Allotment?Veg Patch Thread 13! Are we weathering the weather?

[bookbook]

well, we have got to August , had heatwaves and thunderstorms. Goodness knows what happens next!
All welcome to join in sharing the highs and lows , tips and experiences of growing your own :)
Previous thread HERE

Hovering - on seed packet it says 100 cm tall, so just over 3' approx and need a more sheltered spot . Always recommended for flavour and early harvests from overwintering

bookbook Thank you for that - I couldn't see it anywhere on my seed packet!!!

So much for getting stuff done yesterday, it has rained pretty much constantly since Sunday morning until now. Greenhouse repairs will have to wait. We did have it fixed by one of the tabs on the cover but that has ripped clean away so will have to work on a more substantial fixing.

I've still got a load of beetroots in the ground but they don't seem to be getting bigger, prob around golf ball size, are they likely to grow anymore or should i just pull them now?

I don't think my beetroot are growing any bigger now tizwozliz. We are gradually eating them.

We cleared our broccoli last weekend and spread more manure around.
My new strawberry plants are on their way, hopefully - my dad ordered me some earlier in the year but they died, I think they were diseased. He got his money back from the supplier. So this is my second attempt to plant new strawberries!

Afternoon all!
utterly gorgeous day here today .
I did an hour yesterday, and another this morning getting beds ready for the mulch/ over wintering manure. Went back this afternoon with DH prepping up the wood ready to mantle the new asparagus bed. Lots still to do, so hope this weather lasts.
tiz - the beets that have been in a while are not really growing anymore - they are a bit bigger than tennis ball at a guess, but I have planted up some more, just in the hope of fair autumn weather allowing a bit of growth to maybe pick little ones come November - and in the past , I have managed to overwinter some too, but in a mild winter.
I did pick a few raspberries - still lots to come on the bush - only good for cooking, but a nice filler for a baking apple . Leeks are starting to look good, I have a few cabbages almost ready, and plenty of chard and sprouting broccoli to come ( if the white fly infestation doesn't get any worse )
fingers crossed on the new plants Cedar at least your dad got his money back .

Afternoon
another glorious day here , but chilly first thing.
I have managed another hour digging, and DH and I finished off the asparagus bed making. Just need to shift soil, compost, manure now to fill it up ... Picked a bit of broccoli for tea too, but even that is full of white fly now. I sprayed with some natural protection stuff I bought the other day - just fancy soap and water I think, but the blimmin' spray thing packed up , couldn't take the usage should have just stuck to my trusty soapy water in a reusable spray bottle I suppose !

I'm hoping that the good weather holds for tomorrow as I've been doing crazy work hours and haven't been able to get down since the downpours last weekend. Plan is for me and DH (and DDog)to get down for a couple of hours tomorrow morning and try and finish the big bed plus a couple of the smaller ones.

Off to buy a new fork after work today - very exciting!

Glorious couple of days. Did a bit of hoeing and unfortunately massacred my little chinese chive plants - I seem to be consistently having disasters with those! Ate a few more tomatoes and strawberries, both very odd to be harvesting in september!

Last few baby courgettes and patty pan squash picked before pulling up the plants. Also picked some beetroot and some very late chillis. Leaving the nasturtiums for now even though they're trying to take over the place, not quite ready for everything looking totally bare. Just need to sort something out so the cats don't think i've provided new spacious toilet facilities.

Also still picking a few odd sweet peas and the cosmos i grew from seed is still going strong.

Thinking about planting some spring bulbs in one of the raised beds, should be able to do that and remove about the time some other plants are ready to go outside.

Hi, I joined this thread rather prematurely in the spring having been promised an allotment. It turned out to be completely full of couch grass and deemed unsuitable for a beginner. I was rather disappointed but last weekend some more plots finally became available so I now have a rather overgrown plot but manageable I think. We've dug over two beds and a half beds and hope to get through some more tomorrow. The plot was originally all raised beds but some the wooden beds have either been removed or rotted. I was thinking of just flattening these ones and maybe another where the timber is really rotten.

I will try and take some "before" photos to keep track of progress. I'm fairly clueless but hopefully I will muddle through!

I really love the position of my plot as it is surrounded by other plots and not near the edge so it feels really peaceful which isn't bad for West London

Morning !
Another fabulous morning so full morning at the plot , testing out the almost healed gammy leg. ( Its a bit throbby now ...)
Nearly finished digging over another area, ready for manuring now .
Picked autumn veg - cabbage and leeks , and totally forgot to see if I had enough raspberries to pick ! Ah well
Hovering - did you get your fork ? which did you choose ( so many in truth )
theoutdoortype - welcome back! its probably a wise thing they did - couch is an utter horror to get out , and especially over a dry spring/summer . You don't need raised beds, if you don't want them - it does keep the plot tidy, but only if you have a plan for between the beds too . It's a good time to be getting a plot too , the ground is still warm and workable, and you have time to plant up stuff if you want, or get it ready for spring :)

Typing this in the bath. I think the digging yesterday has taken its toll and I'm so stiff today - I thought a hot bath might help.

