The Vegetable Patch

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Now bookbook has sadly left us, and stirred into action by @DobbleDobble, I think it’s time to start a general thread for those of us who try to grow edible produce, fruit, veg, herbs, to share successes, failures, questions and answers

have you asked for more people to join the committee so you can spread the load? there are about 6 people on the committee for our site. What do you use the communal areas for? Can you turn some of this into extra plots? Option B is what happens on our site (though unofficially) they get quarter size plot which is bigger than yours. Its a bit of a drag for the people (you cant plan anything longterm) but is a good way of weeding out the people who arent committed. Dont forget that more people = more admin work.

Morning all. I have a titchy garden so today need to do some hard thinking about what to get rid of or just try to contain as I just don't have enough space.

My tayberries have been good but are always trying to take over and grab me. I think I may get rid or try to restrict. We still have raspberries, strawberries and blueberries though (all planted in amongst shrubs).

The soil here is so good that everything ends up getting huge!

catwomando - what do you like eating most, what is most expensive in the shops and what is best fresh from the garden - thats the criteria i used when i removed some stuff from my allotment. And production per area of land used....yes cherry tree that has only produced 12 cherries you are on last warning.

@ShavingTheBadger I don’t think community feel is a generational thing. I am a pensioner, i spend most of my time with pensioners., and there’s plenty of community feel and mutual support.so you may have to do extra things to support that. As an introvert with zero interpersonal skills I can’t help with that!

@catwomando Tayberries are pretty good for yield to space ratio. Do you have them trained along a fence or row of posts or are they allowed to flop everywhere? Remember too that when you do your autumn pruning you don't have to keep all the new canes - try keeping just the 4 strongest

Hey all, can I join? :)

This year will be my 3rd of having an allotment. Had some good harvests in 2020, but last year was awful for me. The weather and not getting to the plot as much combined with the neighbouring plot being overgrown and unoccupied meant that everything failed for me last year. Except potatoes and sprouts...but they were tiny!

I am really hoping for a better year this year and have drawn up a plan. Looking forward to getting some seeds started in March. Can't start too early as I don't have room at home to host all the seed trays for a long time.

Welcome @GlitteryGreen. Sorry last year wasn't great for you too. It was a bit unimpressive for me too as we were doing a lot to the garden and DD was a tiny baby and it all just got away from me. Did plant potatoes though as I always do. I find them reassuring as they always do well for me and they take up space if you've not got time to grow much else! Plus I love potatoes!

Just wondering what everyone is sowing their seeds in? Compost mix that is? We're peat free but am never sure what the best option is. This is also the year of properly utilising our compost bins and making use of water butts (any recommendations?)

@dreamingofsun - we have asked the existing plotholders to try to do more, but of the four pensioners, one is a new widow and really retreating into herself (we are really trying to coax her out a bit without bullying her), two are Vietnamese and don't speak English, and one is an 87 year old Italian who keeps to himself so that he can garden naked (yes really). None are internet-savvy. So I'm hoping that new blood will be able to share some of the load. Our communal areas are mainly walkways (we have proper tarmacked paths that are getting overgrown from both sides), a couple of portaloos, and bays for woodchip and manure that the evicted tenants have filled full of rubbish. The council has a decent allotment management software package, so I deal with that side, but it would be nice for new faces to be able to help with a facebook page, contact with the council, remediation when the travellers arrive in the park next door, etc etc etc....

@StyleDesperation I have cut out the potatoes this year. I just find they take up so much space for so much of the year, and then most are too small for what I usually want to use them for (chips, jackets, mash).

A baby is another factor for me this year, I have one due in September :) So I've roped DP into promising to help me in the summer . He hates gardening and my allotment LOL.

Re compost, I am just using multi-purpose as I have a couple of bags leftover.

shaving - they sound an interesting bunch. Definately sounds like you need more help, though wouldnt write off pensioners as ours have more time and some are pretty IT savy. Sounds as if you could do with some formal roles to spread the load- eg site manager, secretary, finance person etc. We have to pay £50 when we get the plot and if its left in a decent state when a person goes then its returned. If not the cost of clearing comes out of it. I'm guessing this might be a bit hard to include in contract of any newcomers?

