Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 14 ! growing into summer

[bookbook]

Well, here we are - its the end of May and after a cold spell , we are heading for summer .
Everyone welcome to join us in the joy of growing your own , sharing the ups and downs , tips and advice
previous thread HERE

I love the bizarreness of it Expletive, reminds me a bit of this strawberry a friend grew

Sown at the start of the year...not down.

Lovely aubergines bookbook - i have one set so far so I'm hoping it develops. Mine are outside at the moment but I'm considering abandoning some of the tomatoes in the greenhouse to make room. I've had one solitary tomato this week and not even got any others set. Not sure what's going on as the plants themselves look healthy.

Have to keep reminding myself that it's the start of August not the start of winter when I look outside. It's been a week of courgettes and blackberries for me (and my solitary tomato).

The tassles on my sweetcorn seem to have vanished, not sure if they've been nibbled by something but they were fairly brown looking before that so hopefully it won't matter. The cobs aren't very big though, i might take a peek later.

Almost all my courgettes (3 plants: 2 yellow, one green) are not pollinating, resulting in rotting fruit

Even the green courgette (Black Beauty), that I thought was doing better, is still not developing rotting fruits - just a bit bigger when they start to rot from the flower end I've just removed one that had grown really big at one end but stayed small at the other end and then started rotting

In better news, my runner beans have finally started to set

Oh no pretty, could it be blossom end rot?

Almost all my courgettes (3 plants: 2 yellow, one green) are not pollinating, resulting in rotting fruit

Every time you see a female flower, open it up, pick off a male flower, remove the petals and gently insert the pollen end into the female flower. It really helps to set fruit.

I'd do that sackrifice - if I ever had male flowers available at the same time as even still closed female ones The Atena (yellow) plants are particularly bad for that

Afternoon all .
pretty - courgettes seem to be my nemesis this year . Though the two new plants I put in seem to be thriving , there is not a hint of a flower yet
All morning at the plot , digging up some more potatoes , harvesting beans , cauliflower and calabrese. Cut some more dahlias . Tied up the loganberry , which has gone beserk . But no wind damage thank goodness.
It was a bit um for me , as I have made the very hard decision to give up (my) half of the plot . In fairness , DH and I have a half plot each ( you cannot get a full plot now) , as I took over the adjoining half when the previous plot holder gave up when we had big problems with rabbits , and no-one on the waiting list . I took it over , and have tried to make the best use of it , but there is now a waiting list for plots , and its not fair I keep it on and not use it to its full potential . In context , the half plot we will keep is still big ,( about 30 metres long by 7.5 metres wide) and plenty big enough with a few adjustments to what I grow , and turn some grassed areas into growing areas.
The next person on the list has come and said they will have it , once I have harvested my sweetcorn , squashes and autumn raspberries .
So a bit of a weight off my shoulders in truth , but a bit sad too . It means I can really get on top of all the jobs that constantly need doing - I am usually always running to keep up ! I faffed in the greenhouse this afternoon - finally pricked out my spring greens and cabbages , and some winter cabbages that I sowed when I thought all my sprouts and PSB would be lost due to cabbage root fly . They are thriving , and I now have 20 "Tundra" seedlings, of course

book I was there this time last year, we very nearly gave up. So we decided to cover it in weed fabric, get pallet collars to grow in and by toptoil.

We were just saying today how wonderful it is now, we just go, sow, plant, do the odd tiny bit of weeding [mainly dandelions from the next door's plot hayhem], take leaves off that are in the way or dying, pick crops and water. That's it. Takes 15 mins a day, all year round.

9 years of back breaking nightmare and now 1 year of absolute joy.

It's a game changer.

buy topsoil...

We've been away and missed the storms but luckily everything on the plot seems to have survived. A week of neglect has yielded this crop... and I haven't even got to all the squash and plums! I'll be freezing them as we are away again this week.
My pumpkins are looking very poorly all of a sudden though. The pumpkins themselves are massive and starting to turn orange but the leaves have suddenly all gone mildew ridden and started to die back. I think I'll need to harvest the pumpkins before we go away in case the plant ends up dying and the fruits rot.

Today's pick. Don't know why I picked it as I have got leftover curry for tea tonight.