Had a full day down there yesterday with DDog who snoozed the whole day but seemed to enjoy the sunshine. I now have one whole cleared bed (which is where I'm putting my broad beans), another couple almost done and a large one about two thirds done. I also started clearing all the paths too.

Came home with some small beetroots which are roasting right now and a couple of apples. The previous person had left beetroot in - some are huge so I assume that I will need to bin those as they will be woody but the smaller ones - should I pick them all or can they be left?

bookbook just a B&Q one but it was absolutely fine yesterday...I can't believe I gave away most of my gardening kit when I moved into an apartment!! Very shortsighted.

Still got some carrots and radishes coming on in a raised bed, a few runner beans and tomatoes left although will need to bring them in to ripen. What can be planted now for next year, inside or out?

Afternoon!
Yet another glorious day , and another hour of digging this morning, while also remembering to pick raspberries .
Hovering - as long as it works any fork will do - annoying on getting rid, but storage is always a problem :)
LIZS - welcome! - plenty for outside is available for now, depending on how much space you want to devote to overwintering . So - Garlic/shallots/onions also spring greens and cabbage- ( I noticed plug plants of these selling at our local nursery) / perennial spinach or chard . You can sow broad beans for a slightly earlier crop too- any perennial such as rhubarb and strawberries too :)

I got out at the weekend and did lots more digging. I was also given some spring greens, cabbage and chard to plant by a neighbour so it was quite nice to do some planting as well as digging.

I have a plum tree on my plot that looks like it could do with a good prune but I'm not sure of the best time to do this.

Everything else has been getting in the way this half term, dental appointments, obligatory break up minor virus type illness so my plans for the plot are not going to plan but I have cleared the garden tomatoes and brought the still green ones into ripen. I will make it to the plot with manure tomorrow, if a hundred and one other things don't get in the way.

Hope everyone is okay
I am just plodding on digging , trying to make up time now. Hope to sow broad beans and my garlic at the weekend .
The weather and the dark nights coming means winter is around the corner
theoutdoortype - if its an established ( older) plum , then summer is usually the time ( July/August) Try to cut out any damaged, diseased ones, crossing branches etc ,and keep the centre nice and open. They fruit on young wood, so try not to prune those if possible If its very overcrowded, its best to do it over a couple of years .

I found this book in a charity shop. Ok it was written in 2008 but still very insightful and some of the recipes look quite good. I recommend it as a good read but a pity that Bookbook wasn't there to tell him 'It's a marathon, not a sprint'.

Thanks for the pruning tips Bookbook. It is a mature tree but looks rather straggly but I will leave it be until next year.

I'm currently drinking tea waiting for the rain to stop then I will go and have a couple hours digging and weeding.

haha elephant
It is snowing here - hope it clears away, I should be down at the plot digging , but I'm no hero...

Snow? Already! Was cold but dry here yesterday. DH shifted more manure while I tackled one of the overgrown areas on the plot. Think it was originally a raspberry bed but the plants have mostly migrated away from it. Cleared about half and will tackle some more later today IF it stops raining this afternoon. There's an oak tree quietly growing there which definitely needs to come out!

Need to remember to get some garlic if we're going to grow it this year. No idea how it is suddenly the end of October!

Afternoon!
yes Cedar , luckily not for long, We have had hail showers today
I did get a full morning at the plot though. I planted garlic, sowed broad beans and finished off another area of weeding. So much more of that to do yet - yes, the year is zooming away isn't it?
Picked quite a good load of raspberries, and some veg for tea - broccoli , leeks, chard and really pleased with my first decent swede for a couple of years :)

Hello [thIsmile] My broad beans are above ground, garlic starting too and joy of joys lambs lettuce seedlings popped up all over their bed, looking forward to eating that especially. I have another raised bed to fill but unlikely to get anything going in it until early Spring. Got lots of reduced seeds ready for Spring. I love eating my produce.

Well that smiley face didn't work

Pouring with rain here today. SeasonoftheCrone good to have things to look forward to eating. We're trying winter radishes and winter spring onions for the first time this year. Will be interested to see how they do.

Bookbook that swede looks a good size and so does your chard. We're growing the rainbow chard and I've found that the dark green ones - like in your picture - produce bigger leaves than the red coloured ones.

We've made our seed order for next year. Having had success with broccoli this year we are going to attempt cauliflowers again (last time the seeds didn't germinate). DD likes both of those and happily eats them. Unlike the runner beans, chard, spinach and squash which she complains about every time they turn up on her plate. Unluckily for her I find those quite easy to grow so she has to put up with them . I just need to buy some bigger nets as the broccoli grew bigger than my netting this year and the butterflies got in underneath. It was a bit off putting to have a couple of cooked caterpillars turn up on my plate!