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

Hi everyone, I'm after some advice. I have about 8 fruit bushes in woodland. They don't get much light or any attention and so whilst they're tall, they're not particularly bushy. Every year I get about two berries from them since the birds get to them way before I do and the surrounding area becomes thick with brambles so they're very hard to get to once the brambles come up.

I'd like to move them up to the kitchen garden. Am I too late to move them and still get fruit this year? I have two redcurrant, two gooseberry and about 4 raspberry

@Cloudtree - I think you're still fine to move them. I just out some bare root and potted fruit bushes in my allotment last week that were delivered from Ken Muir. I think they only send them out when it's a good time to plant them. Use plenty of mycchorizal funghi to encourage root development.

Hope your back recovers soon @PyjamasForever

Afternoon!
Another glorious day here .
Welcome AdoraBell - ask anything, someone will know!
Cloudtree - perfect time for moving fruit bushes. It just feels late due to this weather, but now is the time bare root bushes are sent out to plant ( as 79 says.) - Give them a good mulch around the roots once you have moved them- it will protect them from any adverse weather, and give them a boost :)
gah - who asked about green manure? ( old lady brain here) - there are different ones , depending on your soil type, and how long you want to leave it growing. I only use the overwintering type - a mixture which you allow to germinate and grow on to protect the soil, then cut and dig in before they flower in spring . This website gives you an idea :) green manure
Garlic - I haven't personally left any of mine over more than one season, but I don't see why it won't grow on, even if it doesn't clove, it edible!
I went and did some more couch grass removal - (what a bonus this weather is at this time of year! ) , so I am gradually catching up to where I need to be after last years problems with weather and health. Its almost looking tidy!
Picked leeks and sprouting broccoli , dug up some of the sprout plants , and some very sorry red kale . The red kale has been a real disappointment - I was given half a dozen small plants, and treat them just the same as my normal green curly kale . they really haven't thrived, or produced enough leaves to pick .

My crab apple and weeping pear tree are in and looking wonderful. It's funny how bare-branched trees can add so much life to a garden. Will get before & after photos at some point.

Right I shall dig up supervise DH digging up the fruit bushes at the weekend. Thank you.

Question 2 I went a bit crazy and bought five apple trees yesterday. They're all already over 2m tall. On MM106 rootstock which I think is big.

I have two options for siting. One is all in a clump/mini orchard at the edge of the large lawn which isn't ideal but is in full sun, the other option is to scatter them in sunny/semi sunny spots through the rest of the gardens but I'm not sure how close they need to be in order to ensure cross pollination? If scattered through the garden area its about 3 acres (so five apple trees across that area). Is that too far apart?

Cloud - MM106 is a rootstock that allows the tree to grow 3-4 metres , and the roots will go out to be as far away from the trunk as the ultimate height of the tree. I roughly think they would want to be between 10 and 15 metre apart for best pollination , and root room , but if you have any crab apple trees around , that would help. Bees are very good at finding apple blossom :)

we do have a couple of crab apple trees yes.

I think I'll put them all at the edge of the lawn but 15m apart then. Otherwise they could be quite far apart from one another since the rest of the garden is semi wooded already.

I perhaps shouldn't have bought five (but they were a bargain)

All this talk about trees has made me order these. I was planning to buy some in the Autumn but these looked like such a good offer............

ooooh elephant - jealous ! I tried so hard to grow peaches , but gave up after 3 continuous years of peach leaf curl!

Keep your fingers crossed for me then Book!

Thanks bookbook that was me asking about green manure and garlic. I’m going to split up the garlic and have a look at that website about green manure. The weather is due to turn again here tomorrow so glad I resisted planting anything for now.

Joining in for the first time ever (and with the tree talk) I've been on my allotment for about 8 hours in 2 days. I'm shattered but I'm loving it!
Bit of back story but last year I had a 2 and 3 year old so didn't get to go on much at all and so it was pretty much left to ruin. I had a few stern letters but I had a really bad wasps nest so I've been waiting for them to all die off so I could get in my shed. I was literally being bombarded by wasps every time I went near my allotment it was horrible (and probably just as horrible for my poor neighbours too) anyway this year I decided to turn over a new leaf (baddum tshhh) and have made a really big effort. I've planted 3 trees (all from Aldi) a pear, plum and Braeburn apple. I've also started clearing a few of the other parts of my plot too and had to take down a pallet composter? It was basically loads of wood that fitted together in a square. It was really unsightly. I think I'm going back on tomorrow if the rain holds off.
Nice to see I've found my tribe! I'm really new to all of this so please if any of you have any good hints and tips for a first timer please send them my way!

