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

Afternoon!
no plot yesterday.
Busy today , but got the call ....

Thanks for all the nice comments about the cake. I now have to think up next year's challenge.

Lovely lot of horse poo there Book (and I think this is the only thread you can say this on!)

Is there anything more blood boil inducing than clearing brambles? Yeesh. Glad that's over for about a week

Here's a (very boring) update of our vegetable patch now. Looking more like a soil patch than a veg patch!

Sympathy Gin, you just know that it's just getting ready to come back. It's like those horrible flat dandelions which appear when you didn't quite get the whole root put.

Oh Gin there is nothing more annoying than thinking you've cleared a bramble only for it to pop up a shoot just by where you were digging! I was trying to clear a dock plant the other day - dug down and down and then the root snapped off. I know I didn't get it all out so it will be back again.

That is certainly a lot of manure bookbook. We have a communal delivery to our plots, I must make sure I remember to look and see if it's arrived yet.

What a great pile of shit, books.

Our first little harvest of baby carrots. The children had them for afternoon tea. 10 minutes from ground to stomach. So good.

Holy shit book!

Pretty carrots kiwi

gnome I am mightily impressed by your cake. You should check out the American chef Dan Barber's book 'The Third Plate' - I think you would enjoy it.

Hi everyone, was away on holiday and came back to serious glut of apples, baby spinach, beans, tomatoes, romano peppers, chilis and pak choi. Have a freezer full of beans now and lots of cooking planned for this weekend to use up everything else!

Beans and tomatoes are coming to an end. Leeks, cabbages. beetroot, celeriac and PSB coming along nicely.

My winter seeds (more kale, chard, spring greens, endive) are growing nicely in plugs in the greenhouse at the moment. Will start hardening them off in the next couple of weeks for planting. Need to buy my onion, shallott & garlic sets.

Phew!

Its been a rubbish week, weather wise
So wet in the mornings, so can't go and do stuff when it is so wet underfoot. Did manage an hour yesterday to pick leek, swede, cabbage. Managed to get started clearing a bed ready to sow broad beans , and that has been about it.
Just got my delivery of overwinter shallots/onions and garlic, but goodness knows when I can get them in - the weekend is looking pretty poor
I bet you are all dead jealous of my manure! Its lovely stuff this year - managed to get my order in early ( Gnome - its cow manure sadly, not horse - from the local dairy farmer up the road . I could get free horse manure, but no-one delivers and DH won't have it in the car ...goodness knows why not!)

It's really interesting what everyone is getting up to, I honestly can't believe what you all grow, it really does give me inspiration. I'm looking forward to this weekend, my greenhouse is finally finished, I've bought a couple of stagings to go in it. Over the last few weeks I have planted seeds and had them all indoors. I'm starting to worry that it may be too cold, everything I have planted said that it was fine to plant in September.
Am hoping my onions come tomorrow. So I can plant them.

Literally no idea on what I am doing so any tips gratefully received.

if the soil isnt too wet then digging is never a bad plan.

Broad beans can go in now as well as onions/garlic/shallots.

Once it gets a bit cooler then bare root trees and bushes can be planted.

Gnome did you see GW tonight, the bloke growing everything to make beer on his allotment? What about 'Babycham' as your next challenge. . I think your self inflicted goal was on a higher level.

Beer, now that's a thought. I already make strawberry wine but beer would be another thing. Many years ago I made a honey ale. Took a year to mature, tasted very mellow but was very potent.

Hmmmm....,

If I grow garlic is it better to plant in small pots first or straight into the bed?

Morning!
I saw GW too and immediately thought of Gnome
owl - straight into the ground for garlic - and yes to onion sets and shallots too. I always grow broad beans overwinter - just choose a variety suitable. Here in Yorkshire I cover the broad beans with a fleece cover - I do 'The Sutton' but there is also "Aquadulce' . Peas can also overwinter 'Meteor' comes to mind. I tried those once, but I rather think the mice had thought christmas had come ! . You may even find garden centres/ nurseries have plug veg plants for overwinter - spring cabbage and cauliflower can still be planted out .Your plants have been indoors I think? So you will need to harden them off - if they have grown a bit since you pricked them out, I would pop them in the greenhouse during the day , ad pop them back indoors overnight if it looks like its going to be cold . You should be fine - right down in the SE :)
Perennials can be planted now too - so globe artichokes. rhubarb etc( if you have room for these - they can take over small beds )

Book thank you so much. Yes I have been growing them inside due to greenhouse not being finished. I hadn't thought about garlic until Gnome mentioned it. I had to google how to grow them and was surprised that you plant a clove - clearly no idea!!!! lol.

