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

What am I safe to plant indoors in seed trays? Am I too early? Have planted peppers, am I too early for peas and beans?

Also, has anyone successfully grown butternut squash and aubergine in their garden?

So far on my list I have..

Red peppers (starting indoors)
Tomatoes (hanging basket type)
Courgettes
Runner beans
Peas
Carrots

Possibly...
Potatoes (in bags)
Butternut squash
Aubergine

All this depends on space, I have a big ish size garden and have just bought a couple more raised beds. Haven’t grown much for a couple years after losing my gardening mojo.

Planted a load on onions and garlic earlier in the year. Garlic going great guns, but the onions look a sorry sight. Most just haven't grown, and those that have look quite weak. I thought growing onions from sets would be fool proof. I have pics but they won't load

lovemusic - i'd say too early for peas and beans. peppers and chillis ok now and in march toms. squash ok to grow in garden....i'm in the south, aubergine's i've heard can be a bit tricky outside and need a greenhouse.

Thanks Dream I’m in the SW and I’m hoping for another hot summer, which is why I was wondering about aubergine. I have ordered peas but won’t plant them yet and will hold back a few weeks with the tomatoes.

I grew aubergines outside last year in the midlands without a greenhouse but it was very hot of course.

redhat - did they (aubergines) perform well and which variety? I quite fancy trying these..... but they look a bit tricky from the reviews online

I posted earlier but it has disappeared! Anyway I'm now on half term so will be able to get to the plot during the week, first jobs to do are cut back the raspberry canes and plant out broad beans, my sweet peas are doing well in the mini greenhouse. Best of all the weather looks pretty good for the coming week.

Yes to growing butternut squash outside. We plant them through plastic into a very rich compost bed. Last year they were huge and plentiful. It looked like an alien had laid its eggs.

Hello all, I'm tentatively waving hello from our new front garden, where we pulled up a horrible privet hedge and turned over the lawn, levelled it and have put in raised beds and a massive space for growing herbs, flowers and veg that looks pretty... Its south facing, full sun all day, and at the moment very bare! It's cost us a fair bit to do, not just to grow veg but so we can take advantage of the views and sun, but it does mean our first crop of veg will be very expensive per item! Hoping over the years though it'll save us money, the kids will get involved and it'll give us something to do as a family. We always grew stuff when I was little and I loved helping out, DH is heavily into gardening so it'll keep him busy too.
Just going to hang about listening out for tips!

Most just haven't grown, and those that have look quite weak

Onions will be putting roots down first before focusing on the stems. Have a little tug and see if they have rooted yet.

Shallots from seed are worth starting now. Better than sets because you end up with good size individual shallots rather than the tiny split shallots you get from sets.

I start them in modules under cover then plant them out once big enough to handle

Hello again folks, I’m a bit of an irregular poster on this thread but on maternity leave again so hopefully should have some time for the garden again this year. I don’t have an allotment but I have 3 decent sized raised beds (1 fruit, 2 veg), a bit of flowerbed converted for potatoes, a greenhouse and an assortment of pots so I sort of lurk for advice and ideas.
We had a good garden clear out yesterday and today, the greenhouse has had a good clear, tidy and sweep - dispatched at least one lacewing and a couple of slugs so hopefully it’s stopped much overwintering in there. Also pulled up the old straw in the strawberry patch, cut back the autumn fruiting raspberries and covered the veg beds with black plastic (they had manure dug in during the autumn).
Anything else I should be doing now? I’m in Northern Scotland so I’m wary of starting anything to go out in the garden yet, two years ago my runner beans died when they were snowed on in early May! On the other hand I do want to do properly successional sowing of things like broccoli because if I do them just 2 weeks apart they all end up ready at the same time. Could I start peppers, tomatoes etc yet if I put a heater in the greenhouse?

redhat - did they (aubergines) perform well and which variety?. I'll check the variety when I get home but it was just a cheap 30p pack from lidl. The plants were initially on the window ledge inside but I moved them outside to the balcony (south facing) not expecting anything at all. It was very hot though.

Peppers did well on the balcony too.

Hello all! Great to be back on the lottie again this afternoon. Two beds dug and blueberry bush and raspberry canes have gone in this afternoon. For the first time I have a shed. I think it's going to make this year so much easier than having to lug everything back and forth.

