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

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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

By the time I get around to catching up the new thread is already on page 4!

We went over and did a bit of watering and harvesting yesterday evening. We're getting some raspberries off the plants we've inherited (although DD managed to eat most of those while we were at the plot!) and also some berries which are a blackberry something cross (but not a loganberry). Harvested some of the perpetual spinach and the very first three mangetout pods. DD snaffled one straight away - can you see a theme emerging here
I am growing a heritage variety of pea which should have purple flowers. They have grown much taller than the kelvedon wonder I am also growing which is interesting.

I am also trying a heritage variety of squash called honeyboat (I think). I was a bit dismissive earlier about their rate of germination but I noticed one has just germinated in a semi abandoned pot. So I am going to have more of those than anticipated. Now just need to work out where to squeeze it in.

Beautiful day here. I am working from home with the blind down to keep the sun out but will get up to the plot later on.

For whoever was asking about planting seeds - definitely a few salad crops, beetroot, carrots, baby spinach (possibly), spring onions can all be grown now.

Afternoon all

That is a very impressive beetle! Ds would love her as a pet. Not sure I would be happy tho!

Have had an hour on the plot this afternoon. Getting impatient for things to grow! Tho everything seems to be doing well apart from cucumbers. Might have to pick a couple up from a garden centre if I see any.

Have a couple of courgettes coming, a few tiny green tomatoes and a few chillis coming. The lettuce looks almost ready so will harvest a couple this weekend.

I am sick of bloody bindweed though. It's in all my raised beds despite digging down about 3 ft before we planted. Am definetly going to use weedkiller once the beds are empty. And on the bottom half too. It's been neglected for 4 years and don't fancy spending the next 4 years trying to get on top of it. Will just keep on top of the beds for now.

Will hopefully get the shed built this weekend as well as the pallet compost bin. And have done another half a dozen barrowloads onto the burning pile. Oh and taken the strimmer in for a service. As soon as that is done we can strim the bottom again and then weedkill and cover for now.

Frouby I hear you on bindweed in new beds - I am using roundup gel on anything that I can safely apply it to in the hope of stopping it getting properly established. In the last thread people gave me some great suggestions (train it up a pole or into a bottle so you can weedkill it).

Today I've eaten my first ever homegrown strawberries, raspberry (just one, I thought they were Autumn fruiting!!), and delicious mangetout. Eating food straight from a plant that id grown myself in a garden I actually own has made me feel like a proper grown up and like I've finally got my life together

I bumped into one of our friend's today, and he said DP had been passing round photos of our garden to everyone in the pub like a proud father - he obviously feels the same as me

Evening!
no plot today, was out gadding :)
I did prick out and pot up my basil , thats about it!
Gin - its the most amazing thing to eat fresh stuff that you have grown yourself - it's addictive!
Frouby - bindweed is something you can only ever keep under control. I have been battling it for 6/7 years now- its easier, but still there , lurking, waiting until I turn my back....
I know what you mean about things popping up Cedar - I may, just may have a seedling of Good King Henry, which I sowed way back. I am not holding my breath mind, until it has a few leaves for true identification :)

It is addictive, particularly when you are eating something that tastes so much better than bought food. We had some delicious courgettes for dinner tonight and it is very special!

Agree with thoughts about eating something you have grown yourself. I think the early harvests are the most special, that first hint of promise

Yey to the Good King Henry Book I only seemed to have one germinate. Potted it on yesterday and it is beautiful.

It definitely starts to seem worthwhile once you can start harvesting something. Another beautiful day here. Hoping to get to the allotment later in the day for a bit more harvesting and watering.

None of my french beans that I direct sown are showing any signs of life. I wonder if it has been too hot for them. Or maybe I'm being impatient! Still if they don't come up I'll have room for my extra squash in the space!

Frouby I feel about horsetail as you feel about bindweed. However, I know that the weedkiller won't kill it so just have to keep plodding on removing it whereever it pops up (which is everywhere right now!). There is also bindweed appearing at the ramshackle edge of the plot but I just take that up where I see it and am hoping that will be enough. Weeding is the tedious part of gardening - I quite enjoy doing it but then you turn your back for a week and they're all back again

We've had so many frustrating years in the old garden with things we planted and nurtured carefully struggling to grow and being devoured by slugs, so it's really extra satisfying to see how well the plants are doing in the raised beds in the new garden!

Cedar i say to DP the weeds are like the pile of dirty clothes on the bathroom floor - I spend every day clearing them and every day they reappear

I'm impatient to get harvesting. How long does it take for a little courgette to grow?

How long does it take for a little courgette to grow?

haha, they will grow quickly and if you are not careful you will find fully grown marrows hidden under the foliage.

and you will moan about the glut and your family and friends will avoid you as if you are a forever living seller...

Morning !
Una - its nice to know it was the ground and not you - the soil health is everything in growing, no doubt about it
I had a quick trip to the plot - hoed and checked everything . Picked more strawberries.
Apologies - who asked about how long for cauliflowers? - Depends on variety - summer ones take about 4 months, autumn ones 4-5 months, winter ones about 6 ( or more!) months . You get very despondent and think nothing is happening. But keep an eye on them - when you see the centre leaves bending in tightly, it means a curd will be forming -. Then they all come at once ...
tiz - about 3-5 days in full flight - but forever if you are waiting
Glorious day here , could almost do with some rain....!

GinGeum that's a good description for weeds

Courgettes, like a lot of things, wait until your back is turned to suddenly ripen up. I am impatient for peas this year - partly because they didn't grow at all last year.

Una sounds like things are growing well in your raised beds. I've got raised beds envy admiring a neighbouring plot. They put in new raised beds a few months ago and it somehow makes everything look neater - plants are growing well too.

You can also eat them smaller than you would in the shop - you often get better flavour and it reduces the volume of glut ;) They grow ever so fast though, you won't be waiting long.

I think having uncompacted fresh soil with lots of manure through it really helps (I think I'll order another bulk bag of rotted-manure for delivery as it's been great to be able to shovel it on with abandon!). My parents have amazing soil which is really rich and loamy, but we're on clay here so having it raised up for better drainage seems to help too. And yes, I am very encouraged to find that it isn't my gardening skills!

One thing I have learned in this first proper year of gardening is the difference between good and poor soil. I had read about it, but I don't think I was totally convinced how much of a difference it makes, until we were pondering for ages the other day over why our courgettes are twice the size of NDN's. NDNs gave us the courgette plants, we both planted them out at the same time, and obviously have had the same weather conditions. Same with the tomatoes and runner beans. Ours have all gone mad. Then we remembered we dumped a ton of manure on the garden with the loader before rotovating, and then it all made sense

That sounds positive then if I want to make vege kebabs for the bbq on Sunday.

Think the frost catching the other courgette plants has been fortunate, they recovered at different rates so i have loads of courgettes on one plant but the others aren't quite flowering yet. Should mean my harvest will be nicely spaced

Oh, and this week's progress pictures. Starting to look a bit out of control in some areas! Just been watering and feeding for the first time in weeks, I'd forgotten quite how much comfrey tea reeks

Long hot traffic jam to get home with hours of work in a bag next to me.
Then got home and have been pottering about in the garden and all is well again.

Things making me happy this evening!

50 years. Ahhh! I do remember Percy Thrower.....

Relax elephant I also remember Percy we will not be the only ones on this thread

Lovely pics tiz and Cath
I saw Percy Thrower on the TV - he used to stand behind a pretend potting bench with a static camera in black and white - I rather think I am rather older than everyone else on this thread!

Black and white is no cause for concern.