Afternoon!
sack - definitely going to make life a lot easier and simpler only having half the space !
Lovely harvest pics .
I got back to the plot this morning , and got a fair amount of hoeing and weeding done, along with some picking . Mostly french beans , and bits and pieces of calabrese and sprouting broccoli .I'm trying to leave some almost ready stuff , as we have our annual veg show on Saturday . Fingers crossed I have sweetcorn , french beans and a nice red cabbage , if they behave themselves :)
It has been so wet the last couple of days , but yesterday picked more aubergines , and tomatoes are starting to ripen at last.
The plums are looking so nice , loads for such a little tree

Nice plums.

I'm about to give up my plot - I've received the letter from the parish council telling me I'm too overgrown (I am!). Truth is, I don't have the time to drive into the city, hire a lawnmower and strimmer, just to keep the path clear, and if you don't go to the allotment during the week you're not part of the gang who get the council delivered soil improver etc.

Do you think it's sufficient to strim and remove the plastic sheeting I've had down to stop some of the weeds? I can dismantle the raised beds as well I guess?

didireally are there any bods you talk to at the allotment site? Most people I come across at mine would only be too pleased to help one out with strimming problems on the odd occasion until one can get things sorted.

I think sometimes it can be the wrong time to have an allotment and then it becomes a burden rather than something you enjoy doing. We've given up one previously because we weren't able to keep on top of it. If you are giving up then take anything that belongs to you that you can make use of elsewhere. It is a bonus for the next plot holder to inherit these things but if you can use them yourself then take them.

We're off on holiday at the weekend. Most of our tomatoes are stubbornly green so have told the cat sitter to help herself (in return for watering) as I expect they'll ripen while we're away. Will have to do a quick harvest and freeze any beans. The rest will be left to the mercies of the slugs and snails.

Morning
ah didI - as Cedar says , sometimes the timings are not right , but worth checking as elephant says . Do you see any other plot holders to ask for help ? Even if you can borrow a strimmer/lawnmower and pay for the petrol, usually someone will help , as it helps them too .
On our site , you have to clear the plot in the months notice , then anything left goes to the next tenant, so yes , take anything away you have added for future use .
Its a bit blowy here , and cool . Off to look around Harlow Carr this afternoon - they usually have a great set of small vegetable plots to drool over!

Have you got pics of the plot before you give it up?

Have you got a budget for it?

Can you take out the raised beds, put weed fabric down, fill raised beds with topsoil and then just go from there?

I managed to get to the plot today, yesterday was such a wash out. I've been away for a few days so lots of beans, cucumbers and tomatoes to pick. Some of the tomatoes are split, due to the rain I expect so I have my cauldron on stewing the tomatoes and patty pan courgettes to make pasta sauce. In Grumpy Ron's greenhouse I have three aubergines and some peppers. I'm feeling quite proud of those, ratatouille next week.

@sackrifice I can't take the time off work for a soil delivery and there no where to offload a delivery nearby as I don't have a path side plot so I'd have to barrow it all off the truck.

I've put 100+ compost bags of horse manure down, probably 30 on the raised beds but I need more soil. I got 20 trugs of soil improver from the council tip but didn't cover it immediately with sheeting so it just grew weeds.

I'll dig up some of the fruit bushes and then see if I can hire a brush cutter. I think if I rack it all up with the careful application of petrol I can have a bonfire. I have three pallet compost bins full of vegetation but we're so dry that 3 years on they are just straw!

You could use the soil you already have, put weed fabric down on half the plot, put the raised beds on the fabric; dig out the soil into the raised beds, and then once they are filled, rake out the rest and cover that half. hard to plan without a photo...is it thick brambles that need a brush cutter?

Anyway, tonight's crop. First cut of Malabar Spinach which is surprisingly lovely.,

Dd and I have just eaten the first corn on the cobs this season. Delicious.

Afternoon!
well, its bucketing down here . Luckily I went to the plot this morning to pick things - not much chance of winning any prizes , but will give it a go at the show . I was just finishing as it started to rain , so its was in the back of the car to stay dry .
I have picked sweetcorn too elephant - it will eat tomorrow night . I don't think it will win any prizes - they are not as good as last year , and I didn't win any then either!
I did pick the very first few ripe plums , and some raspberries too :)
Is the malabar spinach a perennial, or annual sack ?
I met up with the lady who is going to have the other bit of plot , hopefully we shall get on in a neighbourly way!