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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

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

987 replies

bookbook · 08/09/2017 20:17

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
126
gussyfinknottle · 11/04/2018 10:31

Dreaming, I am going to start my chick peas in one of those long root trainer things. Apparently chick peas hate root disturbance and need lots of space for the roots to grow down. Also, you only get a couple of chick peas per pod, as it were. No I haven't started them yet either.
I am taking the view that all bets are off with start times. Outside our house is a little shrub that has, for the past 11 years, been in flower on my DD's early April birthday. Not even close at the moment.

Dreamingoutloud7 · 11/04/2018 10:49

Thanks for the root trainer tip gussyfinknottle they’re on offer on amazon today it seems so I might grab one to start the chick peas off.
I saw that they don’t grow many chick peas per pod, will have to sow quite a dew it seems!

tizwozliz · 11/04/2018 11:08

Thanks for the Wilko glove tip, i picked some up today. They were well hidden so I'd never have seen them if I hadn't gone looking specifically.

Also bought some purple queen dwarf french bean seeds, I might just sow them direct in a month or so as not got room for anything else indoors right now.

Weather is miserable again here and forecast the same for tomorrow, although fingers crossed should be nice at the weekend.

bookbook · 11/04/2018 11:10

well, I have been, picked and got back. 6º here

I dug up all my runt savoys, the ones that didn't really get any bigger, and took off all the raggy outside leaves. One bonus - there were black slugs making nurseries in there, so at least at I have got rid of some of the blighters. And also took out all of the leeks too - again all the small runt ones.

The plum and gage trees are thinking about breaking bud , and the winter Aalsmer cauliflowers are starting to curl their leaves in , so should , fingers crossed, have some caulis by the end of the month . Spring cabbage just staring to grow away too.
Una - I did wonder about my broad beans - the direct sown ones in November failed, so I have done 2 separate sowings in plugs - the germination on the first lot was only about 30% , but this second lot I have 12 out of 20 so far . I may direct sow some later too , dependant on depredation.
Onward and Upward ....

Allotment/Veg patch thread 11 'We bid  farewell to rainbow leaves but will keep plotting along'
OP posts:
clarabellski · 11/04/2018 11:50

Don't give up hope una, I sowed some more broad beans in the ground before the huge snow storm last month and they are just peeking out of the ground this week! Our november sowing was also heavily munched (only around 1/3 survived)

gussyfinknottle · 11/04/2018 12:33

Dreaming, even if you only get a handful- imagine how lovely and tasty they will be. And you'll have learned loads for next year.

brownelephant · 11/04/2018 13:06

my peas are out, lovely litte green shoots!

UnaOfStormhold · 11/04/2018 13:09

Relaxing after filling our garden waste bag this morning. Would love to start planting out various new perennials/summer bulbs but I've not managed to toughen up the perennials and the bulbs would just rot at the moment!

GnomeDePlume · 11/04/2018 13:46

My over winter broad beans seem to have survived flood. I think they have had to grow gills.

brownelephant we spray our pea seedlings with chilli water to keep the mice off them. Seems to have worked so far.

brownelephant · 11/04/2018 14:28

I'm best friends with the asian store for large packs of chilli and garlic to deter cats&squirrels already

TheSpottedZebra · 11/04/2018 14:58

Me too, elephant - big cheap bags of chilli or cayenne to keep mice, voles and squirrels off my seeds.
Birds aren't bothered by chilli, so some people swear by dusting bird seed with chilli too, to deter pesky squirrels.

GnomeDePlume · 11/04/2018 17:15

You guys are well ahead of me on the seedling protection front then.

Dreamingoutloud7 · 11/04/2018 17:36

Managed to pot up some of the brassicas today, had to stop to build the plastic greenhouse as I was running out of space! Hoping they’ll be ok out there now.

elephantoverthehill · 11/04/2018 17:49

My first 3/4 of a day at the plot today. I started by buying 4x5.2 m lengths of gravel board which Ds and I walked to the plot. That was enough to edge two beds and I went back for another length (sawn in half) for the ends of the bed. The other end doesn't need doing as there is corrugated iron there. I surrounded one bed and weeded it ready to move the strawberries. It doesn't sound much but goodness I ache! I'm just out of practise Grin. Thanks for the tip about the gravel board Frouby. I covered the bases and the ends with some DPC which may help stop the rot for a little longer.

elephantoverthehill · 11/04/2018 17:53

*3/4 of a day this year, I mean.

lizard202 · 11/04/2018 19:48

First shoots coming through....just hoping they're actually the veg on the label as there was a lot of soil mix up during the wind collapsed greenhouse catastrophe 🤔

tizwozliz · 12/04/2018 13:42

My nematodes have arrived Smile, it's a bit cold for them yet so they're in the fridge until it hopefully warms up next week.

