Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 16 Weather weirdness prevails !

[bookbook]

Hello to everyone !
pull up a garden chair and join in with the trials and tribulations of growing your own , against the odds of weather , pests and diseases.
Previous thread is HERE

Support? Like old tights etc?

Do you all still get really excited about sowing seeds even if you've been growing for years?!

Yeah I split the grow bags down the middle and put them on their ends, stab a lot of holes in the bottom and cross my fingers! So get two 'pots' out of each growbag. It was the watering (and the lack of ripening 😬) that I messed up last year so I'm thinking I might do the old top of a pop bottle at the base of the plant thing to water into.

Definitely love going through the seed tin and the subsequent sowing every year. Oh and the seed catalogue for picking things to fill the gaps in the seed tins. That said I randomly bought one of everything when Lidl had multipack seeds last year and they were surprisingly good.

@bookbook thanks - I look forward to the cucumber in that case! They will definitely go in the greenhouse as I am just south of you! I will check to see if they are blackcurrants and what I can put in. Have bought some wood to make a few beds and have an old pallet to use also.

Looking forwards to starting some seeds tomorrow. My Grandfather had an allotment, so I am really looking forwards to it, there was a waiting list of over 20 people, so took us a long time to get to the top - was not a lockdown decision, but just happened to come at a good time. Spent the autumn getting rid of weeds.

Has anyone grown acocha before? I like to grow something new and random each year and I think this could be this year's choice

I've liked reading everyone's tomato growing solutions, I remember Monty saying grobags were too thin last year. We've bought tumbling toms this year, planning to use hanging baskets and maybe also the grobags split in half and turned on end trick.

I've never heard of acocha tizwozloz, what is it?

I'm actually not sure if it's acocha or achocha - I've seen both written. It's a type of cucumber apparently that can be grown outdoors, tastes like green peppers when cooked.

A variety called Fat Baby was mentioned on gardeners question time but don't know whether to trust them as they also mentioned asparagus peas and I think they've universally got the thumbs down here.

Never heard of them @tizwozliz though have put cucamelona on my seed order for the children.

Our green house has a soil base ( slabs in the middle) so will try growing straight into ,it’s of compost and manure.

We spent the weekend making two raised beds and weeding. And thanks for the tip on how to see what currants we have @bookbook it looks like blackcurrants and a gooseberry bush.

I grew cucamelons last year but didn’t have a good crop, I’m going to plant loads this year as dd loves them.

Does anyone do vertical growing? I’m thinking of trying squash vertically and maybe a few other things, I’m limited in ground space but want to maximise the amount I grow.

What does a cucumelon taste like?! Do you eat them with a salad like cucumber or like a fruit?

My seed list is getting longer and my small garden no bigger so I'd be really interested to hear about vertical growing too!

Tried them outside last year...one got slugged the other produced nothing. Friend grew them in her greenhouse and likes them.

I had a huge crop of cucamelons a few years ago and ended up making dill pickles with them. They don't taste of much on their own TBH but so pretty.

@AppleJane

What does a cucumelon taste like?! Do you eat them with a salad like cucumber or like a fruit?

My seed list is getting longer and my small garden no bigger so I'd be really interested to hear about vertical growing too!

They taste like a tangy cucumber (slightly sour/lemony), they are great in salads and apparently you can pickle them, mine don’t make it into a meal as dd picks and eats them. Hopefully I will have more this year, going to grow them up trellis, they don’t like the wind so need to be in a sheltered but sunny spot.

I’m going to go to B&Q this week and buy some timber to make som e frames to grow vertically, this could go wrong as I’ve never made anything out of wood but I got a new drill for my birthday and I’m itching to make something 😬

@Lovemusic33 let us know how you get on with your wood project! I know drilling little pilot holes stops screws splitting the wood

Try Googling Ana White. She has garden furniture plans online which we used one year to build some solid, cheap furniture that would have cost a fortune to buy!

Youtube video '10 Trellising Options for Containers & Earth Beds: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Squash, Melons & More!' by the Rusted Garden has some great ideas.

I think I'm going to go with the bamboo canes woven into sturdy galvanised wire and sunk into a large container for my Red Kuri, shown at one minute, four seconds in the video.

@AppleJane

Youtube video '10 Trellising Options for Containers & Earth Beds: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Squash, Melons & More!' by the Rusted Garden has some great ideas.

