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

Rhubarb we had a few things stolen the other month. Nothing off high value but very annoying. Have padlocked the shed now and need a chain to do the main gate too.

Seedlings in the windowsill have started to poke through. Very excited.

And dp has been tp the local auction today and picked up 40 lengths of timber to make some more beds. Will be for the potatoes when it finally dries up enough to get them in!

Am doing loads of sowing as soon as we get a dry day. Only in the little greenhouse but really want to get some stuff started.

Does anyone have a cherry tree? Was looking at them at our local garden centre and am tempted. The dcs love cherries but they are so expensive to buy. But not sure how sweet UK cherries are.

Really want to get busy on the plot and so fed up of the bloody weather.

cherries - depends on variety , should say on the label.
moreille is very tart, but great for cooking/baking, very flavourful.

There were a few different varieties brownelephant. Moreille was one and a couple of others. Bit spendy at £35 but wouldn't mind the investment if I knew they would be eaten. I might have a google of best eating variety and see what they come up as.

These were well grown trees though. About 5ft I think on dwarf rootstock so not going to take over hopefully.

I have a cherry tree in a pot - it was a lidl special 3 or 4 years ago. It's a sour cherry (Meikers iirc? ) and thus very happy in the shade. I have plenty of shade.

2 years ago I had a palm full of fruit, then last year, over a bowl full. Very exciting. I did have to net as the blackbirds and Co would strip it in seconds, but that was easily as it's quite a small tree. I'd be very aware of the need to net, and thus buy a plant for a pot, or on a very dwarfing rootstock if to be planted out in the open, if you want any fruit at all!

We have Stella which is nice and sweet. Though I think if I were to get a new tree I'd get one of these;

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/25/how-to-grow-and-use-sour-cherries

Afternoon !
well, rain here today again, so no plot, and a horrid forecast for tomorrow too . Have broken out the last stored Crown Prince squash instead of picking sprouting broccoli.
gussy - hah - a mender - its a great achievement , getting something going!
Rhubarb - I don't do anything in the least really with my leeks . I don't use anything to cover them, as they are as tough as old boots . Those leeks have been through the snow and cold snap no problem. I have just sown my first succession sowing of them last week - they are just germinating now. I will sow another 2 lots of succession ones with 3 week intervals. I leave them in the pot they are in until they are tall enough to peek out of the top of the 6" hole I dib into the ground. They just get separated gently, one dropped in the hole, and filled up with water. They then get left to their own devices in truth. If any don't survive, the hole gets filled with one from the next sowing . ( Which is why, just occasionally I will get 2 thin leeks in one hole!) . I grow 2 varieties - 'Jolant' for before the bad weather comes in and 'Blue Solaise' for over winter . I think I just have good ground for them - I am on chalk , so good drainage, and a fairly stony open soil .
More tomatoes and another aubergine have germinated - still no sign of peppers .....

Rain here too but I DID go to the plot, mostly to escape annoying, sugared-up family for a bit.

I planted out a few strawbs, and I had 2 bits of already-divided-up rhubarb to relocate - 1 at the plot, and 1 at home. The plot one I'd previously got started on a nice hole, at the shady end, and put some manure there and covered it with plastic. But today that was teeming with bajillions (fine, 50?) 1 cm big froglets. Which I love and could not disturb. So I hacked another crappy and ill prepared hole in the clay and shoved in there instead.

When I got home, I was really wet and muddy so shoved the other one in too quickly too, in a really damp spot.

Luckily I have plenty of other rhubarb.

Dry day here today - not warm or bright, but at least dry! Down at the plot I got my potatoes in (yay!) and planted some lettuces under the cloche (I sowed them indoors about a month ago). Early carrots are germinating under the cloche too, took the fleece off the broad beans I put on for the snow, and they’re looking good. Need weeding though!

In the greenhouse I sowed Brussels sprouts & calabrese, and then at home sowed lemongrass, basil, okra, physalis and tomatillo.... few experiments there, we’ll see how they go!

Overall feeling fairly on top of things - hoping I can keep up this month, as an away for the first week in May, so feel like I need to be super on top of things before I go away.

