Allotment/Veg patch thread 11 'We bid farewell to rainbow leaves but will keep plotting along'

[bookbook]

Well, nights are drawing in, leaves are starting to turn, harvesting carrying on
What a summer it has been!
Join in with the ups and downs of growing our own into autumn.
Last thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2951768-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-10-Plotmenters-busy-into-summer-and-loving-James-Wong?msgid=71770088HERE

Hi everyone

I have a space which is a bit light strapped. It has tall trees to the east and the south but gets the sun from about 1.30ish until it goes down. I'd like to put raspberries and blueberries in one section and potatoes in another. Will they be okay? Would I be best to have a poly tunnel over one to maximise the warmth? The beds are 3m x 1m (three of them).

Good evening everyone. I actually made it to the plot today - it was a rare day, sunny on the weekend! Quite a few plot holders were there and it was like a pre-season reunion. I planted a rooted Christmas tree and pruned my Autumn raspberries. Not much else to be done yet apart from edging the beds, but I am now getting quite excited about spring being around the corner.

Hi Gnome, hi all. Delurking for an update. Been busy in the garden with reluctant DD but she enjoyed planting seeds. We potted up sweet peas, begonias, marigolds, mini Savoy cabbage, cucumbers and peppers. No more room on my windowsill! Started to weed strawberry patch before it got too cold, DH lost a small drill bit there yesterday.

Found a rogue potato when digging the plot so that's gone towards dinner, also harvested some sprouts (thanks Gnome!). Took all the holy leaves off hence their size. Also trying a sprout plant head for a change.

Wow, those sprouts look amazing!

User, do you mean a permanent polytunnel? On my plot the real issue is the wind. We lost the first cover within a couple of weeks so now we have a wind break. It is noticeably warmer in the tunnel. The night time temperature gets down to just below freezing but daytime is getting up to around 25 degrees.

hello all!
Welcome to all the newbies DearMrDilkington , Grufeling Rhubarbfizz and user187.... :)
You have had loads of advice already, so I won't try to repeat what everyone has said ! But let us know how we can help - are you North/South?east /West, what type of soil etc - all the info helps
I was back from my holidays last night, so of course had to pop to the plot this afternoon. Picked the sprouts - nearly all gone , and some sprouting broccoli . The next variety is showing lots of lovely leaf, but no signs of sprouts yet, and the last of the other varities are nearly over now. It has obviously been quite wet and windy, but its all looking much as I left it :). Broad beans just starting to sprout in pots in the greenhouse too.
user - rasps will do okay, but potatoes need a fair amount of water - are the trees near ? as they will have a tendency to suck the water away from anything growing . Blueberries need an acidic soil, so check to see :)
Right, back on track - tomorrow is sweet pea/peas and broad bean sowing .
But oh, its cold after being away 3 weeks .......

Hi book , hope you had a lovely holiday! I'm south east, so usually get all the warm weather from April-September. I have no idea about soil though! I have brought some multi purpose soil for everything apart from the blueberries which have an acidic soil.

My tomato seeds are starting to develop inside now, when's the best time to put them out? Obviously I need to wait for it to warm up a bit but my windowsill is full of plants and seeds, it looks quite manic.

Mr Dilkington last year I started tomatoes in mid March, started hardening them off mid April and put them out end of April as we were going on holiday. That's as early as I'd dare even here on the south coast (as it happened they nearly got wiped out by the late frosts in May which is unusual so hopefully not going to happen again this year). This year we are getting a greenhouse so I'll start them earlier, but I think yours might need a fair bit of windowsill time.

Hi all

Re my raised beds the trees are close by (its cleared woodland). Soil is root ridden. Rhodies and azaleas like it.

I was thinking of one bed with a permanent cover over it (if they come that small) just to increase the warmth since I'm conscious that they will get a lot of shade.

I was hanging around last year but I'm on a name change. My potatoes did well last year in raised beds in the kitchen garden but then I stupidly let the tomatoes into the area which promptly got blight and the potatoes went too. I am not replacing all of the soil in the kitchen garden since the beds are 2ft high and wide so this is my new potato plan.

