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 Lizard
Courgettes can fit in anywhere you like really, they’re not part of any strict rotation like brassicas/legumes/spuds. Just remember don’t do too many plants, they are prolific!

Back from a trip away so planning on starting some seedlings off today. Hoped to get outside as well but it's chucking it down so I'm trying to decide exactly how to layout the raised beds I'm intending on building this week.

Am bored of rain now. Wish it would stop. Actually I think it is due to be drier tomorrow but I will be working then.

DD and I managed to plant the potatoes on Monday. The weather forecast had said rain all day but it was dry in the morning so I persuaded her (OK bribed her) to help me get the spuds in. After a crisis with the chitting (we put them in the shed and it was clearly too cold or damp or something so some rotted which meant an emergency trip to buy some more) we are growing Arran Pilot, Athlete (second earlies not a variety I know but they had them at the garden centre) and Sarpo Mira. Soil was very soggy in places but not underwater at any rate. It is on a slope which will help.

My barerooted strawberries have all gone into a sulk and I think they are all dead. I shoved them in the plant pots several weeks ago because it was too cold to plant out and they've all drooped and look awful. So I'm annoyed about that.

We are away next week. I am hoping I might get my onions planted late tomorrow afternoon after work if it stays dry enough.

Meant to say that I feel slightly behind but checked my notes from last year and actually am at about the same point. And last year we had frosts and snow in late April. I won't start sowing for a couple more weeks or more. But then I don't have a greenhouse.

Cedar03 if it is any comfort not a single one of the new strawberries I planted in their luxury, manured and plastic covered bed have deigned to show their faces yet. Even the old established bed only has a couple of plants showing some green. So all is not lost yet!

Cedar - similar here, my strawberries from runners appear to all be dead. I bought a lot on impulse in Lidl earlier in the week (£2.99 for 6). Haven't put them in yet, plot is like a swamp. I also had my chitting potatoes rot on me, so I have got more chitting in a drier place but again too wet to plant out. The weather is frustrating but I am enjoying the longer evenings.

I haven't sown much yet either, but aiming to remedy that this weekend.

Today I sowed. I know it's still freezing outside, but all this talk of warm weather tomorrow and Fri got me all excited. Yes, I am ignoring the weather reports about a big storm coming. I'm really missing being able to get out and do anything in the garden - my plot is a swamp, and I literally have ducks paddling happily in my back lawn/pond.

So, I sowed the first batch of tomatoes (12 vars thus far as that's all the room I had in the propagator), plus some courgettes that I have loads of seed of, so can happily chance an early sow. And some herbs that will take a while or possibly an eternity to germinate. And some mange tout peas - Oregon something green ones and Shiraz purples. I can always eatbthe shoots if there in danger of legginess.

And I need to re sow my sweet peas I fear - leggy, patchy germination and an odd mold on the surface...

But - I'm very glad that I have had my fingers in compost today

they're not there.

And other typos, but none so heinous.

I hope you don't mind if I join in.

My dh has built me two raised beds. We have enclosed them as we have deer and badgers. Not a massive growing area but enough to keep me happy. I am planning on dividing them up into sq foot segments. Has anyone tried this? I'm very excited to get started. We had an allotment many years ago so looking forward to getting back into growing our own veggies.

Hi everyone, can I join?
We got our plot last September so have been trying to sort it out over winter, it’s a big plot so been doing it in bitesize chunks. The front half has been tackled and now has 8 beds (1 in use with garlic and shallots we planted last autumn) so I have 7 ready for planting.
Second half of our plot is still a jungle! Our shed got delivered last week but it’s been to wet to prep the ground, hoping to get that done this weekend though.
Got some seeds sown indoors over Easter and now they all need potting on and I’m running out of space is it still to cold to set up my plastic greenhouse outside do you think? I’m in the south east.
Sorry about the essay!

Thanks for the info, I was hoping you'd say that. I'm only doing one courgette plant as I'm the only one who likes them but I have them most days. Disaster yesterday as I only have a plastic greenhouse until I can afford a proper one and the cover blew off in the wind (hubby not happy at having to chase it down the road 😂). It was staked in but have now put soil bags and heavy planters around the base to hopefully keep in place. Unfortunately that meant I had to replant half of what I did at the weekend as they had all been tipped over. I long for a proper greenhouse....all good things to those who wait.

Oh no Lizard! Commiserations. I guess at least they weren’t baby plants that you’d spent weeks nurturing, re-sow and it won’t take too long to catch up.

Welcome perhaps and dreaming! I empathise with the running out of space indoors, every south-facing window is now filled with trays and propagators. Things are germinating in my cold greenhouse too, it’s just difficult to judge when babies that need heat to start are ok to go out there!

I should have some time to plot today, and weather forecast is bright and sunny. Thinking of working on what will be the pond/bog bed -needs weeding and a bit more digging to be ready for lining. Weeding veg beds and general tidying to be done as well.

Happy plotting everyone!

I am also staring at my window seedlings and debating evicting them to the mini greenhouse. They are reaching for the light a little bit and don't want them leggy and weedy.

But also don't want to freeze them to death either. It's mainly tomatoes and a couple of peppers that havent poked through yet. I might shove them in the mini greenhouse with a plastic propagtor lid on for an extra layer.

Dry, bright and sunny here all day today. Dp finishes work early tomorrow so might have an afternoon on the plot. Can paint my timber and hope it dries in time for him to make the beds up for the spuds to go in. Then can hopefully see what space I have for other things and start making a plan of what goes where.

Just been brave and put some of my seedlings in their pots out in the sun. We had frost last night but I am considering moving them to the cold frame at the weekend. I'm working from home today so every hour or so, I will pop into the garden and move the little pots to follow the sun.
Autumn/winter brassicas , tomatoes, calendula, peppers (no show yet) and, on a whim, celery.