Interesting Book, I am wondering whether or not to do leeks this year, we're on clay here so less ideal conditions even in the beds. Third batch of seeds went into the propagator today, the greenhouse is looking nice and full with potted on plantlets which is very satisfying.

I'm relatively new to this and built a 2.5 x 2.5m raised bed in my garden for veg last year. I 'separate' it into three strips (0.8 x 2.5m each) for rotating (i realise this isn't perfect but the best I can do). I also have a side bed for fruit. Last year went quite well and I had success with the runner beans, peas and potatoes. But just had a few questions for those with more experience...

• I'd like to have some late winter, early spring produce, what would you recommend and where/when would you plant it?
• is it ok to put down planks to walk on or does it compress the soil too much?
• is there anything else that would sit nicely in here that does not need huge amounts of space?
• How many raspberry canes to plant and when to plant them?
• how to keep caterpillars off the cabbages?

For info the three strips I'm planning are:
Strip 1 potatoes, carrots, onions,
Strip 2 kale, cabbages, courgette, (might try Brussels too)
Strip 3 runner beans, French beans, peas, tomatoes

Any other advice for a newbie would be appreciated, thanks xxx

I have started off some Brussels sprouts and winter cabbage now.

Morning !
horrid here, but rain not sleet ( small mercies)
Welcome lizard :) . Sounds like you are doing really well ! Whereabouts are you? You do need to weigh up gain of winter veg, with how long it is in the ground, taking up space in truth - ( My favourite is sprouting broccoli, but they are tall, take up a fair bit of space and are in the ground nearly 9 months before harvest ). I would look at chard - a couple of plants would give you pickings through winter . Potatoes come out mid /late summer, so if you got plants going, they may go in there perhaps. I would also look at doing squashes . It is possible to train them up supports, so that may be a possibility too . I'm sure Spotted did that with trombochino , but any of the smaller varieties would work ( Monty did that last year on GW ) . Borlotti beans are prolific, and dry well for over winter , and if you get the climbing ones, will use less space . How about beetroot ? Small sowings when a space comes clear - and you can use the leaves in salad too.
Yes , use planks if you need to walk on the soil . Raspberry canes - personally I think you need a minimum of 6, they can cope with some shade - get them in pronto!! - be aware they are thugs , and will thicken up over time, so don't put too near your beds if possible . Best thing to stop caterpillars is barriers to the butterflies. So - netting or enviromesh are the best options. If using netting, make sure it is not draped on the plants - use hoops or canes to keep it away - and make sure the size of the netting is small - about 6/7 mm is advised, otherwise they can get through the holes .

Good afternoon. Weather is still pretty damp here. Had last week off but didn't get as much done as we would have liked. Still, early potatoes are in and the broad bean bed is planted up with the results of successional sowings.

After growing a cake last year, this year's project is to try and grow beer. To this end hops were planted and yesterday I managed to get the barley bed down. Probably late but honestly the ground and weather haven't been up to an earlier sowing.

Could do with a couple of dry weeks. Parts of the plot are actually under water!

My purple sprouting broccoli seeds ... have sprouted!!! Ok, this is actually only interesting to me .

Welcome Lizard. The book "Grow all you can eat in 3 square feet" has some handy plans for successional planting to make the most of your space. But the most important thing is to grow what you like to eat! Chard is lovely and very versatile. I grew tromboncino (like long courgettes) last year but they do need some solid support. This year I'm doing miniature pumpkins. Personally I wouldn't bother with onions or potatoes if you're short on space as they take up a lot of room and they're pretty cheap to buy.

I always grow Festival up supports - they're tasty little winter squashes.
I would also recommend swiss chard - Bright Lights is so attractive and very versatile as you can pick some of the young leaves to add to salads and leave others to mature as a winter crop.

Thanks @TheHoundsofLove @UnaOfStormhold and @bookbook. I might give chard a go as I do like that. And what sort of supports do you use for squash?

This may be a stupid question but do you keep them netted all year or just when the butterflies are laying (and when is that)?

