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

[bookbook]

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

Fusion If you planted the bean flat then the shoot would come out sideways before turning upwards against gravity, and that would take it to the edge of the pot.

I would have thought radish would be OK if you sowed them outside. It hadn't even occurred to me to protect mine

Lettuces might appreciate cover if you sowed them indoors and have only just planted them out. I suppose it depends whetehr you get an actual frost as opposed to a chilly night. It can't hurt to cover overnight.

Quick run to the plot and my asparagus has been blown over by the wind...!! I only planted it a month ago-will it be ok?!!

Morning!
it was very cold last night , and the night before , so I covered my dahlias , and popped what I could into the greenhouse .
@oceany - I started with 9 crowns , in an approx 2m x 2m bed - I have extended it now as I have added another 6 crowns ( but they will not be cut for a couple of years) I think you can get a reasonable crop from 9-12 crowns after a few years , as once established you can cut as many of the spears you want within reason . You only need be careful whilst they are establishing their root systems .
Need - yes , I agree with Mere - and would move the seeds , I wonder if you could sterilise it someway to make it useable ( will have to go and google that I think )
Whattodo - I think it should be fine if you have managed to right it and get it settled back - I assume its only small, but if its blown over due to having long fronds , maybe a bit of loose support wouldn't go amiss. I usually put up some kind of help when they get really tall and waffy later in the season .
Hoping to get to the plot later - just more weeding and forking over to do . May even take down some cosmos and asters to plant - they have survived at home outside , so they would be better planted out I think .

Yes, -2 here last night, and probably with windchill on top, the car had frost on it when i got up. My pumpkins that have been out for a month already but under plastic are no more :-( I'd added an extra fleece blanket for them last night as well.

Even a couple of things in the greenhouse look to have been caught by the cold.

Debating what to resow if anything, I have plenty of cucurbits still living, just need to do a stock take of what's left.

In more positive news, there's evidence of at least 6 of the sweetcorn I planted last week germinating.

I lost my squashes and courgettes last night, luckily I have a 2nd lot growing indoors, one lot of potatoes got damaged by the frost but I think they will survive.I'm hoping I can plant most of my veg out in the next week or so (beans, squash, chard, aubergines).

Afternoon!
went up to the plot this afternoon - lots of people up there trying to protect potatoes - quite a few got nipped last night even with some protection .
All my squashes and courgettes are still in the greenhouse here , no casualties . And of course - I had to resow most of mine , and they are still popping out . So I now have 2 x squash crown prince , 2 x squash Hunter , 3 x squash Walnut and 5 courgettes ... - just a few too many , but enough to cover disasters I suppose!
I uncovered the strawberries that I had protected, and realised I have some tiny set ones . I did a fair bit of weeding - the ground is perfect for digging out bindweed , one small blessing for being behind with the weeding . Pulled a load of perpetual spinach - it is all going to flower now , so no point in being careful . I am ready to plant up this years plants shortly :)

Glad to hear your sweetcorn are germinating Tiz. I will try and get to the plot tomorrow evening to strim the grass. No frost here.

We had a frost here (Hampshire). It had largely gone when I woke at 7, I could just see it on shed and flat roofs, but when I went to the plot tonight I saw my neighbours runner beans had succombed. It's easy to think we're safe in the South by now but this is quite a regular occurrence here. I put heavy fleece over my strawberries on Saturday as they are in flower but haven't planted out anything tender yet.

Just digging and weeding at the plot at the moment, it is very peaceful in the evenings and so nice to be able to stay later now it's light. I always have a robin as company, he doesn't stick to social distancing. I have let the grass grow very badly in amongst my raspberries the last couple of years but have had time to dig a lot of it out now.

So pleased I have found this thread. I'm a fairly ok gardener but new to vegetable growing so I will read the thread with interest.

I've got sweetcorn, tomatoes and pepper plants - can I plant these outside yet? I'm in the SE, and after Sunday, the temp doesn't dip below 10*. I'm going to squeeze them them into an unheated greenhouse tomorrow but would prefer to get them out if I can.

Trebolla - mmm - I think it is still a bit risky on the tomatoes and chillies . . Sweetcorn ? At a pinch , as long as they have been well hardened off

Lost my courgettes, mini-pumpkins and runner beans in the frost overnight - - lots of us up at the allotment today preparing for a second sowing. I have no more pumpkin seeds alas, but five courgettes still in pots and I'll get more runners started tomorrow.
Kicking myself for planting things out too early - - still, at least there's time to get more seeds started and my slow progress in preparing new beds means my sweetcorn and other squashes are still indoors. Lesson learnt!