Sorry I failed to add, I still have my children but they're now aged 3 and 4 and in full time childcare- preschool and reception.

That's a relief Bellatrix! I am a big fan of fruit trees and bushes - so little effort for the results you get.

I'd love to grow peaches but have filled all my south-facing space with vines and other fruit trees. Though there's a small corner... No, must resist temptation!

I've got s couple of dwarf trees and after a few years of being in pots they are suffering. I'm thinking about putting in ground as I lots of space and an allotment area but where is best place. Do the need to be up against a wall?

Hi Austismor I really hope the trees don't have to be against a wall because I haven't got any walls!
May I ask how much folks pay for your allotments? We currently pay £4.40 per rod (about half a metre) and the council want to increase this, the last increase was in 2014. I pay about £30 something a year. I really have no objection to a price rise but it might be useful to have an idea of different charges around the country before I attend the meeting. Thanks.

Morning!
welcome Bellatrix - glad you didn't lose the DC ! Take it steady though - big mantra is 'Its a marathon, not a sprint" - its easy to do too much, and then suffer for it .
Autismor - open ground is fine - depending on the size of the tree, they may want some support.
elephant - here, a half plot is £20 /full plot £40 . They are traditional size plots - so at a rough guess about 50 / 60 metres long, and 8 metres wide for a full plot . So a half plot is about 240 square metres. But space is allocated for parking at the end of each plot, so cultivation area is a bit smaller than that.
I had some bits to do today , got a bit of weeding done around the garlic (which has now sprouted at long last!) and dug some veg for tea - went to get spring cabbage , and realised the cauliflowers have started - a good month earlier than last year . :)
It was lovely first thing, now looking rather iffy . It would seem we are due weather tomorrow, so tried to batten down stuff ready

I pay £100/year for mine which is about 280m2. No water included for that either. It's a new site so I think the council charge more these days than on historic sites.

I spent a productive afternoon at the plot. I have laid another path, only one to go now. DS has built DM a cold frame, she is wondering if she puts gravel/ chippings in the bottom will it deter the slugs and snails away from her seedlings, does anyone know please?

We pay £25 for what the council says are approx 5 rod plots, but I don't think mine's that big, it's about 10x8m. We have water but only a few are accessible by car, we can unload onto a grassy strip about 4 plots from me but not in winter/wet weather as its too steep/slippery to get a car up. Actual parking is on the street about 200m away. Its the one thing I hate about our site, I'd willingly pay more for car access.

Walls aren't necessary though shelter from the wind can help and brick walls can be good for peaches etc because they heat up in the day and release it at night.

Morning!
Blustery here, and sign of rain to come.
I did an hours work - weeded around the onions and cauilfowers, and some general tidying. Put my bench in the shed so it doesn't blow away overnight .
For our princely rent, we get unlimited water, a toilet block, green waste removal, and there is also a horticultural shop ( for an extra £1 a year !) from which we get supplies at good prices and cheap seeds .
As I was putting everything away, saw this early ladybird on my gatepost :)

We get one green waste collection a year (most years, not guaranteed) and limited capacity, one trailer for the site (60+ plots), you've had it if you don't get there in the first few hours. No toilets, no shop but you can use the Kings seeds scheme, but again very limited, orders in by October, I've never bothered.

Thank you to whoever told me I could move the garlic now. I have dug up three clumps, presumably three made it of the original cloves planted. This split into 13 individual plants so I’m crossing my fingers I’ll get 13 cloves of garlic.
Also cracked and planted a few aubergines and tomatoes inside to then go in the greenhouse and some of the first batch of broccoli in the greenhouse - that might be a bit early but I’m hoping that if I protect it when I transplant it then it might make it.

Thanks for the tip re Lidl greenhouse! I've managed to get one, seems decent to start with. Itching to get my keys now, I'm so ready!