostat is turned down to 12C!). Very jealous of you all enjoying a drink in the sunshine this weekend. I spent yesterday afternoon on the sofa watching the tour de france with a blanket on!

I have so many courgettes I want to cry.

Pest I feel the same DP said yesterday 'you know we don't actually have to eat every single one right?' And I said 'but surely that's the whole point of growing veg?!

He then said he's not going to bother asking what's for dinner anymore, because it will just be some variant of courgette

I'm excited tonight. We are having steak from one of our cows, with potatoes from the garden, courgettes () and some homegrown salad. A completely homegrown meal!

gin agree, can't compost a good courgette.
Courgette salad: julienne : courgettes, stir fry with a handful of samphire until half cooked, throw into large flat dish and toss in lemon juice and olive oil, cool, julienne a mooli and to courgette mix and season well.
To use courgettes as a pizza topping; slice finely, sprinkle with salt and leave for an hour. Rinse well and pat dry with tea towel.
I have been imaginative.

The mooli have been brilliant, doing them again next year. Stonking great roots and no inclination to run to seed. Standard red radishes have been a disaster, running to seed before fattening. Thinking of getting some winter ones to experiment with.

The scythe is borrowed from the local agricultural college, where DH works.

the first year I grew courgettes I had 3 plants just couldn't cull seedlings

I traded them at the school gates, got second hand uniform items & a trampoline...

Soup is the answer Gin , then freeze - courgette and spinach is nice, courgette , cucumber and mint - or just a general veg soup in amongst as a medley and blitz . Favourite simple veg way (really unhealthy!) is to fry cut rounds in ghee with garlic , they need a nice brown caramelised finish .
But in truth the year I had seven plants (seven!- can you imagine) every neighbour started to pretend they weren't in when I knocked ...

I have 4 courgettes in the fridge too. Am making a ratatoulie (sp) to have with left over roast pork from yesterday for tonights tea.

It's raining here this morning too and forecast rain all day tomorrow. Can see me harassing lots of folk with them too. Avon lady told me yesterday she likes courgettes. So that's one willing victim at least!

I have seven plants book

what was an unexpected hit with the dc was courgette sliced thinly and layered in a oven dish with a paste of feta cheese/garlic/olive oil/herbs de provence.
last layer cheese paste.
bake until bubbly and cheese starting to brown.