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

Hello, I'd like to join if I may please? Although I can only dream of allotments - but I do have two small raised beds, plus a herb bed and strawberry patch and an unheated greenhouse at the end of the garden. I'm training two espallier apples either side of two columnar cherries forming an arch to make the area into a minute kitchen garden.

I've had two shocking years when all I've managed to grow have been a couple of courgettes and some spindly beans. Even the greenhouse only produced a few handfuls of tomatoes through september and then a massive glut of unripe ones just as the frosts hit (lots of chutney!) Hoping for better fortunes this year.

GnomeDePlume what is this poo coffin please? Gotta try that!

I had success with Hamburg parsley "parsnips" last year - delicious and seemed to germinate well. I'm really hoping I can manage carrots this year - I had a great year for them 3 years ago and then 2 years when they totally failed to germinate! Nothing sown yet but must start making plans.

My carrots completely failed too last year - 4 sowings! Same with spring onions, which are normally infallible, and cauliflower.

The parsnips failed to germinate for me, planted them in toilet roll tubes. I'm going to try to pre-germinate this year and start them indoors When I was on lighter soil, I used to just sow the parsnips straight into the soil - made a drill, watered it, scattered seed, covered it over.Because parsnip seed is slow to germinate (all the carrot family seed is slow to germinate and isn't long-lasting) I'd also drop a radish seed every inch or so to show me where the line was. Since you can't use all the seed in a packet in one year, and it doesn't germinate well the second, you could try half the seed indoors and the other half straight into the soil.

I'm training two espallier apples either side of two columnar cherries forming an arch to make the area into a minute kitchen garden. That sounds lovely. I have a tunnel of apples underplanted with daffoldils, looks lovely in blossom and again when the fruit is ripening. I have to say the training isn't as neat as it should be, so it's more a thicket of apples with a tunnel carved through it but still gives me great pleasure, especially when I'm in the tunnel and the trees are full of long-tailed tits. (My garden is an indelible record of my mental health over the years, and the apples bear the scars of the bad times).

The apple & cherry partition sounds lovely! Do you have a picture? I tried to do a espalier fruit fence at my allotment, with pear, plum, apple and cherry. However my training of them went awry, and the only one that has ever fruited is the apple. Now I think I might not have the plot forever if we get a big enough garden when we buy, I’m not too bothered about fixing it though.

So have had a merry few hours this afternoon, got twice the amount of digging done than I was planning, which was great. The rains have left the soil soft and diggable but not sticky, so it was a real pleasure to work. Also had a sort through some seeds that had been abandoned in the greenhouse, thrown a few in some compost to see what they do, if they’re still viable. Fingers crossed! And harvested a bunch of greens (mizuna, mibuna, komatsuna) for a stir fry for my dinner, and for the tortoise too. Didn’t do the cuttings as I forgot to take the cinnamon, vinegar & honey I was planning on using as a natural rooting ‘hormone’ treatment. So I’ll probably do that next week. If I remember.

I used the parsnip seeds on a tape last year and they did quite well. I put them in my my asparagus bed as I know I wont mess around with that, accidentally hoeing them. However my best year with huge parsnips that didn't split was when I dug the area carefully, mixed the seeds in sand, sowed direct, then 'guarded' the area with string. I didn't hoe the area at all as the seedlings are minute - the weeds didn't affect the growth. Only when the seedlings were much bigger did I hoe. I've also seen people sow them in toilet roll tubes then plant the tube. I always think shall I bother but they are lovely to eat at Christmas.

I would like to try parsnips this year as it’s the one vegetable dd will eat, I had good success with carrots last year and also sowed a late crop which I ate in December.

@OneMoreForExtra the poo coffin is a large box, about 6 foot long by 3 feet and 3 feet tall with no bottom in my polytunnel. I fill it with layers of fresh horse poo and wood chips. As it rots it gives off heat which I use to warm the seed trays which I put on the surface. As the level drops I put more horse poo and wood chip in. Once I dont need it for heating the seed trays I use it for growing tomatoes etc in. At the end of the season I empty the poo coffin out onto the other beds in the tunnel.

It is a simplified version of something which used to be done in Victorian kitchen gardens to allow them to grow exotics and produce fruit out of season for the table.

Ummm...... doesn’t fresh horse poop pong a bit? Or do the wood chips sort that?

