Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 14 ! growing into summer

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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’m looking forward to getting some unusual potatoes at a potato fair. Also trying Amish Paste tomatoes.

Went to look at allotments today. The ones round the corner from us are dinky but that's perfect for us. This one is showing as free but has recently been dug over so the council are going to double check. Really hope it was just someone chancing their arm and it is actually free as the other free one has a full grown buddleia and bramble patch on it!

Afternoon!
well Emrys - fingers crossed , but seems a bit unlikely to be so lucky to have someone dig it over , but you never know . Yes , brambles and Buddleia are a menace , but doable with time and patience :)
LoveMusic - I have never covered my rhubarb ,the early one of mine ( Timperley Early) is trying to unfurl leaves , and usually grows through the snow anyway !
Well, I finally managed to get back to the plot to pick veg and check over stuff . Have been a bit walking wounded after thinking I was a mountain goat walking down a steep path at the beach ( readers - I am not ) so cockled my ankle rather badly . Today , I was able to go and get my wellies on :)
All is looking okay , the soil is just starting to show signs of drying out - no rain for the past week . Rather a lot of slug damage and no sign of germinating broad beans , or garlic pushing through as yet .
Will think of sowing broad beans in plugs this weekend .
So a couple of leeks , some sprouts and a bit of sprouting broccoli , along with a sightly slug nibbled savoy are on the menu for the next couple of days

It does seem unlikely but the council man is adamant noone has registered for that plot and thinks that as allotments are under subscribed round here someone thought noone would be interested and decided to take a chance on claiming it without paying the Council for it!

wooppee! so is it yours so you can crack on and get planning?

Just waiting for final confirmation from the council as he is just double checking his records but he is 99% sure they are correct. Probably won't hear until Monday though.

I made it to the plot today, sunny and bright but a bit nippy. I had a bit of a tidy up and weed and got out some rogue raspberry canes. Book I managed to get beans in before Christmas ans they are doing ok but I too thought I would plant some more this weekend. Will you be starting yours off in the greenhouse of just outside in plugs?

I went to my plot yesterday - and picked a good day for it! Cold, but beautiful. Still very, very muddy as even dry days seem to have wet nights atm. I cleared out the shed so now I know where things are and even discovered lost items and things I forgot I had!

Morning !
elephant - I have sown them in plugs in the greenhouse ( and under cover to keep them from drying out - will take cover off when germinated)
Windy here , due storms and rain later on in the week, but not cold at least :)

Well a slightly longer wait than I thought but the plot is ours! I can't quite believe we have managed to get such an easy plot to start with, I was fully expecting to be digging up years of grass growth, removing bushes etc. Now to get planning :)

wow Emrys - good news!

My first trip to pick veg for a few days here, a glorious one at that - the soil is drying out at last . Wanted to get a couple of days worth , as gales due tomorrow .
So some perennial spinach , a little bit of sprouting broccoli , sprouts and sprout tops .
Will be using one of my crown prince squashes this week for a bit of variety :)

Managed to get to the plot twice this week - yay! I forgot how much I love being there. There is something so calming about it. They should prescribe allotments on the NHS for people feeling low!

Got two more beds dug over and covered with manure. My greenhouse is up and looks amazing! Will post a pic in a minute. I need to spend time this year on the end of my plot as I want to plant some fruit trees but currently there are huge stumps and roots of old fruit bushes from a previous plot holder that I am struggling to get out. I'm tempted to pay someone to do it to be honest. I don't have the strength and DHs back is dodgy and I wouldn't want him to make it worse.

Here it is

Greenhouse looks fab Titsy!

Hoping the rain holds off this weekend so I can go and scope out my plot and work out what needs doing first. Could do with the head cold I have had for weeks to go away too.

Can I join? An allotment has come up for my friend (we are both on the list) and she has decided it’s too big so we are going to share it!! At the moment it is a barren sight with a whole load of black tarpaulin on it and we don’t get the keys until Tuesday to see what’s lurking underneath! If it is a bit of a mess what did any of you do with the tonnes of weeds - I’m thinking it may fill about 5 compost bins which we won’t have so do I take it away in my car to the dump??
Does anyone have any top tips on where to get a relatively cheapish shed?
I’m thinking of not doing raised beds because I have them at home and they become near concrete without constant watering! Do any of you just plant direct in the ground? I did think of getting some treated palette board wood (quite cheap on eBay) and use that as some edging to make it look neat?
Does anyone recommend a good book on what to do even or follow a Facebook thread or similar?
I’m so blooming excited!!! I shall read through this thread now!!

Welcome Janus. I've edged the beds with gravel board which someone suggested on this thread so they are sort of raised beds but essentially I'm just layering manure on each year and planting directly.

We are planning to do a tip run with the massive pile of turf that has been left on ours Janus.

I am looking into edging for the beds too. Not planning to go the full raised bed but do want some sort of edging. Will look at gravel board elephant :)

Do you join the boards together elephant?

The boards I bought were very long and they determined my bed size, just shorter than the existing beds which I was happy about as the grass paths were getting too narrow. Before and after photos.

Thank you! I’ve just seen gravel boards on Wickes for £4.50 each so £18 per bed is such good value, what a great tip! They look great elephant.

EmrysAtticus - if you have a compost heap (or another area to store them) you can stack the turf in it (grass sides facing) and let them compost down

Thanks Titsy, there is an area at the back currently with a fair bit of rubbish in but if we can clear that tomorrow then hopefully I can set up a compost heap of some sort. I think for this first year because we are on such a budget it will largely be doing what we can but we can improve things year by year :)

Hello again!

We use gravel boards to edge the beds. They do help to keep paths clear.

Rather than building compost bins we designate one or two beds each year as the following year's hot beds. Everything compostible is heaped onto the designated bed then at the end of the season we trample it down to make it sort of level and if possible put horse manure on it (delivered from a local stables £10 per trailer load). A few weeks before the main planting season starts we cover the hot beds with weedproof matting which has some holes in it through which we will plant courgettes, gherkins, squash. They love the heat and grow really well. At the end of the seson the cover comes off and we are left with a really well composted bed.

Glad to see people are getting going again both here and on the field. I planted my first seeds of the new season on Boxing Day (onions, shallots and parsley). Pleased to see that they are all germinating nicely. Still using the 'poo coffin' in the polytunnel which acts as a heated propagation bed.

We have taken on a new plot to turn into an orchard. It already has about half a dozen trees on it and we will be adding another 20 odd apples and pears. My plan is to have as many different varieties as we can afford.

There isnt a waiting list and no doubt there will be a few more plot holders dropping out at the next rent day in March.

I love the hotbed idea Gnome! I'm going to try that this year.

It really does work Titsy! Our main allotment plot had been neglected for years before we took it on. The soil was very pale and compacted. We are slowly working the hot beds round the plot and year by year the whole plot is getting more workable and the soil is noticeably darker.

It is worth slug control before you put the weedproof matting down as the lovely atmosphere does encourage the wretched things. Being covered up does mean that other animals arent attracted to the slug pellets (if that is the direction you take, we do).