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

Plum Moth. The grubs climb into the tree to overwinter.

You can put a moth trap up next month

www.organiccatalogue.com/stop-the-pests/biological-pest-control/plum-moth-trap.htm

And then use one of these going forward.

www.organiccatalogue.com/stop-the-pests/traps-and-barriers-top/fruit-tree-grease-200g-tub.htm

www.organiccatalogue.com/stop-the-pests/traps-and-barriers-top/glue-bands-573699.htm

sakrifice One of my plum trees has leaf-curling aphid for the second year in a row. I wonder if those barriers would work for the aphids too.

I'd check first but aphids are usually farmed by ants and the sticky collars prevent them from climbing up.

Hi Folks, it’s lovely to hear of everything growing and sprouting!
I’ve got at least the first sowing of almost everything in now. I need to do parsnips this afternoon and I’m undecided about whether to put the french beans in in the greenhouse.
I’ve potted the tomatoes and cucumbers into their final destination pots and taken a chance on putting the courgettes and first sowing of broccoli outside. I’m dithering a bit about whether to put my pea seedlings out, I’m away from Friday this week until Thursday next so they either stay in the greenhouse and I don’t start hardening off until I’m back or they go out on Thursday and take their chances!
Peppers are growing quite happily in their small pots, aubergines less happily (I’m tempted to just buy a couple of small plants!), melons I’m waiting on my second attempt at seeds, the first both died when I transplanted then from the seed cells to small pots, not sure why! Leeks have germinated on the second attempt but aren’t big enough to plant out yet. Spinach, carrots and onions are in the ground outside.
Main job for one evening this week is to set up the greenhouse watering system so everything in there doesn’t die while I’m away! I also have the fun of trying to work out the dosing rate of the exciting new gadget I’ve got to add feed to the water, think it’s going to involve a test run with a bucket and a small measuring jug!

I have planted the asparagus nail varnish peas now so will press on and probably cone back to tell you how right you were...

In more exciting news I have a few strawberries turning red in the greenhouse. Tempted to pick one tomorrow just so I can say I was eating homegrown strawberries in April!

Thanks sackrifice. Slightly creeped out by ants now!

Slightly creeped out by ants now!

For good reason.

Aphids suck the goodness out of the plant and it comes out their anuses as nectar.

Ants want the nectar so keep the ladybirds away by wrestling with them to keep them from eating the aphids.

It's a jungle out there.

Finally got up to the plot today after a week. Glad to see my sweetpeas hadn't been blown away! Sown some beetroot and planted some leeks given to me by a fellow plotter.
Oh and I've finally met my next door plot neighbour who told me my fruit bushes are blackcurrants.

That video is hardcore, man.

Thank you sackrifice A moth trap arrived today, so will pop that up tomorrow. Do I need a band now or wait until the autumn?

For a moment I thought I was possibly the only person to manage to kill rhubarb, a week ago I moved 2 rhubarb bulbs (each with one stalk) into my old compost heap, after a day or 2 they started looking sad and the stalks went floppy, I thought I might have killed them or the ants may have got to them. 2 days ago I had a delivery of compost so I put a small amount around the rhubarb, woke up this morning and the rhubarb is looking healthy and the stalks are no longer floppy.

One of my tomato plants has started to flower. My window sills look like a jungle with huge pepper plants, tomatoes and other seedlings. I thought once I had moved a few things into the garden I would have my window sills back but I ended up planting more (cabbage, cauliflower and French beans). My radishes are ready to pull so I will have more room to plant 🤣

Morning!
Gorgeous here , and had a good hour at the plot getting the next bed ( for squashes) ready - not got far, as chasing bindweed ( like elephant ) which is starting to show here . Dug some spring cabbage for tea.
Love - remember rhubarb is not only a greedy plant, it loves being watered ( I love the Geoffrey Smith quote - water rhubarb even when it's raining :) )
Ants are horrible Grouchy - I fought a losing battle with them last year on my broad beans .
I am just about ready to plant up my tomatoes in their final pots , but will probably wait until the weekend , as we are due a frost here on Friday night, so I want to just give them a cover with light fleece while they are all nestling together, along with the aubergines and peppers. They are a bit big for bringing into the house now ,
nickdrake - I seem to think the grease bands are put on overwinter, to stop the grubs climbing up the trunk , but I could be wrong!

Sun has come out and the peas have survived the last few days and I’m having a post work contented cup of tea in the garden. I’ve started a gardening club at school so now I’ve got two areas I’m not quite on top of. We planted strawberries which were baby ones from my established plants and peas that were left over, and they all went home with a chilli for the windowsill. I’ve got lots of spare sweet peas- would they be ok just planted into the ground and trained up the fence? I’ve only ever done them in pots.

