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

What we inherited. It doesn't show it properly but the weeds and brambles were 6ft high and there was about a 3 tonne pile of rubble in the middle of it. We have removed 3 mini skips and 2 bathtubs full of glass, a skip full of greenhouse frames and rubble and we are still filling trugs full of broken glass as we did a new area up. There was no fencing, no shed, no path or beds.

Just brambles and nettles. Oh, and an apple tree and a few neglected rasperry canes.

Taken this morning.

Afternoon!
welcome back Ipanema :)
echt - don't rub it in! - though to be fair, it is dry, no wind and mild today
tiz - that looks really pretty though, and easy to reach everywhere - looks a bit like the Carol Klein book .
Frouby - those pictures - an amazing amount done .
I think everyone is getting the itch to just get going
I went down to the plot today to plant potatoes . I brought them back home - the best man on the whole site for growing things has not planted his - enough said. I did plant up my broad bean seedlings, hoe around the garlic and shallots, and started the very tedious job of taking down the netting around the fruit cage. It has been patched up for the last two years, so was a challenge, to say the least .
There are rabbit scrapes/holes everywhere a bare patch of earth is available around my shed . The growing area is wire fenced, so they can't get in there, but they are digging holes around my plum/gage and loganberry . I bet they are living under the shed. We will have to block up the gap underneath I suppose. < sighs and adds job to list>

Any recommendations for gloves for small hands? No idea where my existing ones came from but they're worn through now. I like the ones that are rubberised on the palm side.

Frouby you sound very on top of things! I planted my asparagus bed in November 16 with 2yo crowns, last year it had quite a lot of spindly ferns, we left it alone, will pick a bit this year. I also inherited a small established patch which was very productive last year, and where my peering was rewarded with spotting the first shoot yesterday! I actually squee-ed out loud, DP laughed at me . Nothing from my own babies yet though.

Rhubarb also doing well here think I might get an early pick at it soon. Seedlings are doing alright everywhere, today sowed marigolds, sunflowers and celeriac - celeriac is on-time for my plan (based on a website I can’t find now that gave planting times geographically) but everyone on YouTube seems to have put their’s in much earlier. I’ve put it in the heated propagator so hopefully I’ll catch up. Potted on some aubergines, and melons whose roots were starting to peek through the bottoms of their pots. Pricked out my re-sown peppers and chillies, they’re so slow and small!

I’m thinking of taking some tomato seedlings down to the greenhouse. I’ve got more seedlings than I need plants anyway, so I’ll take a few of each variety, and it won’t be the end of the world if they don’t make it, but they can be my canary to see how my indoor seedling will fare down there! But the next few weeks I want to start courgettes, squash, cucumber, corn etc and there’s going to be no windowsill space at all!

Starting to feel that excitement of everything getting going for the year. I’m sure soon to be joined by sense of worry and panic that I can’t keep up with it all!!!

Frouby that is very impressive progress.

Book I'm a bit further south than you I think. Managed to get one bed of potatoes in today and just one row of another bed but then the rain started properly so gave up for this weekend.

Thinking about getting a tiller, we already have a rotavator. Is a tiller worth it?

Join me, tiz yes, they're kids' gloves I'm fed up of searching for small women's gloves when these do me just fine. And they're cheap.

So much progress, Frouby ! You must be very proud indeed.

It's raining here today again. Heavily actually. Annoying, as I'd hoped to go to the plot today. I did garden jobs yesterday, so I've not been all weekend. But hey, who cares, as MY TOMATOES HAVE STARTED TO GERMINATE. Very exciting. I have also sown runner beans, and may do some french beans too. The house is starting to fill up with loo rolls in mushroom boxes, and it makes me happy.

Hallo, echt! And thanks for the reminder about NZ spinach - I tasted some last year and it was nice. Maybe I should try that this year? I know I've seen seed for sale somewhere...

I'll take a look at those thanks TheSpottedZebra , I tried some kids gloves on in B&Q the other day but they were too big!

I was just about to recommend the Wilko kids gloves but I see Zebra got there first!

Tizwoz try the builders clothes section in b and q. They do xsmall builders gloves which I use. I have small hands too.

I can look even more sadly at my hands - I use large ( or mens..... )
Yes Gnome - hazily I think you are North Midlands perhaps ?- I'm up on the Yorkshire Wolds , was told by old timer not to think about planting potatoes for another 1-2 weeks .
I decided therefore to sow some peas at home in pots :)

Book I am not a million miles from you then. On the Rotherham/Barnsley border in s yorks.

My spuds aren't in yet either. And probably won't be for a couple of weeks. They didn't go in last year until about mid june as we didnt get the plot until May so we were late getting anything in. Still caught up tho.

Yep Frouby - east of York here . thats the thing - they nearly always catch up in the end, as they are not checked to start with in my mind :)

East Midlands/East Anglia/Central so a fair bit further south. Some of the other plotters are delaying putting potatoes in yet, others (like me) have already started.

Does anyone have a Mantis tiller? Are they worth the cost?

our NDN has one for getting his beds ready . A few cheaper alternatives around too ( I get told you are paying for the name) Haven't ever used on myself, but they are very popular on our site for prep work

Frouby that is an amazing transformation!

East here and people have started planting potatoes. Holding off here for a few more weeks as only have 2nd earlies.

Prepared another of our beds for planting, tidied up, more weeding and manuring.

Now need to ensure I am regularly sowing and potting on. Tomatoes and pumpkins have germinated, still waiting for the Crown Prince Squashes though!

Zebra I remembered to save the toilet tolls this year! So a similar look is appearing here.

Thanks Book. The rotavator breaks down the clods well but we never seem to get to the fine tilth others have. Good point about paying for the name. Even the second hand ones command a high price.

I saw this on Aldi's website. Might not work if you have an allotment without power though.

www.aldi.co.uk/gardenline-electric-tiller/p/082355197669800

Good evening. Frouby your progress puts me to shame . A question about PSB. My seedlings are very leggy, they have now got the first set of 'true' leaves. Should I pinch out these, to make them more sturdy and bushy?

Thank you perhapstomorrow unfortunately no power on the field. On the other hand we are next to the fence so I wonder if I could bribe one of the neighbouring households with the promise of fruit and vegetables through the season.

Hmm.....

Evening all,

frouby that’s great progress!

Yay to tomatoes germinating zebra I’m still waiting on mine.

elephanyoverthehill sorry I can’t help on the psb but all my brassica seedlings have gone leggy too, someone said when repotting them to put them in deeper so most of the leggy part is then in soil, does that work does anyone know? I’d hate to lose them now by doing something silly!

Just sat down to write a list of jobs for he plot I want done this week, it’s getting longer by the minute...

South coast here so felt potatoes were worth a go. This is of course the disadvantage of garden veg patches - I don't know what my neighbours are planting so can't benefit from their experience.

Dreaming I have done that - some plants will root from the buried stem but even if they don't, it does help stop them flopping over, and it makes me feel better about them. Can you get them a bit more light? Even just a bit of foil behind them to reflect the light back onto them can help.

Wow Frouby, that's a real transformation!

when repotting them to put them in deeper so most of the leggy part is then in soil, does that work does anyone know?

I do this with my tomatoes, they're doing well so far. Don't know about other types of plants though.