I'm a bit heath robinson tbh lizard - but an ornamental arch , or trellis perhaps. re netting - I have mine covered all the time in a brassica cage. The butterflies will come out any time it's warm enough , though mainly from April onwards up to about August.

booky your memory is astounding. I did indeed grow tromboncino vertically - the year before last ! I had a cheap arch from wilko and tied it in with twine, but Tbh it was really keen to climb and cling. It was prolific to say the least. Loads of fruit, and they grew massive if I let them. But they were not the tastiest courgette/squash, and didn't have the keeping qualities of other squash.

Last year I tried a climbing yellow courgette. It was yellow but it did not climb, and was reluctant to be tied in. I've also tried little gem role squash, again over an arch. This year I might go back to tromboncino (along with lots of other standard courgettes). For my squash, I'm trying butternuts for the first time - varieties Harrier, Hercules and Hunter. I'm also going to try Fairy Squash.

I say that: I pondered starting the big seed sow today, but decided it was still too cold, and that I'd be better off 'tidying up' the hot cross buns. So I've still not sown ANY Edibles yet. The only things that have germinated are sweet peas and they are getting leggy already even through they're in a conservatory with a good aspect as there is still not enough light.

Gnome my plot was like that - but smaller and messier, obvs

Lizard, welcome! And hello everyone else! Getting busier :-)

I am also quite keen on successional planting, as I have a half-size plot but only a third of it roughly is rotational veg beds (the rest perennials, fruit, herbs etc). Some ideas I’m planning to try this year:

• I’ve overwintered garlic which is doing really well, I’ll start leeks in the greenhouse and then put them in the same space when the garlic comes out midsummer. Leeks will then be in the ground through autumn & winter.

• I’m only doing early potatoes, I think they’re worth it because supermarket spuds aren’t a patch on freshly dug new potatoes 😋, and then the brassicas (again started in the greenhouse) will go in after the potatoes are harvested.

• co-planting radishes in the same row as parsnips, as a quick catch crop whilst the parsnips get established, and interplanting the rows with calendula (blatantly copying this from a YouTube channel) which again will be over by the time the parsnips are getting ready.

-underplanting climbing beans with lettuces, and corn with squashes.

I guess my main perennial bed is quite space-saving too, although the jury is still out as to how well it will work long term - I’ve got fruit trees being trained into a ‘fence’ at the back with tulips underneath, asparagus in the middle of the bed, strawberries at the front (and some framberries), rhubarb at one end and (planned addition this year) globe artichokes at the other. This will be the first year with everything in - last year the asparagus did well, obviously didn’t harvest any but the ferns looked nice! The fruit trees didn’t do much in their first year, but are all budding up now, so we’ll see!

That turned into a bit of an essay, sorry!

TheSpottedZebra it only looks tidy. A thick layer of horse poo is covering a multitude of sins

Morning all.

We all seem to be busy making plans and starting stuff off. I planted some seeds this morning and they are in the mini greenhouse at home. I have done dwarf french bean, runner beans and leeks. Corgettes and cucumbers. A couple of tomato plants to fill the tray. And then a tray of sweet peas and a tray of cosmos for the pots at home.

Am hoping they will be warm enough to germinate. The green house only gets about 7 hours of full sun as the back garden is north facing. They would probably be better in the front but it's a tiny little strip and I suspect it would get fiddled with by kids walking past.

I really need to get to the plot and start preparing beds for the spuds but it will be far too wet unless we have some drier weather.

I found a stash of seeds from last year too. Quite a lot of brassicas which I didn't bother with last year due to not having enough workable space. I need to look how many beds I have and what will be going where. We really wanted a polytunnel for this year but with the wedding coming up I don't think we can afford a decent one just yet. And I suspect it's one of those things you need to buy a decent one of.

So where I have left the space for it I might as well plant stuff.

Hope everyone had a lovely and productive Easter weekend. Quick question on courgettes....where is it best to plant them. I was going to put it at the end of the cabbage and kale but wasn't sure if summer squash fit into that group or the legumes like the winter squash. Thanks everyone.

It has been wet again today, and no plot tomorrow either as I have DGS , so roll on Thursday .
Rather hoping to get on with seed sowing this week .
lizard - I tend to treat courgettes ( and squashes) as the 'other' in rotation - so plonk them , along with spinach, wherever is left after I place all the other things. They may need a feed next to the kale and cabbage - I always think leafy greens like a bit of extra nitrogen - something like chicken pellets :)