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

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

Yippee for cherries cathpot I harvested my morellos today and have made a lovely looking cherry pie-will try tomorrow. The squash, courgettes patch is looking crazy all of a sudden except one end is being eaten to pieces. Managed a quick water and harvest today, hoping for rain tomorrow....

I would have to make a tiny tiny cherry pie! This is why I aspire to an allotment whilst realising I wouldn’t be in top of it if I got one. My lettuce are going to seed and they are about 20 steps from my kitchen. I have no one to blame

I am so done with cherries. I've picked about 5kg this week, up a ladder in amongst twiggy branches and leaves all sticky with blackfly in 30+° heat, ants everywhere, the lawn covered in rotting cherries and stones, birds dropping half eaten cherries on me while I sit in the shade under the tree. There are still masses on there, the birds can have them.

at expletive

I am waging a war against the pigeons who have taken to sitting in the gooseberry bush to eat all they want!

I have about 4 punnets full of black currants , about 2kg of gooseberries and the raspberries just starting but they get eaten fast by the birds. I also figure the birds can have the rest.

The one cherry tree got cherries but the birds got them all before we even picked one!

Also remember the tomatoes I had given up on? They started flowering today! V odd!

So, I have a section of the garden which I want to grow either edibles or flowers to pick . It’s sunny and dry next to a wall- about double the size on the photo as there is a large bush to the right that I’m taking out. I think I’m going to build it up into a low raised bed and back fill it with horse poo etc as it is very dry. So far I’ve failed to grow raspberries ( they didn’t like the spot for some reason ) and strawberries because although they grow ok I can’t net them easily and they are a faff to pick because it’s too deep and I lost loads to slugs as well. Wondering if it would be better to split it into two sections so I can reach the back more easily and then I might look after it better! Any suggestions?

I caved with the cherries, couldn't resist.

Cath - could you put stepping stones at strategic intervals in the bed so you can get to the back without stepping on the soil too much?

I did that in the past but they have ended up completely buried in leaf litter ( chickens didn’t help as they liked tootling around that bit) . I was thinking if I put a set of slabs to the back wall and then retaining planks along the slabs so I would then be on a very short path between two beds it would be better. I really don’t spend enough time keeping in top of the garden and I was thinking if I could make it easier to access and then grow annual flowers which need les input?

Cathpot could you put in long narrow raised beds with walkways in between from the wall to the path? If you get rid of the bush I reckon there would be room for about 3.

Yes, maybe 3 would look nice . We’ve been waiting for the tip to open for garden waste to chop things down- there is a tree that came down in a storm before lockdown that is blocking the other end. Thanks for replies- just need to getting going with it.

Afternoon!
well , no rain at all here ,grr.
Was down at the plot this morning , so had to water . Checked everything over , picked 2 courgettes , lots of sweet peas , and the few strawberries and gooseberries ( first ever crop off a baby plant ) . Lots of hoeing due over this next week , but everything is looking okay .
Cath I think elephants idea may work if the pathways are just beaten earth with some pinned down weed membrane and a covering of chippings. Is it sunny along there - if you want edibles and a cutting flower bed , maybe herbs would work , globe artichokes ( if you like them ) rhubarb perhaps and annuals to cut

oh , and maybe perennials like lavender and pinks for cutting ,

forgot the pic !

Yes it is sunny. I’ve got herbs in other places but I like the idea of flowers- although more gooseberries would be nice too.

Cathpot sweet peas, clematis or passion flowers would look lovely growing up that wall.

Oo I love Passion flowers , that’s a good idea.

So do the bumble bees .

Cathpot Maybe that's a good spot for squash/ courgettes, get them to climb up supports against the wall?

You could do a shape like a fork with 3 tines - ie a long bed against the wall with 3 narrower sections coming out to the path with gaps between them for access.

and put scented leaved geraniums in the middle one so that you brush against them all the time.

So I chose today to plant out all my tomatoes, and I am now sitting at home listening to the 40mph winds whipping in from the sea. Do you think they will survive? They are all staked well but it will be a harsh introduction to the outdoors from their early days in the conservatory (I don't have a greenhouse). I guess they will lose any flowers which they had

@TheKickinside - could you rig up a temporary windbreak perhaps?

My tomatoes took a bashing in the wind yesterday too. They're up against the backwall of the house so they have some protection, but one had snapped. I had to run round to find some longer stakes and tie them up a bit more. One is tied to a hanging basket now :-) Flowers and baby tomatoes still attached this morning.

Slightly off topic, does anyone keep chickens? Any hints/tips/advice?

Harvested a cabbage and a Di Nizza courgette (plenty more waiting in the wings). Am hoping to also pick some peas for tonight’s dinner.

Need to put my cucumber in a bigger pot and stake it.

My Anya potatoes have started to go a bit yellow. They are in bags. Is this normal?

I have a chicken- we had 3 originally but lost two last year. What sort of things do you need to know? Ours wanders about in the garden all day and goes back in a pen at night , and unlike ones we had in the past hasn’t learnt to get over the wall into the neighbours. We have a good sized garden with mostly lawn and established shrubs so there is only so much damage she can do. I have to net the raised bed when I plant seeds in spring although I let her on it the rest of the year as I think she makes a difference to the slug numbers.

Afternoon !
a right blustery day here , grey , but still hardly any rain .
Had the morning at the allotment - mostly hoeing , tidying and watering . Dug up all the (frankly) disappointing garlic and shallots . I won't be trying to dry and store them , but will make garlic and onion soup I think
I have the first set crown prince. :) , and boy the courgette flowers are big this year too .
BlueWave- good to hear about the tomato flowers at long last!
tiz - sorry , no chicken experience here I'm afraid .
Wilderness - how long have they been in? The leaves do go yellow and die as the potatoes are ready - could it be that?
Greenhouse is powering on- peppers and aubergines are setting , the first tomatoes are nearly ripe , and cucumbers arriving steadily

I got to the plot today and picked a few raspberries and gooseberries. I did a bit of hoeing but the wind was so strong my hair kept blowing into my eyes as well as some kind of hay fever making my nose run and my eyes water. I really found it difficult to see and hoed a cosmos. Never mind, plenty of summer still to go.