Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 15 - will winter ever end?

[bookbook]

Hi everyone , just putting this up quickly , will add on later
Everyone welcome! :)

I have been a late starter to our allotment this year and it's a bit disheartening to go down and see the other prepped plots. I am getting frustrated by the fact that the plots near mine are all dug over and are a lovely crumbly soil but mine is just big clumps. What am I doing wrong? How do you get that bread crumb like soil?

Thanks Tiz will try that.

Morning all, and another vote of love for the liberated apple tree upthread.

My brassicas (kalettes, sprouts, kale) are languishing in the greenhouse, so I might try planting them out in their final positions in a raised bed. I'm in the south east with a sheltered garden, so I'm fairly confident that we're safe from frost. Could the sweetcorn and courgettes go outside in the ground yet?

Also, forgot to add... I've got a cocktail kiwi that I bought and planted in the autumn. I don't want it to get any taller, so should I cut its top off? Will that encourage lots more side-shoots?

Sorry for all the questions!

Offtheshelfelf
I'm going to risk getting my courgettes in this weekend because I'm desperate to free up pots and space at home. Might even try and get my runner beans in early next week. I'm in London - my allotment is fairly sheltered.

This is a handy little tool for checking the final frost date in your area:

www.gardenfocused.co.uk/adjust-dates-uk.php

It isnt definitive, we were caught out by a late sharp frost a few years ago but it is a good guide.

Pyjamasarethenewblack you have tilth envy, it is common amongst allotmenteers! You get there in the end but I think it does take a lot of digging, manure in autumn, breaking up the large lumps with a fork. Rotovating if you can. The clods will be hardest to work when they are dry. Try working them when the soil is slightly damp as they may well break up better. I am looking forward to the time (probably just before I hang up my trowel for good) when our soil is friable enough for me to be able to justify a Mantis Tiller.

beasts to cut. (quinces) Oh, they are! I've taken to boiling them whole, then waiting till they're cool to dismember them. Then the flesh goes to quince paste (marmalada (Pt), membrillo (Sp)), and the cooking water with some further boiling of peel and pips is strained to make jelly.

I’ve got a very old apple tree that does lots of flowerIng but only has about 10 apples Is there another tree flowering at the same time nearby? That sounds like a pollination problem.

The advice is not to plant out until the end of May/start of June, but they are already pretty big - around 1 ft - and will be massive by the end of May. Should I plant out early? It depends whether you think you'll get another frost. Main thing is to remember when you sowed them, and consider whetehr you need to sow them quite so early next year. I haven't sown mine yet (Yorkshire) and wasn't going to until the beginning of May.

would dwarf French beans and Runner beans grow in a grow bag or in a deep pot? Yes. Runners will need a deep pot - I grow 4 in a pot about 18 inches square and 18 inches deep. Dwarf french would be OK in a growbag.

What am I doing wrong? How do you get that bread crumb like soil? In my case, years of mulch. And not digging and disturbing the lumpy clay underneath

Thanks Gnome and MereDint 😊

pyjamas
If it makes you feel better, I feel like I spend hours hoeing and raking my earth to try and transform it from stony rubble to rich, fine and beautiful. A couple of shovels of manure deffo helped the bed I dug out last night - but I do find myself starinv mournfully at other plots. (except the one next to me where the earth is literally cracking in a slightly terrifying way)

Thanks Tangelo. I admit I just cover my plot over in winter (no other prep) then act surprised when I uncover it and it's not great. I used to feel much better as the plot next door was awful for ages but a talented and committed woman has taken it in hand now. I have the site manager on the other side of me and she is phenomenal. Her plot is beyond amazing.
Looks like I need to put much more effort into it. Lesson learned!

Evening all!
erm - I have had my allotment for a few years now , still haven't managed that perfect tilth , but mine is all dug and raked by hand . Still have too much bindweed to use a rotavator .
Just an hour at the plot today - dug out all of the last spring cabbage , dug over that bed ready for courgettes in due course . Picked sprouting broccoli , and dug up 2 plants that have gone over - just 2 left now , will get another couple of picks with luck from them . That bed is getting prepped up for beetroot /spinach etc . Pricked out the sprouting broccoli seedlings ( isn't it weird to be doing that , when I am still picking form last years ? ) My borlotti beans are all through , the french beans only 2 so far , but I always do an early sow , then I have the chance to top up with a second sowing .

Just catching up looking like great progress. Thinking about planting our courgettes this weekend... aubergines aren’t doing anything yet so may try another sowing...

Does anyone here have any tips for heavy duty gloves for bramble removal?

I double up - a pair of close fitting gloves first and then a pair of large pvc coated gloves over the top www.millracegardencentre.co.uk/gloves-pvc-coated-l.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwv4_1BRAhEiwAtMDLss1lwWSzfoauzmonCqIW5onMRdmzSs4teAcjnw5IPvUMazjYMr2j0BoCm10QAvD_BwE

I've got a pair of thick leather fire-proof gauntlets (they came with our woodburner but you can get similar on Amazon). Also useful for pruning gooseberries and getting reluctant cats into carriers.

Please could someone remind me when I should be planting out tomato plants? I’ve got Moneymaker for the bed outside, Tumbling Toms for the baskets on the shed, and beefies for the unheated greenhouse with no door. They are currently in a coolish bedroom but are starting to get a bit leggy. Manchester plot so last frost date of mid-May.

I've dug up all of my purple broccoli now, the plan is have at least double the number of plants next year. I have a tray of seedlings but think I need to make a second sowing.

My broad beans, cherry tree and acer all have blackfly (they're all in different locations).

Need to take the strimmer up to the plot soon and try to sort out my jungle around the rhubarb. I also need to put up some sort of border to stop people driving over, and parking on, my rhubarb!

chock I'm nearby and mine are outside, still in pots so I can bring them in if needed though. They're in a sheltered south facing garden too.

Thanks Mere

A day in the greenhouse. Lots to sow still and pot on. Not that there is much room. Desperate to get things outside but still too high a risk. Still unable to get spinach to germinate so trying again with a new packet of seed.
Spring onions are beginning to appear in the raised bed.

Thanks @Pyxie - might take a chance then!

I don't plant out anything frost sensitive till the second half of May and I'm in SE England. However we are in a frost pocket and late May frosts are definitely a thing here. There are online frost maps for gardeners to help with timings.

A day at home yesterday, sorted out all my patio pots and did some weeding in the borders, also more bramble removal. Planning a drive to the allotment later with my chitted potatoes to plant out and so I can bring back garden waste (our collections are still running). Will also take the strimmer, my grassy edges are getting very long.

My broad beans, cherry tree and acer all have blackfly (they're all in different locations). Standard advice for broad beans is to pinch out the tips to deter blackfly (which like the tender new growth). Obviously you don't want to do this until the beans have reached full height and are developing flower buds. You can eat the tips that you remove.

Morning!
chock - answered your own question there ! My tomatoes are in the greenhouse during the day , but I bring them indoors overnight until threat of frost has gone .
footprint - I use thick lined leather/hide gloves . Briers I think?
Pyxie - gah on the blsckfly . Can you spray with a soapy mixture ? For worse infections Neem oil is brilliant , but expensive .
Had a bit of a trip down to the plot this morning . I planted out beetroot that I had sown in plugs at home . Dug up some leeks , and the very last cauliflower . Cut another batch of asparagus . Started prepping up the leek bed - its not dry underneath the top dry crust , thank goodness . And managed to take a load of stuff to the waste trailer - all the thick brassica stems and perennial weeds that I don't compost .
So almost tidy . The strawberries are beginning to flower :)