I think I'm going to go with the bamboo canes woven into sturdy galvanised wire and sunk into a large container for my Red Kuri, shown at one minute, four seconds in the video.

That’s a great video, loads of ideas to try. I want to try cucamelons, cucumbers and squash vertically, I’m running out of space but could possibly squeeze in some more containers or a small raised bed 🤔. I like the ideas with the fencing wire, I have found with canes that they often get destroyed in a bit of wind or the crop becomes too heavy for them.

Yeah! The fencing wire could be made into tomato cages etc too. I'm finding it hard though finding stuff with big enough holes like 3" by 3" maybe so you can get your hand in.

I have just contacted my local allotment person (not sure what you call them) to try and get a plot, at the moment I’m growing in a part of my garden but I don’t have enough space. Walked past the allotment earlier as it’s almost next door to my house and it looks like there is a empty plot (small and over grown), there doesn’t tend to be a waiting list here maybe because most of the houses here have big gardens and people grow at home. If I do get a plot I’m thinking of growing things that don’t need much work and not much watering, possibly fruit bushes (raspberries), rhubarb and potatoes? What else would be easy to grow?

I ordered some raspberry canes last week and I have no idea where I’m putting them so fingers crossed for the allotment plot 🤣

lovemusic - what do you like eating? chard, beetroot, asparagus, fruit trees, kale...there are lots that dont need a lot of work. dont put your raspberries near any other long term plants as they will invade and be hard to uproot. strawberries through weed suppressant also easy.

I forgot about asparagus, that would be a great thing to grow, I don’t mind growing things that take a while to establish, things I can kind of leave to grow and not tend to too much so asparagus would be a great one. My Dd1 and I eat a lot of fruit/berries, we have a few fruit bushes growing at home but they would do better if moved to a plot. We eat a lot of peas and beans (French and runner) but I would probably grow these at home as it’s something that needs picking daily when they start producing. I know someone who just grows pumpkins on their plot so I could possibly grow pumpkin or squash.

Things like lettuce I like to grow at home as I tend to just pop into the garden and pick them when needed and I don’t really want anything on the plot that might get eaten by slugs.

Fingers crossed I get a plot 🤞

@Lovemusic33 fingers crossed for you, that will be great!

Last year a family member sowed some veg seeds then lost interest hence why I'm giving it a go this year!

I'll be annoyed with myself if I don't manage to at least grow the things that did well with no nurturing last year.

They were (easy to grow)
Radish, spinach, carrots, courgette, beetroot and marigolds.

rhubarb is also very easy and is quite expensive in the shops. perenial onions. i like to grow some things you cant get in the shops, eg orach, and magenta spleen - both from real seed company. they both self seed each year.

I have rhubarb in the garden which is huge but would happily have more or could split mine and move to the allotment, it pretty much looks after itself doesn’t it? I have spare onion sets too which could easily be planted depending on how soon I get a plot.

@bookbook hello what great looking vegetables you have... Can you put week by week what you are sowing please.. I have just got an allotment and really need some help x

Also @bookbook you explain things so simple and easy to follow.. And seeing what your veg look like is so encouraging... Thank you x

Evening all!
well, I have definitely been busy elsewhere this last week ( rather a lot of grandparenting ) ,
But I have managed a couple of hours prepping up beds , and picked more veg - trying to get through the last of the leeks, and the sprouting broccoli is getting going properly :)
Lovemusic - good luck on getting a plot - once the growing bug bites , it is hard to get enough space ! I agree with fruit bushes - particularly currants - they are always expensive in the shops , and freeze beautifully . Yes to asparagus too . Things like brussels sprouts and sprouting broccoli are a favourite here - once planted up they look after themselves for quite a good bit of the year , though need a lot of protection from pests and birds.
Justjackie - awww , thank you!
I will be putting it on here , don't worry ! You do have to take into consideration whereabouts in the country you are - I am usually at least a week , maybe two behind in sowing things , being in Yorkshire .
This weekend , I will be sowing the first batch of leeks . Not too many - I sow 3 lots separately , about 10 days apart , in 4" pots ( maybe 20-or so seeds a pot ) . I tend to do this , because if , for whatever reason one lot doesn't germinate , I have back ups - if I have spare , I can give them away . :) . I already have broad beans germinating in the greenhouse , but will sow some direct next week :)