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

Another couple of hours today - planting teeny little red onion seedlings. Took bloody ages and we still have the brown onions to do. Next year I'll grow them from bulbs!

Will get the strawberries in tomorrow I think and hopefully the brown onions if I have the patience! Either way 5 out of 12 beds are done.

How often do I need to water potatoes?

Another couple of hours today - planting teeny little red onion seedlings. Took bloody ages and we still have the brown onions to do. Next year I'll grow them from bulbs!

Will get the strawberries in tomorrow I think and hopefully the brown onions if I have the patience! Either way 5 out of 12 beds are done.

How often do I need to water potatoes?

Morning!
Beautiful day here
tedious back breaking work Titsywoo ! But by all accounts, they store better if you grow them from seed. I use sets ..... :)
Had a trip to the plot , just got back. I planted out my sprouted peas ,( picture) Hurst Greenshaft which is my favourite and sown a succession row of a new one to me called Twinkle . Have erected chicken wire around to stop the birds .
I noticed the blackbirds foraging for worms - babies must be well hatched :)
I picked the first asparagus today . One ( the same as last year) is throwing out very spindly shoots. It better up its game , or its gone. I moved 2 big plants from the other bed , and they have thrown up their first shoots, so thats good. No sign of the new crowns as yet , though they are the Stewart Purple, and the ones I already have are not showing yet either .
This afternoon I need to prick out the brassicas . Busy busy now .
The flower seeds are being a bit - the cosmos have all come out, nearly ready to prick out . Just some signs of nasturtium germinating , but no sign of scabious or sunflowers . Spotted - have you had any luck? May have to sow some more I suppose !

Lovely weather here, hotter than expected. Been to the garden centre for a few things. Picked up some cheap seeds that someone was selling for 20p a packet, I think I have enough seeds for next year, managed to get pumpkin seeds for in the compost heap. Gradually moving things outside. My first lot of peas don’t look great, I think the frost got them but only the bottom leafs are effected, I’m not sure wether to just leave them and see how they go or replace them?

Are there any easy grow veg that will grow in the shade? I have space but it’s shaddy (gets a bit of sun).

It was hot here too, 24 degrees, so which plotmenter decided to wander along to her plot at 11.30 . I put in a few more peas and started the season's annual game of 'chase the bindweed' 3 years and never won a round yet. With the good weather forecast for the few days I took the plunge and planted my sweetcorn. It's currently on the window sill so fingers crossed. The car boot starts tomorrow and there are often a lot of cheap plants. I will be looking for some sweet peas as I planted all mine at the plot and forgot my own garden.

Such a lovely day! Felt like the height of summer. I was at the allotment at 9 to water then went down to the local stables to get a few bags of manure. Back to the allotment at 4 to plant the first bed of strawberries. I didn't have the energy to put the brown onions in so will try to get that done tomorrow if I can. Half my beds have been done in a week so I'm happy with that.

Hello- time just seems to be running away from me this year- late planting everything. Been away for a week gently fretting about things in the green house but checked last night when we got back and everything is ok. Lots of peas need planting out but I’m having my usual chicken proofing issues and just dithering . I have some out under netting but string winds got to them . Put some garlic in before we left which I’ve not tried before and then just spring onions , lettuce and chard. Told the kids we aren’t not going anywhere today just pootling in the garden. They are still in bed completely out for the count after long journey so I don’t think I’ll get any argument. Just about to take a cup of tea for a turn round the garden.

Picked up some artichoke plants today, not something I would usually buy but thought it might be interesting, any tips on growing them?

Love I was just reading up on artichokes. I grew mine from seed last year so this year they should flower. Apparently you leave the top (king) flower on and leave about 4 other flowers to develop any others you take off. In the Autumn you cut the artichoke down to the ground and cover with straw and fleece. They can keep going for up to six years. I didn't cut mine down last winter but they are still going but they are not as magnificent as some others on different plots.

Thank you elephant I picked them up from someone selling plants outside their house, I spoke to the lady who sold them too me and she said they come back each year and grow quite big. I will try and remember to cut it back in autum.