Afternoon all! Can I join too please?
We moved abroad last year, leaving my beloved garden behind. Luckily, we managed to find green fingered tenants for our house, but I'm starting afresh in foreign climes....
I've always divided my gardens before - my last garden was half formal garden and half kitchen garden, before that I had a flower garden at home and also an allotment. This time I want to try a more mixed, permaculture approach and use edibles ornamentally.
Yesterday I sowed tomatoes, chillies, sweet peppers, aubergines and artichokes. And today I have sown sweet peas. I have been pottering outside, but am itching for the weather to warm up a bit so that I can crack on big style!

Welcome Hounds! I'm about to set up an ornamental edible bi/perennial bed so it would be interesting to compare notes! So far I'm planning to include chilean guava, pineapple guava, calycanthus floridus, Japanese wineberry, goji berry, Chinese chives, persian shallots, perennial kale, alpine strawberries, cannas, dahlias, angelica, globe artichokes, lovage, various herbs and maybe some skirret if I can get hold of it. No idea how it will all work but it's an interesting challenge!

Welcome Hounds :)
is the climate similar to here, or is it totally different? May have a large impact on what varieties you grow.
Una- that sounds sounds good - are you thinking a cottage style , or parterre ?
I had angelica at the allotment - what a monster, but the most gorgeous flowers ( though edible, it looks a right faff to get anything worthwhile to use , mind! )
DearMrDilkington - mm, early in truth for tomatoes I fear - you only plant them out when there is no chance of a late frost .
I don't sow mine until March, inside, but I am in Yorkshire, and grow them in a greenhouse .
user -root riddled soil is a bit of a pain - dry and depleted I suspect -definitely need the raised beds , though raspberries once they are established should be no problem. You may have more of a problem with the potatoes , as they do need a fair amount of water to thrive and produce a decent crop.

Bookbook.... ummm?.... will be cottage style in an island bed. I'm planning to have herbs and a few other bits that like dryness/lots of sun up the south end, build up height with the shrubs, hopefully with a nice froth of angelica/lovage/sweet cicely over the top and then have some more shade tolerant plants at the north end. Oh, and plants that will need digging up (dahlias, cannas, persian shallots, skirret) grouped together so I don't disturb everything else.

I had an angelica plant at our old house, had several frustrating years and then one year it took off and we had enough for some truly delicious homemade candied angelica.

Hello all

Cold but bright and calm here today so legged it up to the plot for an hour. Got my 3 rhubarb crowns and 3 blueberry plants in.

Dug the bed that the rhubarb was going into. It had a couple of sacks of well rotted manure on it about 7 weeks ago and it was bursting with worms. Am hoping it isnt too rich but apparently rhubarb loves manure so fingers crossed. .

I need to get some feed for the blueberries I think. That eracious feed is it? Haven't tested to see if the soil is acid or alkaline. I really ought to.

We got the gate on too. Only taken us 9 months. Still lots and lots to do but I can finally see a proper plot shaping up. Lots of structres to make this year. I want brassicas this year and a little polytunnel. And the chicken run doing. But it's a world of difference to what we took on last year.

Must get a couple of photos next time I am up.

I lost tomatoes in may too, before we got the plot. I definitely won't be putting anything out before then. We didn't plant anything until the end of may and it all caught up. Will have stuff on the windowsill and am getting a little plastic greenhouse for setting stuff off in at home. If it's going to be really cold I can always bring things inside.

Uma That sounds like an interesting mix. I love globe artichokes as architectural plants and am a big fan of dahlias and cannas.
bookbook I'm in the Southern part of Germany so the big difference is that summers are longer and quite a bit warmer. It's going to be a bit of trial and error...
Tomorrow is forecast to be cold but sunny, so I'm planning an afternoon of digging!

Frouby I desperately need to get my rhubarb in. I bought some with me - it's been living in a trug for over 6 months now...poor thing. Yours sounds positively pampered!

Thanks bookbook. I'm in the frozen North of England. Weather doesn't really warm up till late so short growing season. I do have a greenhouse though. Not sure what soil I have - not clay but I think it lacks humous as it often seems dry under the surface.

Join the club Gru - I'm not soooo far north,- just the Yorkshire Wolds . So chuck on whatever organic matter you can get hold of to add, it never hurts

Morning! Welcome to everyone new! Sounds like we're gradually starting to get busy. Impressed at everyone starting off seeds already. Not having a greenhouse or proper window sills really hampers me starting off things but being in the south east they will catch up anyway.

