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

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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

They were straight into the ground, yes. Well, actually into a layer of Veggie Gold mulch (mixture of top soil, compost and manure) laid on top of cardboard a couple of months ago. In hindsight I was thinking about air temperature more than soil temperature when I made the decision to put them in.

I do have a seed tray indoors with a mixture of stuff starting to make an appearance, so I have back up if they have rotted/been snaffled.

I do have visions of MiniSilence's six little carrots from the garden centre being the only successful veg this year, though. He'd be reminding me about it weekly until he went to secondary school.

Afternoon!
been a bit busy the last couple of days
Welcome Rhubarb - glad to see the info- it is always lovely to have an idea where everyone is - it makes a difference to timings of planting and sowing.
Sounds - oh, yes the soil will have been much too cold. And peas are much beloved of small mammals . I had better germination last year when I soaked the peas for an hour before sowing in warm water mixed with a lot of chilli powder . But I am a bit like Sacrifice - I have sprouted my first peas at home in the greenhouse . Even in there, they have taken a long time , ( I will plant them out, the do some succession sowing direct into the ground ) and carrots take forever
All my tomatoes/aubergines/peppers are pricked out - going to start hardening them off into the greenhouse, so I have windowsill room for cucumbers and squashes, which I will be sowing this weekend , and maybe sweetcorn ( must check last years sowing diary ....)
Have loads of brassicas to prick out .
Hardening off now are the sprouted peas, summer cabbages and cauliflowers , beetroot plugs and leeks .
Had a nice hour and a half at the plot this morning . Finished planting potatoes. I got 4 rows rather than the 3 I was prepped up for ,but all done and dusted now , apart from one monster one, which was surplus to requirements , so brought that home to pop into a pot and DGS can help me tend it .
Picked spring cabbage and loads of purple sprouting broccoli .
It was so nice and warm . But we really need some rain - its so dry , the old timer next to me was watering his potatoes in as he planted them - not seen him do that before ......

Hi all, I recently took on a half plot which is very exciting, I thought I'd be waiting a lot longer than a year for one. I'm in the North West and have only ever grown in containers before. I've got tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, patty pan squash, runner beans and cucamelons all sown in pots so far. And I'm currently digging over a bed at the plot. It had potatoes in where I've dug so far so I'm thinking I should put legumes in here, is that right? And should I add manure? I love this time of year!

sackrifice my riddishes are doing well, when do you know they are ready to pull?

Is it ok to plant broccoli outside now?

I am feeling quite proud of my efforts this Easter holiday. I have finished all the paths and bed edging. I can now walk on the paths without fear of breaking my ankle. I weeded the strawberry bed today, it didn't look too bad until I started looking closer. Lots of bindweed just sprouting, dandelions and creeping cinque foil.

Hi Pyxie, I'm right at the bottom of my learning curve so I can't help much, but I just got a plot when I thought I'd be on the waiting list for years too. It was both exciting and alarming to get the news.

my riddishes are doing well, when do you know they are ready to pull?

You can usually see them poking out the ground, I run a finger round the edge and see how big they are, I start pulling when they are literally an inch in diameter as before you know it, the smaller ones catch up and you have 30 huge split radishes that can't be used much. So I pick them small and regular.

Thank you, I think my radishes need a few more weeks though they are growing pretty fast.

I have taken a risk and dug up one of my rhubarb bulbs and moved it to a sunny spot in hope it will grow, I hope I haven’t upset it too much. Cleared my compost heap which was in a raised bed so I now have extra planting space.

I've had to water outside today, I cannot remember the last time we had any rain to speak of.

I think i'm going to risk putting the climbing beans out this weekend. They're getting way to big to still be in the house really. I'll keep an eye on the weather and protect with fleece if necessary and worst case i can just plant some more later.

I was thinking of sowing the climbing beans directly Tiz can anyone see a problem with this plan?

if it is any consolation i have not even sown tender beans or squashes yet.

far too early to go out here in the midlands as we still have frosts for another 4 weeks yet.

I’m putting some beans out next week but I have planted a 2nd lot in case I lose the first lot (done the same with my peas too which are already outside). I have courgettes outside but not sure if they will survive, I’m in the SW so pretty warm here. I need to plant some more potatoes next week too, trying to spread them out in hope I can hav potatoes throughout the summer and autumn.

Well since the weather forecast for the next week is very good here (SE) and my plot is clear and level I decided to get lots planted this week. I've used weed proof membrane to create paths for now and will find something to go over that when I can but since I don't have bed edging yet I can't even chuck down woodchip or bark. Currently I have 12 x 1.4m by 2.7m beds. This week I have done two beds of potatoes, one bed for herbs (rosemary, chives, thyme, dill, mint, garlic and a couple more), one bed for salad leaves (rocket, spinach and mixed leaves). Tomorrow I'm doing a bed of brown onions and a bed of red onions. 2 beds of strawberries, one of carrots and one of tomatoes/french beans to go in soon. Finally courgettes and sweetcorn next month.