I had to put my tomato plants in the little (plastic) greenhouse outside as we've run out of room indoors, but they don't seem very happy!

My rhubarb plant is crawling with ants no idea why they like it so much, but it's been nibbled almost to death. A shame as it was growing really well. Any tips for plants to deter them?! I read that they don't like mint, but I have a mint plant nearby and it hasn't stopped them

My little bench blew over in the wind and I lost some carrot and beetroot plants which were coming along well. How annoying! Going to plant some more tomorrow. Managed to buy some strawberry plants locally though, DS2 was delighted and is watching them keenly!

Ants don't eat plants directly, but go after the aphids that suck the sap and exude a sugar rich substance. But if the plant has been nibbled I would suspect slugs. How large a plant is it?

Beans lost here too ... 6 more plants already an inch tall in second sowing. Will plant more today as a back up?

Hello, can I post a query? My French beans ( cobra) and borlotti beans have failed to germinate. The BB date on packet is 2019. Is it worth pre soaking and trying again or should I go out and look for new seed?
In other news, I gambled and lost with my lovely Black Russians pre planting out 10 days ago. Reduced to a pathetic frazzle by the first. Also the cucumbers. 😕

“ by the frost!”.

Ok shall leave the tomatoes and peppers for a wee while longer. Sweetcorn I’ll take down to the greenhouse tomorrow to give them some time to get used to the weather before going out and I haven’t dug their bed yet

Trebolla
I am also giving my sweetcorn a bit of extra time while frantically digging the bed. I am not sure how all the bindweed roots get in there fresh every day but it is incredibly slow progress!

Evening!
Even seasoned allotmenters have had problems up here , lots trying to catch an extra week growing . Fingers crossed I am mostly okay , but the set plums on my Victoria plum are looking pretty dicey , so may have lost those :(
Mm - Ruby ants , like Mere says don't eat plants - if its aphids they usually stunt the leaves . So by all means try getting rid of the ants ,and any aphids , but maybe try some slug deterrent too . Then feed and water, mulch if possible , give it a good chance to recover.
whatabout - I sowed both Cobra and Borlotti myself - the Borlotti all germinated , not a single Cobra , so I had to resow . There is still plenty of time to try again with the old seed - maybe try putting them on damp kitchen towel to get them started , see which are viable.
I am giving my sweetcorn a bit longer to acclimatise too - we like it too much to gamble on losing the ones I have .

@MereDintofPandiculation and @bookbook - I'm slightly baffled by the ants/ slugs! I ended up getting rid of the rhubarb as it wasn't looking good at all, but I haven't seen any snails or slugs around, and it's quite high up on my shelves so they'd have to go past other plants first... what a pain, whatever it was.

Planted some more carrots and beetroot today in the vain hope that it won't be too late - the annoying cat had dug up loads of them! - at least our peas are doing well.

@footprintsintheslow we are going to do the measuring tomorrow, I have some 'giant' (DP's!) footprints for the DC to use around the house and garden. Our potatoes have suddenly shot up, I think they will be the biggest plants we can find!

Just woken to another frost. Beautiful sunny morning though. Hoping the wind stays away today, it was very chilly in the shade yesterday. We could really do with some rain, the soil is getting rock solid again.

Cats keep digging where I've planted my carrots too Ruby, no signs of germination yet. Weirdly everything I sowed in March / April has germinated and thrived, planted a load more new seeds in the same incubator a couple of weeks ago and zilch. Not sure what's going wrong, maybe because the weather has been cooler, maybe its because some of my seeds are getting old.

@RubySlippers77 carrots and beetroots should be fine to sow now, they'll just be a little later. I sow beetroot throughout the summer as i find i can leave it in over the winter and get an early crop the following year

Everything still inside here, hoping i can get some stuff moved out this weekend. Cosmos is flowering in the greenhouse already

Tangelo - my potential sweetcorn bed is covered in couch grass, some huge yellow flowering weeds and wild strawberries. Probably mare's tail as well it's been everywhere bloody else I have been tempted to leave the wild strawberries but I do need the bed done :( it's also my penultimate bed to be dug since taking over the allotment in Feb. It's silly how much satisfaction I've got from clearing this neglected space!

Is it worth pre soaking and trying again or should I go out and look for new seed? Beans and pea seed are long lasting in storage, so 2019 beans should certainly be viable.

How are you keeping the seed? Have you done anything that might affect the viability? If not, then the fault will be with the germinating conditions. Where did you sow them?