Once again thanks

no problem owl - buy garlic that is for planting , they should be everywhere on sale atm (not the bulbs you buy for eating as you don't know how old/viable they are)

At the plot today I picked the last of the cucumbers. There are still raspberries vaguely ripening, some lovely sweetcorn and another courgette that has turned into a marrow. I picked my experimental melon as it was still hanging on although I thought the plant had died weeks ago. It was about the size of a tennis ball but tasted good. I'm just waiting now to clear the beds, get some manure and put down some weed suppressing membrane. Oh and move the strawberry plants.

Afternoon!
no plot today - rain all morning , so itching to get stuff planted . Gales tomorrow

Made bread today with the home grown wheat. It makes a hearty loaf!

Next year we are going to try beans specifically for drying. We dried some of the Violette De Gosse beans and had a lovely cassoulet last weekend.

Allotment is looking very 'end of the season'. Too wet to do any work so we just walked around and I took its picture.

Morning! ( well afternoon....)
Had a wonderful couple of hours this morning at the plot at last Planted out garlic. shallots, onions.
Did a great pick of stuff , as haven't been able to do much due to the weather the last few days ( apart from digging up some leeks yesterday).
Wind hasn't done too much damage thank goodness, though I have a lot of shrivelled raspberries .

Hello all

Disappeared as DS was ill last week, Dp working all weekend and weather varying between vile and viler. And being really busy with business admin on days it was fit to get up.

Anyway. Have spent a couple of hours this morning pottering around. Have pulled 4 marrows off the courgettes and pulled the last 2 plants up. Half a bag of tomatoes and pulled the plants up as everything was rotting. Pulled the cucumbers out as they had gone.

And I finally harvested by sweetcorn which was disappointing to say the least. I know what I did wrong though so lesson learnt. If anyone didnt know dont plant baby sweetcorn alongside standard sweetcorn. They will cross pollinate and you will get standard sized sweetcorn with a baby corn shape that take forever to ripen and when they do they are very tough.

Only a few things left now. A bed.of beetroot that I will probably lift at the weekend. A late crop of french beans that are just coming and a late crop of peas I will let ds pick at the weekend. Then everything will be out apart from the strawberries I put down a fortnight ago so will be able to start properly organising things and preparing beds for next year.

Operation Horse Shite is officially a go go l

Evening !
Frouby - work and life just gets in the way :)
Sweetcorn is one of those things - I tried growing the baby corn by itself a few years ago, and they were tough as old boots too. I think I was expecting them to get bigger. As you say. lesson learned ( they even say to keep different varieties apart as much as possible)
I managed a morning again - cut the grass ( it never seems to slow down ..) weeded all around the fruit bushes at the top, rather neglected , end ( weed membrane is only so good , they still manage to grow through!) and kept on digging/weeding ready for winter in the cut flower bed - leaving the dahlias in until this weekend - forecast is for colder nights soon .
Gnome - I forgot to ask - was the flour a strong one for bread, or a lighter one ( not quite sure how you work out the gluten content mind you !)

Gnome your allotment looks so neat and tidy. Especially the paths.

owthathurts if you are in the South East there is still time to plant things out as it is not that cold yet. I bought garlic from the garden centre the other day so it is in stock at the moment.

bookbook your harvests always look so pretty. You're getting lots of raspberries aren't you?

Frouby it's always a learning process with gardening isn't it? At least you know for next year re the sweetcorn.

Nothing much to report here as I didn't get as far as the plot last weekend. I spent time in the garden trimming back the short hedge we have in the front garden and debating what to do about the big bush (not even sure what it is) which has apparently died. It was well established before we bought the house about 12 years ago but over the last year it decided to go into a sulk and die. I think I might leave it where it is just in case it tries to revive. So the plot took a back seat. Not sure whether I'll get over there this weekend either but might manage a couple of hours at some point.

Afternoon!
no plot here today. Its cold and very breezy . Just gone and watered in the greenhouse -and shut the door as temperature is due to be a bit iffy tonight and tomorrow. Tomatoes are still ripening, if slowly now - this bowlful ( Roma and San Marzano for cooking) has taken a week. There is about another bowls worth still either green , or pale orange. I may well pick them to ripen indoors - I need to clear out the greenhouse soon.
Cedar - there are a lot of autumn raspberries on my plot. I had my own row of them, and when I took over the other half plot, there is a row there too..... We had apple and raspberry crumble with them - my freezer is stuffed. They are not great lookers though - they need cooking, so I make jam or compote normally with them.
You may find with the big bush that it is worth a really hard prune over winter- and keep a longish eye on it next spring - with luck, it may just come back, and if not , you haven't lost anything.

I moved my little plants into the greenhouse a few days ago. I'm like an expecting mother, keep going out to check on them. It was really warm inside the greenhouse today - so far they seem to be happy.

Am hoping to plant garlic and onions this weekend, not sure what to put my garlic in, did wonder if a long rectangular planter would work? (unfortunately no beds to put them in).

I am hoping to plat some flower bulbs in the next few weeks.

Is it to early to plant cauliflower and broccoli seeds and grow them in an unheated greenhouse? The seed packet says you can but I'm worried the cold will get to them.