5 degrees again here today so the only gardening related thing I've been doing is doing a fabric design for this week's spoonflower challenge as this week the theme is gardening

UnaOfStormhold · 12/04/2018 17:09

Tiz, my first thought was "wow, where does she live that the fridge is warmer!"

bookbook · 12/04/2018 19:33

Rain again here today

I haven't really ever used anything to protect seeds/seedlings either Gnome - you live and learn.
On our site old timers dip peas in paraffin before planting to stop the mice taking them. Maybe I should have done that with my broad beans ...but may well try the chilli powder next year.
Need to pot up my tomatoes , but basically walking on the spot at the moment. Hoping to get some prep work done tomorrow - one bed just emptied of leeks and savoys needs a fork over, and manuring , ready for squashes . New brassica cage needs erecting , and new netting put up , but I need good weather , and DH!

OP posts:
Dreamingoutloud7 · 12/04/2018 19:51

Was going to go and grab some strawberry plants today but I saw that b&q have 20% off plants from tomorrow, so will pop in then, might also get another rhubarb and possibly some pretty perennials that I do not need

timtam23 · 12/04/2018 21:25

Hello everyone. Apologies for not yet catching up with the thread. I've had a few months away from the thread over winter although have been popping up to my plot every so often to keep an eye on things.

The weather hasn't been great and apart from overwintered broad beans, onions and garlic I have very little growing. The beans are doing ok although 5 were eaten and the fleece cover was ripped to bits in the bad storms. I replanted the 5 missing beans today,, they will probably catch up once it gets warmer. Onions and garlic are looking very good so far, rhubarb is sprouting (no one at home is keen on rhubarb but I like it in pies or crumble, also rhubarb vodka!) and my currants have some buds. I cut back all of the autumn raspberries and tightened the wires on their stakes so they are also looking good with new shoots poking through. Quite a lot of my little Mara des Bois strawberries didn't survive the winter but hopefully a few will hang on in there & put some runners out.

Most urgent though is the shed. It is barely hanging on, the badly rotted wall was hit very hard by the winter weather and is crumbling away. DH came to have a look at it with me and we've decided to scrap it and buy a new one. There's just too much work involved in saving what's left as the floor & one long side wall need complete replacement I clouding the uprights. Also the roof although now watertight was previously badly bowed by leaks so needs to be replaced really. And the entire thing has to come off the paving stone base so that I can dig the comfrey out which is lifting it up.
So my next big job is to empty the shed & find somewhere secure and dry to store my tools, bits & pieces and I can then get on with taking the shed down & sorting the base out. I think it'll be great when the new shed is done & dusted but it's a lot of work first and I need DH to help me with the heavy bits.

TheHoundsofLove · 13/04/2018 08:13

timtam rhubarb vodka sounds lovely! Smile
I'm glad that I always grow too much of everything as I've now lost 3 Cosmos, 2 Parsley, 2 Coriander and several brassica seedlings to snails. Sad I can't bring myself to kill them so end up moving the little blighters to the other end of the garden and hoping that all the Blackbirds and Thrushes find them. Not always such an effective method, I grant you.
Oh and my sunburnt tomatoes are recovering well and are all sprouting new undamaged leaves. I can't believe how cold it still is in the UK - it's got to warm up soon for you all!

brownelephant · 13/04/2018 08:25

well, in the se it's not cold cold

double figures at least.

my pineapple plant has been moved outside and the first batch of toms (black krim) has been hardening off. the next (green zebra) will follow today.
butternut squash is (hopefully) germinating next to the heater, other pumpkins and courgettes I want to sow this weekend (while the heating is still on for a warm place)

tizwozliz · 13/04/2018 09:18

I'm dreaming of double figures. It's been 5/6 degrees day or night the past days.

Excited last night to discover my brussel sprouts have germinated. They were only sown at the weekend. No sign of anything else, but not expecting any as most said 10-14 days.

brownelephant · 13/04/2018 09:41

how long does butternut squash take to germinate?