Evening!
another glorious day here .
This morning I prepped up the brassica bed ready , and watered. This afternoon went back with DH - he cut the grass, and I hoed around the onions and garlic. The asparagus has shot up from yesterday, the broad beans have loads of flowers , as have the strawberries .
All go now !
Love - I had artichokes on the half plot I took over. It is one of the very few vegetables I am not keen on , and I found out after 2 years that they are thugs - they grew incredibly large and took up a fair amount of room . They got bigger every year, and just came back. No special treatment from me - just a general mulch for over winter . We did try them, but not for us, so I dug them up and gifted them to someone who would appreciate them :)

Great weather here today too but a bit of an off shore breeze which was welcome. I planted more peas and put up a bamboo and netting support for them, I also probably rashly put up wigwams and planted runner beans and climbing french beans directly into the soil. I then continued chasing bindweed and creeping cinquefoil. I'll get there one day

Asparagus also shooting fast here and sunflowers. Transplanted herbs into a planter earlier and sowed salad greens , rocket and broccoli.

I forgot to mention my asparagus is very skinny, is this normal in the first year?

lovemusic would rhubarb do in your shady spot?

I’m after advice about plums - I’ve finally got fruit forming on a tree I’ve had about 4 years. I had 3 form last year but they didn’t make it. Is there anything I can do to improve the chances for these baby plums survival??

cathpot I already have rhubarb in my other shady spot 🤣 I do love rhubarb though.

I have a row of seeds showing signs of life, hooray! Looks like I'll have plenty of parsley, if nothing else.

The bindweed offensive continues. Four trugfuls removed from around the blackberries. And I noticed that the goat willow tree I cut down in January is sprouting at the base so it looks like pickaxe time for that.

I laid a layer of wool and jute felt around the blackcurrants a month ago and couldn't work out why the loose mulch on top wouldn't stay put and there was wool poking through everywhere. Early yesterday morning when it was just me, one other person and the birds, I watched a jackdaw turn up, dig a bit and liberate a huge beakful for its nest. So it's an expensive failure as far as mulch goes, but there are going to be some really comfy baby birds nearby. I can live with it .

We had our first proper asparagus harvest yesterday. Stewart's purple is still barely up though.

Blackberries are good in shady spots - raspberries too.

Cath I'm not an expert on keeping plums going but based on my previous mistakes I would suggest keeping the trees consistently watered, thinning out surplus fruits so the tree isn't dividing its energy too much, and netting them well before they become ripe. Oh, and protect from late frosts.

sound I have seedlings appearing (beetroot) but I’m constantly battling with weeds including bindweed and mares tails (think that’s what they are called?). I’m looking forward to rain on wed so I don’t have to water anything but I’m guessing the weeds will go crazy when it rains.

Thanks una that’s a doable list.

Morning!
Just got back from cutting asparagus :)
elephant mmm , wish I knew about the skinny asparagus. I thought last year it was due to being so warm and very dry , will be interesting to see what happens this year. Yours is new though I think? So may just need a couple of years to feed up the roots to get going. I am getting skinny and thick from the same plant here . I didn't mulch as much this year , with having a new extension to the bed.
Love - may be worth trying spinach in the shady bit, if its gets some sun, maybe chard too if not too dry .
Cath - Una has it on the plums . I think they were in buckets up until recently? So I would take off nearly every plum in truth - maybe leave 2 or 3 . A bit harsh, but it will benefit the tree in future years not to put it under stress this year.

book you have a good memory! This is my only non bucket plum- I’ve got no blossom on the others sadly but they are at least alive.

Just bought a late summer raspberry - want to plant next to my raised beds. Am I better putting it in its own raised area rather than into the ground. If we mix compost with horticultural gravel will it be sufficient for drainage/acidic medium? Also sown some celery and Brussel sprouts, neither of which have been successful previously.

My only issue with raspberries is that they spread and pop up in adjacent areas . Mine are in a bed which has a small edging which allows manure to be dumped in once a year and seem very robust - but there is decent soil underneath. Not sure about depths You would need , someone will know more I’m sure.

I was given some raspberry bareroots last year - got far more than I needed so put the surplus in one of the worst spots in the garden (shallow bed in side passage which gets virtually no direct sunlight). I'm sure that they won't be as productive as the ones in the fruit bed but they are tough plants, cost nothing and it seemed better than composting them. I think they have a fairly shallow root run which is why they spread everywhere!