@Mazyka it does pong a bit but I dont find it too bad. Possibly I have gone nose blind. It does need to be fresh to get the heat from the rotting down.

By the end of the season the box is full of the most amazing fully rotted horse manure (which doesnt really smell at all). The beds in the tunnel are propperly 'no dig'. Before I started this the soil was terrible having been uncultivated for decades.

I love the sound of that fruit tree arch, and the science behind the poo coffin.

My allotment is currently almost completely covered with weed control fabric. I'm about 3/4 cleared now on my first year anniversary and knocking back the couch grass to make the last push easier. I decided not to do any winter planting and concentrate on finishing the job. Just the strawberries and some perpetual onions in the ground, and some autumn onions doing quite well in the cold frame at home.

My area has an allotment and garden society that buys in seeds etc for the members, so I've just been to collect my seed potatoes from them. This year I'm trying Maris piper, Nicola, and Lady Christl, and planting a few of last year's Roosters to see if I can do better with them this year. Apparently everybody loved the Lady Christls last year, so I have hopes.

My roosters last year were really crunchy compared to the ones in the shops. Possibly I lifted them too early.

Built another bed today-planned for asparagus. Acquired some autumn fruiting raspberries from another plot holder at the weekend-popped then in the ground. Loving the sound of these cherry and Apple partitions.
Our allotment chair recommended I take out all of my blackberries which has given me space-I think some more fruit trees would be lovely-have apples at home so maybe pears?

Oh dear. I've still made zero progress with my allotment - you all put me to shame! Even our back garden plants haven't been sorted out properly (the DC are very much fair weather gardeners!). Hoping to sit down properly with my RHS app soon and decide what to prioritise...

Err @ bookbook we are going to need a new thread soon.

I think bookbook is away sunning herself (not envious, oh no, not at all).

I hope everyone is battened down for the storm coming.

Sowed pea seeds today for planting out in a few weeks.

@GnomeDePlume the storm is already playing havoc here, lots of rubbish (not mine) flying everywhere!!

Bought some extra seeds yesterday that I didn't have - kale and lettuce - plus some rhubarb, which I love, but am sure no-one else in the house will like. Ah well, all the more for me

We sowed peas too the other day, plus some freesias and daffodils which DTS2 found in the cupboard. He is very keen but tends to drown everything in water. Bought him some new gardening gloves from Wilkos, £1, bargain.

Hope @bookbook is having a lovely holiday (of course I am not jealous either )

Lost the greenhouse overnight, just a little one with a plastic cover, it was attached to the wall but the fixings have just snapped. Luckily it got trapped down the side of the house so wasn't able to fly about and do any damage to anything else. Will have to start thinking about a more sturdy replacement

I'm definitely not jealous of Book as she is supposed to be flying home today . I went to the plot yesterday I only managed to get one bag of manure from my normal supplier so I put it on the asparagus and rhubarb. I tried to batten everything down but we shall see............

The storm is passing over us now. I'm 5 minutes away from my allotment and dreading going to it. It should be ok - dh assures me he did everything to fix down the polytunnel when he made it last year but time will tell. My bench and metal fire bin are the only loose items. Let's see.

Must be psychic ... just had a call to say its flown across allotment!

@Catrescue1971 oh no! I hope at least the frame is retrievable. We had to recover ours quite early on. When we put the second cover on we also installed a wind break. Just hoping this has been enough.

Have been down to rescue it. The whole frame had flown right across allotment complete with cover attached! Not much damage. But the weather is horrific, we can't investigate it now. I may change my mind!!

@Catrescue1971 when we had our second go we settled the frame a lot lower so that the bottom rail was sunk into the ground. We then put a windbreak around the tunnel on the exposed sides.

Ooh interesting thank you. Our allotment is very exposed. I think that might help - how did it work? I do think we should have put hosepipe over the top like my neighbours have done, as theirs stayed put, but dh insisted it would be ok - very exasperating. I wanted to spend the next couple of months tidying the plot, instead I'll be trying to fix this and the fence it hit.

Not been on to the plot today. I will ask DH to check for damage tomorrow.

Hoping @bookbook has made it back safely. DD was coming back from a weekend in Amsterdam with her partner. Their flight took off (and landed safely) but their friends on easyjet flights are stuck in a hostel overnight