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

I have no idea who Percy Thrower was (?) but I am a dirty forriner after all.

Lovely photos Cath and tiz.

It has been very wet here over the last week or so but we're now due a week or two of sunshine so hopefully there'll be lots of growth. My peas are doing well, one courgette plant has just started growing flowers even though the leaves are teeny tiny, and all the salady things are doing well.

Weeded the flower bed yesterday so it's looking beautifully tidy. Only one plant in my whole garden is suffering from slugs and it's DD2's sunflower. Have had to put slug pellets around in it the hope it recovers.

Eeek, we've been offered a colony of bees. We've been talking about it for a while but it's a bit daunting getting started, anyone with experience of beekeeping?

bees! how exciting!

my father keeps bees.
so I might have answers to some questions.
have you done a course? have a beekeeper as mentor?

first priority is location of the hive. ideally between 2 hedges so that the bees fligh up and not in the face of all gardeners.

insurance. (via bee keeper association)
vet certificate (don't know how that works in the uk, it's mandatory in other european countries)

space for storage of supplies and for sterilizing equipment.
access to an extractor.

oh and honey is a perfect glaze on a bbq courgette :)

We haven't done a course though we have 2 books and will probably get more. The person who's giving us the bees will come and help out while we get started. We'll join the local bee keeping association and get insurance etc - hoping that they will have extraction kit we can borrow, though that's not a priority as I think we'll probably not take honey this year. I don't think any certification is required in the UK. We have lots of high hedges and there's a nice shady spot near one of them that I think we'll put the hive into. Hadn't thought about storage space - will need to clear a bit of room in the garage. And mmm, honey glazed courgettes!

Wow Una that's amazing, you have to go for it.

DH is desperate for bees. I very nearly got him a start kit and colony for Father's day from the DC but resisted. I might cave under pressure though.

Veg for tonight's dinner!

Afternoon!
wow Una - an offer of bees and that veg looks gorgeous
No plot , but do need to go and water later this evening, it s just too hot atm .
Summer raspberries just starting to ripen at home - the first 2 were eaten pronto, and having had the first cucumber, this week , another two are now ready in the greenhouse - little snack size ones 'Iznik'.
Coriander is ready too.
I am pretty sure the one germinated Good King Henry is that - first true leaves turning into pointy spinach looking things, so thats good .
Grouchy - don't worry - Percy died in 1988 ! the sunflowers I had spare from DGS and planted out have all been slugged to death. His at his house are doing well, but one got decapitated by a ball , thats life ....
I have managed to rehome virtually all my spare veg seedlings - I have one tray with a bout 6 or 7 sad draggly things left, and yet I don't have the heart to bin them ...:)

Half pace plotmenting today. It was so hot. I planted some aubergines I got marked down, did a bit of half hearted weeding and sorted out my hose. Now I have use of 'Grumpy's tap' the whole 2 reel hose set up needs refiguring. I think I am there now so it won't pull across the corner of his plot and his runner beans. I opened a broad bean pod today and scoffed the contents, another few days and there will be enough for a meal.
I am very envious of the bees and the courage to have a go! There are a few hives on our plots and I am intrigued by people in beekeeping suits and what they are doing.

the reason I don't have bees...
I hate being in the suit.
my dad often works without, but that only works because he buys specially calm queen and doesn't have hair on his head!

a lot of bee keeping is observation with short heavy work when harvesting.
expensive but self funding if you sell the honey at market value.

I remember Percy Thrower .

So hot! DD and I went to the plot at 9.30 tonight to water and found lots of others doing the same. My water butt is empty, I need to find a quiet time and fill it with the hose so I can use it when other are using the tap.

Have picked lots of strawberries this week, including enough for two jars of jam. Otherwise it's mainly been weeding. I need to get chard, leeks and PSB planted out this week.

I remember Percy Thrower . So hot!
Just for a laugh, this is how your post appeared on my screen Wh0

Morning!
hahaha WhoKnows and elephant
well, it was so hot already that I went down early to the plot this morning. Not many there.... !
Watered almost everything , planted out a sad runner bean and last two sprouting broccoli plants. Prepped up a bit to plant out beetroot this week. Ate the first peas out of a couple of pods :)
Picked strawberries, cut a few flowers , and dug up a last year volunteer potato ( I tend to leave them if they are not causing a nuisance) and got a lovely little handful of new potatoes for tea. I chatted with a plot holder a few plots away, and got given a lovely pointed cabbage and a couple of little gem lettuce.
baby spinach is trying to bolt though...

Lovely harvest there book. We grow flowers as well. The odd thing is starting to come through but mainly roses at the moment.

Lots of watering yesterday and today. O reckon we have put down about 500 litres. All has to be done by watering can from the dips so we are fairly frugal normally but it was all looking a bit parched so decided to spend half a day giving everything a good drink.

These are this week's pictures. The wheat is starting to ripen.

My first harvest! Yay.

Have loads left after a bbq yesterday. Having dominoes pizza for tea so going to make a salad as well. Just because harvest!

Haven't been up to the plot this weekend but am picking newly serviced strimmer up tomorrow and having a couple of hours up there in the morning.

We've been away for the weekend and came home this afternoon to mangetout all over the shop! It was the perfect snack after a 2 hour car journey in this heat.

Frouby and GinGeum lovely harvests. I always think of allotment peas as the growers' perks!

We have a week off soon and are already planning our meals around what will be available on the allotment. A lot of salad will be the order of the day I think.

It's lovely seeing all the rewards to the endeavours. Here is my small offering. First of the first earlies and last of the strawberries. The best bit was the DCs asking 'What's coming next'. The parsley is from my new herb bed which was my raised veg bed before I got the plot.

Lovely elephantoverthehill!

How has your strawberry harvest been this year? Ours isnt brilliant and the fruits have been small. The plants should be at maximum production as they are 3 years old but something hasnt been right this year.

The over winter onions are ready, a couple were shooting up flower stalks and the greens had fallen over on the rest. Carrots got thinned and a few extra bits. DSD1 has nabbed a bit handful of mustard leaves and the two biggest onions. No strawberries have yet made it more than 6ft from the plant .

strawberries - didn't have many but the few that we had were very tasty.
the peas have formed pods, so waiting for them to thicken. can't wait!
lots of green toms, I can feel a glut coming on.

Strawberries - Little bed ,( the ones I'm harvesting at the moment) are doing very well, maybe not quite so big as last year Not done a thing with them this year though, apart from netting - was so busy didn't get to straw them.
I have another rather overgrown big bed full which are a bit later, but seem to have a lot of set fruit, but they are a smaller fruiting variety anyway . Will have to see - about another 10/14 days for them

My strawberries are doing their best ever this year, I have never netted before which seems to be helping but also we have had another dry spell over the last couple of weeks which has kept the slugs at bay. I have lost track of how old they are, this is their third year in their current position but I remember bringing them all home at some point too. They all originated from runners from plants on the plot when I got it so no idea of variety. Their flavour isn't great so I would like to get some new ones started - when's the best time of year? I normally pot up runners in late summer and plant out in spring for a harvest a year later.