Una what a good mix of plants you are trying, sounds so much more interesting than potatoes and onions! My mum used to have an angelica plant and I remember that it seeded itself everywhere so that is something to watch out for.

We were over at the plot at the weekend. It was a lovely sunny day. Shifted some more manure - it is at the other end of the allotments from our plot so it's good exercise moving it. Cleared a bit more of the overgrown beds. My strawberry plants turned up last week but I held off planting them out because of the frosts - was glad I didn't because it was frosty on Sunday night. They are plonked together in a small pot at the moment. Hopefully do something with them this weekend.

Cedar I am hoping I've not gone too far off piste and put together something unmanageable! I do like to have as much as possible of our planting provide food (for us or our bees!) though my husband isn't happy if I mix food and non-food plants in the same bed and I'm running out of space in the main food planting areas. Hence my plan to have a whole bed of unusual edibles.

I've just counted and we have or are about to get 30 different sorts of fruit. And I still haven't got a pear tree... Must. Stop. Buying. Plants!

Uma My husband can't stand my more freestyled approach. He likes order, everything in straight lines and with very neat edges. I like curves and riotous, ramshackle abundance. Fortunately, he more or less leaves me to it!

Cedar I planted out my strawberries yesterday and was gutted to discover about a quarter of them had fallen prey to the dreaded vine weevil!

TheHoundsofLove how disappointing about the strawberries!

Uma - just tell him they're ornamental plants - the crops are a bonus! 30 different sorts of fruit is very impressive.

We are steadily eating our way through last year's blackberry glut. I don't think we'll get nearly so much this year as we gave the plants a good hack which isn't how you're supposed to prune them but needs must when they're starting to take over. The challenge this year will be to get to the blackcurrant crop before the birds find it. They don't seem as interested in blackberries - although there are a lot around so maybe just didn't get as far as my ones.

Afternoon!
Just rubbish weather here today - much colder with rain that wasn't forecast. In truth , I have only been to the plot to pick veg - sprouts and savoy cabbage. It is so wet underfoot, it wouldn't be good to go on the land anyway.
Hounds - oh rubbish luck with weevils - evil critters. They will at least do runners this year when they get settled in though, so hopefully not all is lost. Soutern Germany should be pretty good growing climate , plenty of ripening time for fruit! Your poor rhubarb - they do like
plenty of feed and water , but I'm sure it will get going when it's planted :)
Cedar - don't be too sure on those blackberries - they are thugs , so you may just have encouraged them!
Its the redcurrants the birds go for here - I have them and the blackcurrants and white currants in the fruit cage, but they started stripping the gooseberries this last year ..
Pic of my thug rhubarb . I also have 8 sprouted broad beans in the greenhouse - surely spring isn't too far away?
I was supposed to sow sweet peas this week, and found out I didn't have any seeds- clean forgot to order them, so I need a trip out to buy them, and the seed potatoes this week

Hi guys, can I join you? I live in Austria so slightly different climate, later, longer and supposedly colder winter but warmer and drier in the summer.

Have been growing stuff in pots and troughs but keeping constant water has been a big problem so looking at building some raised beds. Have a 3 week old, 4 year old and 7 year old so may be being a bit optomistic!

Does anyone do raised beds? I am looking for an optimum size so they can stay moist but all areas are easy to reach

We've got unexpected warm sun here in NW England. Managed to do some chores in the garden but know from bitter experience not to plant any veg out yet.
Plotting some second earlies planting and got pea shoots growing on the windowledge.

We built a shed today! Was given to us and needs a bit of TLC on the front as you can see, but it'll do for the time being. Colleagues at the velodrome where we work also donated some tools they no longer use, so now we have somewhere to put them.

Sorted out our seed potatoes into egg boxes yesterday and several staff have taken them home to chit - we are hoping that this helps them to "buy in" to our allotment, as we do want to make sure that it's for staff, not just H and I. Hard getting people out in the Mancunian rain though - most of our plot looks like the Somme at the moment.

We have a massive patch of bamboo that we are trying to get rid of, (you can see it to the back of the shed) but the roots are an absolute nightmare. Any suggestions?