My sweet peas do so much better in the ground, Cath. Much less watering too.

Right, what is the plot etiquette on occupied but untended plots? My next door neighbours haven't been seen in maybe 18 months - but they still keep their plot on. I believe one had been quite unwell. The plot is quite weedy now - dandelions galore. I'm not going to complain about them. From time to time I go in and cut down annoying weeds, or behead :/ dig up dandelions.

Yesterday i got a bit carried away with the weeding and did 1.5 raised beds of theirs. The soil is so dry that the evil creeping buttercups just popped out. Even the dandelions came out easily. It was addictive. I took the weeds home.

... So - was this interfering? And would it be frowned upon if I then planted things in those empty beds, with the caveat that if they come back, they can of course keep them, or rip them out?

The 'things' are probably tomatoes, of course. Maybe a spare courgette or 2.

Can you contact them and ask?? I have no idea about allotment etiquette apart from to suspect there is some. Thanks for sweet pea advice.

Zebra the problem I see is that the couple will probably lose the allotment if they haven't been working it and then you might get a new person who thinks 'Oh goody free stuff' and then it would be rather difficult to explain.

Spotted - have you a contact for a site manager/secretary ? I would get in touch with them if possible, and ask what is happening . Do you have a wish to take it over ? If so, then maybe you can also explain that you are trying to keep on top of the weeds, but would prefer to take it over .
Its how I acquired my second half plot - the chap lost heart and interest, I offered to help keep on top of it, then eventually I was given it as mine , as there wasn't anyone on the waiting list . I do have to make a hard decision this year, as now there is a waiting list, and it feels a bit unfair that DH and I between us have 2 plots .

I doubt I could contact them tbh. Our allotments are run by the parish council and it's very much bare bones - they'd not be passing on messages for me. They did 'get a letter' to say it was unkempt last year -I only know that as they also get pinned to the plot number so you can see who gets a telling off. I did ask the council chap to let me know if it becomes vacant...

It would only be left over tomatoes plants that I locate there, if I do so, so it wouldn't matter if I did lose them. And it would help them stay on top of it clutches at straws whilst also helping dent the local weed population...

Hmm.

I have exactly the same problem. Currently their dandelion seeds are wafting blissfully straight over my patch.

Luckily as I now grow in beds and the floor [or dancefloor as a friend calls it] is weed fabric so the weed seeds fall to the bottom of the beds and germinate there so we pull them out but even so, I pull them out daily and would quite like them to just cover the next door plot the same. I do have some large pieces of tarp, I might just put them down to put an end to this.

I think I'll email our new parish clerk and ask.

That's how I got my second half plot. There were a couple of different people who did a bit but never managed to get going. One man cleared two beds but didn't plant a single plant come the spring. I received an email saying my plot was not being looked after and did I still want it. I politely said that I don't think it was mine but the next one along, but if the person who had the neglected one didn't want it then I'd happily take it on. Six months later I got my hands on it. I think if they haven't done anything for the last 18 months I'd grumble to the council about them.

I've got lots of things popping up in pots at home but none of my runner beans have germinated so far which is surprising because they're normally quite quick to get going. So may have to sow some more.

cedar I have had issues with runner bean, I have planted another batch (from different seeds) and keeping my fingers crossed.

Looks like a chilly weekend so I won’t be moving anything else outside, though most things that are out there survived storm Hannah last week (peas, potatoes, lettuce, spring onions).

I would love a plot at the local alotement (which is a few metres from my house) but the waiting list is usually long. Luckily I have space in my garden but would love more space.

I bought 2 black currant plants yesterday but I have no idea where to put them as bind weed is likely to get to them.

Lovemusic Yes, I think I am going to have to try again with different seed. The ones I sowed were from a packet so should have been OK. I've got some saved seed so I shall try that instead. Everything else that I sowed is showing at least some sign of life just not the runners!

We have had some proper rain overnight - first time in weeks as we didn't get the big storm that lots had last weekend. Ground actually looks damp. I need to sow some peas this weekend and prep my bed for the cabbages.

I've also had to re-sow runner beans, because my toddler destroyed my seedlings that were on the windowsill!
I have some purple sprouting broccoli to plant out. Am I too late to lime the soil, will it be bad if I don't bother?
I'm slowly hardening everything off but forecast frost this weekend so won't be risking leaving anything out overnight just yet.

I ended up buying lots of early versions of seeds because I get too impatient and bung things out too soon. So most of my stuff is outside already (including my Latah tomatoes).