I've got a biggish space left at the end but it's not ready so it has a compost heap one on side and some what look like dead bushes on the other. In September if the bushes have come to nothing I'll dig them out and plant new bushes next year. The space between the compost heap and bushes is big enough to grow raspberries for next year so I'll sort that in the autumn.

Phew! It's been hard work but I'm really enjoying it. I don't have any netting at this point so will see how I get on but lots of people on the allotment do so I'm guessing I'll need to but no time at the moment.

We're continuing to have the hottest autumn ever. I went away for a few days and seeing the forecast, actually put shade cloth over my seedlings, and a good thing too; 29 degrees when I got back, but all survived on the single watering they got three days' earlier.

My broad beans have sprouted, and I've counted eleven lemons on the quasi-espaliered lemon tree. Both my containers tangerine trees are full of fruit. And leaf miner.

Hello Rhubarbisevil - I love rhubarb too but with lots of crowns find it can be too much, hence my username!

I watered my potatoes in yesterday - never before either Book. Have more to do next week - main room- but was clearing weeds ready to plant yesterday.

Seed planting in earnest. Lots of flower seeds this year as a first. Have cucamelons, courgettes and cucumbers now down and pricked out tomatoes and re-potted squashes and chillis. Cannot use greenhouse yet due to risk of frost. Need to plant beans, second lot of peas, PSB, leeks, spinach and salad - a busy Easter!

I'm on a massive seed sowing session this weekend, I got some snazzy seeds from an American friend last week, and swapped other snazzy seeds with her so I'm going for broke.

All my cucurbits, tender beans, and a last batch of tomatoes are going in. Nasturtiums as I grow them to keep the pests from other plants, and whatever else I can fit in. Plus pricking out and potting on, and putting my largest tomatoes into the greenhouse as the ones in there already have survived well.

My house has been taken over by tomato and pepper plants, I have way more than planned, I’m not even a big fan of peppers or tomatoes. I have moved some of my seedlings outside this morning. I seem to have a 2nd lot of radishes which I must have planted a while ago and left outside, not sure where I’m going to put them as my first lot of radishes have gone crazy. Not sure wether to move some lettuce outside into one of my raised beds, I need space indoors. Would I be crazy to move my beans outside? I have several lots so not the end of the world if the first ones don’t make it.

Also, is there anything that grows well in a compost heap, flattened it out yesterday to make more planting space, put some rhubarb in one corner. I know courgettes grow well in there but is there anything else? Most of it was rotted grass cuttings and others clippings from the garden over the past few years, it’s full of worms and wood lice, oh and a what looks like a ants nest.

Love squash, melons, pumpkins and courgettes love a good compost heap.

Lovemusic is there anyone locally you can do a plant swop with and get something that you do like? I do believe very much in growing what you really enjoy eating, particularly crops that are expensive, scarce or just less tasty when bought. I think anything but root veg should be very happy indeed in a compost heap.

I managed lots of sowing yesterday - sweetcorn, lettuce (red salad bowl and cos), peas, beans (french and runner), courgettes (Striato di Napoli and burpee's golden), cucamelons, calabrese, romanesco and pumpkins (musquee de provence, munchkin and potimarron). Current plan is to put up a few wigwams in my decorative edibles bed for the cucamelons, inca berries and Japanese wineberry.

Lots of asparagus coming on nicely though some of the crowns aren't putting in an appearance. My lovage, skirret and carolina allspice plants have finally shown leaves which is a relief as I was worrying it was dead! Persimmon is still holding out but I am hoping that it's just relatively late to leaf.

Thank you, I might attempt a pumpkin in the compost heap, I think I’m going to be over run with courgettes and squash.

I will look at doing a plant swap, I do eat most veg but tomatoes are probably my least favourite and the dc’s don’t eat them, I have several different peppers growing, I seeded them from peppers I bough from the supermarket and didn’t expect them to do this well, I have around 20 pepper plants 🤣

I have also planted cucamelons for the first time, are the climbers? Do I need canes for them to grow up?

Evening!
No plot for me today, but I did have time in the greenhouse , and sowed cucumbers, courgettes, butternut squashes and Winter squashes . Pricked out some more brassicas - more to be done yet .
Love - if you chhose a storing squash, you can keep them until now if stored properly somewhere cool and dark. . I have 1 left ( Crown Prince) - looking a little sad, but still great to cook with .
Cucamelons climb and twine. I grew mine in a pot with a mini wigwam of 2 'canes , and they did really well
We do plant share at our site, and we have a facebook page too , to offer spare plants . Or - offer them to your favourite Charity Shop perhaps?

I have also planted cucamelons for the first time, are the climbers? Do I need canes for them to grow up?

Yes plenty of them; they scramble everywhere.

Cucamelons do climb, I imagine they would scrabble across anything. last year I had one plant in a pot with a tripod of canes (a lot of off shoots around the pot on the floor- these fruited fine too) and another plant growing up canes then on to wires on a wall.