Welcome to the thread perhaps and dreaming. There is someone on this thread who gardens with the challenge of deer but I can't remember who it is.

Dreaming you sound as if you are doing well if you have managed to get half your plot sorted out already. I took on an overgrown half plot next to my existing plot about 18 months ago and it is still half a jungle. Once the growing season gets into full swing I found I had to concentrate on the plants and ignore the jungle part. We've got about half of it back into shape now the rest is a rather overgrown fruit patch with raspberries running riot.

I have to be very patient with seed sowing because we don't really have proper window sills in our house so I am very limited about where I can put seed trays. At the moment that space is being hogged by the sulking strawberries. We'll gear up when we are back from our holiday.

Welcome perhaps and dreaming

Perhaps - we loosely follow the square foot method at home in our raised beds (or the 33cm method as we built our raised beds metrically!). When we first started I was a strict about marking out the squares with string but over time you can do it by eye.

I used Mel Bartholemew's book on square foot gardening and I've found that most of his planting guides are pretty sound but some are totally bonkers (number of strawberry plants to a square for example). So definitely trust your instincts and learn from previous sowings!

I do love the variety that you end up with in each raised bed if you mix it up a bit. The garden looks attractive as well as being productive.

Hi everyone, can I join? We moved to this house 6 months ago and it has a huge veg patch. Was a big muddy space initially with lots of raspberry canes along one side. I dont really know what Im doing but Im having a lot of fun doing it!

So far Ive dug over all the soil, weeded and then dug compost in. Ive put pathways through it (edged with old fence boards) to divide it into more accessible and manageable chunks. We also have a decent sized conservatory which is currently full of seedlings and seed trays dotted around DCs toys (using it as a playroom).

What I need advise on is rabbits. We are overrun with them. The back hedge is full of burrows, and in the evening there are loads out on the lawn grazing and bunnying about. Ive put up pallet fencing all round the edge as local chap was giving loads away for free, dug it down so they cant tunnel under but is it also worth netting everything when it goes out?

We also get a lot of pigeons, pheasants and squirrels who wont be slowed by the fence.

Am really enjoying this new project, its great for the soul!

Have been away for a few days, can't wait to get into the greenhouse and see how everything is doing. Hoping nothing has died on me while I was away!

Afternoon!
wow - so many newbies
welcome perhaps , Dreaming and Shadows :) great to have you on board. As everyone knows, I am exceedingly nosey, and ask where everyone is - North/South/East/West. Ask away - there is usually someone who can help , or commiserate!
Dreaming - I put up my plastic greenhouse yesterday- mines an overflow for my cold greenhouse, and to harden off stuff, but I have put my germinated things in there already, to make room for new sowings.I'm in Yorkshire, so I don't think you will have a problem. Just weight it down well .
Dreaming - rabbits will try anything to get in and nibble - is the pallett fencing solid, or have you gaps in the planks . Because if you do, they will squeeze through, so maybe the addition of chicken wire will help. Definitely need netting re pigeons - they ravage anything on our allotment site , and think about butterfly netting too to guard against cabbage whites. Its a brutal war against pests out there!
I went and did some picking today - no planting. Its still too wet and cold for potatoes - hoping to get them planted next week. I picked sprouting broccoli, my last cauliflower, some perpetual spinach and a bit of celery leaf. This afternoon , I have enjoyed an hour in the greenhouse sowing brassicas ( it was sooooo warm in there!) - done brussels sprouts, calabrese, lots of different sprouting broccoli varieties and a lot of my bee friendly flowers for cutting . Feeling as if its just about to really motor now. And, and - my asparagus is showing !!!
Spotted how many varieties of tomatoes ? - fingers crossed for you this year. We need a mantra of 'no blight' for you.

It sounds like everyone is getting on well.
Quite a lot of my seedlings are hardened off and living outside now - globe artichokes, cosmos, calendula, tagettes, coriander, parsley and dill. I've also got brussels, kale, broad beans and flower sprouts growing in modules outside. I'm going to sow psb, perpetual spinach and beetroot this weekend. Plus, I need to prick out swiss chard and lettuces.

Ooh asaparagus! How exciting! I keep peering at my asparagus beds but nothing here yet. The first of my tulips have flowered though, so have bought home a bunch of home-grown daffodils & purple tulips for the house, which is nice and cheering. Spent a happy hour or so up the plot this afternoon, potted up the tea plants in the greenhouse, weeded what will be the pond, and where the peas are going, and the garlic & onion beds. Lovely working in the sun for a change.

Hmmm asparagus definitely. I lovingly cleared a space for the asparagus and planted it last weekend knowing I'd have a while to wait before I harvest it. That said I've just seen lovely holes right where I planted it, but no sign of the plants....gotta love my dog 🙄🙄🙄

I need a third disaster now 😳

Thanks for the book recommendation Clarabellski. I will check it out.

I've painted my raised beds today ready for the soil delivery tomorrow! 2 x 1ton bags. One of top soil and the other manure. Do you think I'll be ok mixing 2 parts top soil to 1 part manure?

Hopefully, I can sow some more seeds tomorrow. I've only got toms, chillies and basil at the moment. I have bought a tiny greenhouse cabinet from ikea. We are in the South East so I assume I can start using it straight away for moving the seedlings onto?

Glad I'm not the only asparagus-peerer! No sign of mine yet but I live in hope :) They're now in their second year (from crowns) so apparently we can do a little light picking.

I'd missed Zebra's 12 varieties of tomatoes - that is seriously impressive!

Perhaps, I think I did two parts topsoil to one part manure and one part leaf mould, missing out the manure on the bed I was putting my carrots etc in. So long as your manure is well rotted I'd have thought you'd be fine.