Hello everyone - oldies and newbies alike.
Got home form my hols last night , so guess what - am off to have a quick shuftie at the plot, and hopefully pick some sprouting broccoli for tea :)
One weird thing - I sowed sweet peas and broad beans before I went - sweet peas all germinated , no sign of broad beans. (Thats 3 weeks ago, so will have to see . )
Going to sit and read back the thread once I have had the trip up to the plot

Right - back!
Lovemusic - broad beans, early peas can be sown now , but not runner or french beans .
I will be sowing most of my salad stuff ( tomatoes , peppers, aubergines , cucumbers) in early March , inside on the windowsill until chance of frost has gone, when they can go out into the greenhouse .
Its been a lovely quick trip to check out the plot -a bit of a breeze, but sunny.
Everything is looking good, still some weeding to get sorted , and a couple of bits of enviromesh had blown off my overwintering caulis , but they look okay.
Picked sprouting broccoli, a few sprouts and some leeks .
I have some Charlotte seed potatoes to pick up - my order arrived while I was away, so need to think about getting those chitting this next week .

bookbook I’m impressed by those leeks, mine are still pencil thin! I did basically ignore them all winter though so I’m amazed they survived really!

Busy weekend on the plot for us. Had a fresh delivery of horse manure so used a couple of barrow loads to top up the hot box and give the seed trays a boost of warmth. Put up a greenhouse. Glass needs a clean so that will be a job for next weekend.

Impressive harvest book. Our leeks have done well this year. A sign that the soil is getting better.

One of the rhubarbs is starting to show its head. I think I will try forcing it.

Hi! Fellow allotmenteer here, can I join?

Took on my plot two years ago which was a brand new site - heavy, waterlogged clay soil, growing lots of reeds and brambles, on the outskirts of greater Manchester. I put in some drains, put raised beds on half the plot, and a greenhouse, shed, and polytunnel (its about 280m2 total). The other half I'm slowly clearing and planning to use as a lower maintenance (ha!) perennial side, with fruit trees and bushes, flowers, herbs, etc. We don't have any water but there are plans to get some put in, but I've got a few big water butts and an IBC.

It's quite exposed as the wind whistles through the hills from the Peak District, and I lost a lot of (standard type) glass panels on the greenhouse in some of the storms. My boyfriend and I are debating what to use to replace them, as standard glass clearly doesn't cut it. Anyone got any advice? There seem to be some really expensive options out there (which we don't want to do!).

Not got any seeds growing yet. I have onions and garlic in the beds, and just ordered some more fruit canes and bushes. Looking forward to another year of it! I've just realised my diet has been really bad recently as we've run out of allotment food now and I've been uninspired in the kitchen...

I keep seeing things saying that we are going to have warm weather for the next 4 weeks, no sign of a return of winter (in the south anyway), hopefully it’s a sign of a early spring but this often Renaults in a wet summer?

I’m hoping to make the most of the weather and get out in the garden this week and next week. I’m off to B&Q to get a couple more raised beds for a new little area in my garden I’m making (hopefully for lettuce, radishes and tomatoes).

i grew aubergines last year (a round pinstripe variety) and they grew so well that i have bought a more mainstream seed this year called Enorma. I am also in the South West.

I also grew tonnes of butternut squash last year. so a good useful crop, i'll definitely be growing these again this year.

Someone asked what seeds to start now:

i have started aubergines, tomatoes, a special early dwarf bean and cucumbers. I have a 3 stage process: my kitchen window sill, then they move to cooler conservatory and then they move to unheated greenhouse & possibly outdoors.

I have planted tomato seeds this morning , itching to plant other things but too early, will wait a few more weeks unless I plant the peas 😁.

Is it not too early to start tomatoes? Its still mid February. I'm itching to get planting due to this surprise sunshine but don't want to make life harder for the plants.

My wormery arrived today! Just set it up by my kitchen door. Looking forward to getting some lovely compost from all my kitchen scraps.

I'm waiting a bit longer to get my seeds going in case we have another snowy march. I had to start everything again last year as it all went leggy. I've just put some potatoes on to chit. Potatoes have been great for throwing in the uncultivated parts of my plot.

redhat - I checked my diary - I sowed my tomatoes , peppers and aubergines the 3rd week in March , and they germinated really quickly on my south facing windowsill . I will be sowing leeks , and a few successional brassicas in about 10-14 days .
I checked the thread from last year, and her in Yorkshire, we had snow 1st week of March
79 - good stuff is wormery juice :)