I have lots of bulbs coming up in my garden and it's a gorgeous sunny day so thinking about more things garden related. I need to sow my seeds, I have trays on the windowsill ready but they have regular (peat free) compost, rather than seed compost. I think I'm just going to give it a go and see what happens.

I planted raspberries, strawberries, a gooseberry, 2 cherries and a loganberry recently. Do the raspberries need supports or is it just a nice to have?

I almost never use seed compost. Unless your seeds are really tiny and fussy you should be fine with regular compost.

I am not the right person to ask about raspberries as mine are unsupported but also in a really terrible bit of the garden so I only had about three raspberries. Alys Fowler reckons the birds don't steal as many if you let the raspberries' heads droop....

i never support either summer or autumn raspberries but i am a very lazy gardener. I think monty does. I dont use seed compost either, and there is a welsh gardener who does lots of blogs who doesnt either....sorry his name will come to me.

After asking here the other day I've decided to just use peat free multipurpose for seeds. Have grown stuff from seed before in whatever was lying around, especially during early stages of pandemic, and was fine for veg, annuals etc.

Re rapsberries, I've never supported my autumn raspberries but am growing summer ones and will be putting posts and wires in. Partly because I don't want them flopping onto what's around them but also to help me keep track of new canes to keep for next year.

I've just got a big delivery of well rotted manure to start some no dig veg beds. Am very excited.

Raspberries are self supporting but arch over at the top, so can encroach much further than their allotted space

In the start of the pandemic, I didn’t have much compost and DH was shielding, so I used garden compost for everything on the grounds it was a step up from the ground, which is where they’d be if I weren’t starting them in pots

Placemarking

Morning all, I've planted my seeds this year but have had nothing show up yet, it's been really cold even on my sunny windowsill. I've also bought a propagator so I'm going to be sowing some more seeds in there today and will see how they get on. Never tried a propagator before.

Thanks all, for the feedback on rasps and compost. Good news on both counts, because realisitically I'm lazy.

@notsogreenthumb I haven't actually planted any seeds yet, but I'm also worried my windowsill won't be warm enough. My seed instructions say things like ideally 25-30c, minimum 20c or will not germinate. We never have our heating above 18 and it's rarely on so... I was wondering about putting hot water bottles underneath the trays overnight but this might be a ridiculous idea.

How's everyone doing? I've started my chillies and sweet peppers two weeks ago and I'm sitting on my hands so I don't start my tomatoes too early this year!

@MereDintofPandiculation did you get any seeds from Real Seeds?

Ohhh is it too early for tomatoes?

I think it's fine to start tomatoes if you've got plenty of space indoors @tentative3 but last year mine looked like a jungle before the weather was good enough to take them out!

I’ve started cherry and plum tomatoes in a zip greenhouse! Fingers crossed .all my seeds should germinate this week… keeping an eye on them.
Off to the allotment today too, finish the raised beds and plant some beetroot and carrot seeds

I heard Terry on radio 2 say you can give carrots a head start sowing them in toilet roll tubes and then planting them out in the roll. I've given that a go - I love an experiment!

Also as the germination rate on parsnips is so low it's a good way to get those started but some people use kitchen towel tubes because parsnips are longer.

While reading about it I fell down a rabbit hole and saw all sorts of wonderful videos on how the competition growers get extremely long carrots!

I start peas, beans and sweet peas in loo roll tubes and going to try and get some Angelica to germinate in some too. Broad beans are FINALLY up after a completely failed autumn sowing.

I have stupidly early planted tomatoes and aubergines which are slowly getting big and leggy in front of a south facing window. Last year I had terrible problems germinating aubergine so I thought I'd sow last year's seeds as a shot to nothing early sowing. Of course I have ridiculous numbers this year!

@deplorabelle I'd heard aubergines were hard to germinate so I sowed some at the same time as my chillis. So far I've got 5 out of 12. I've never grown aubergines before. Are they like growing tomatoes?

@PoseyFlump very similar to tomatoes yes but you don't have to worry about side shoots. They like heat and lots of food and water, same as tomatoes, and make very handsome plants IMO.

Good thing - I have 8 Snowy, 12 Long Purple and lots of Prosperosa poking their heads up. And some mixed mini aubergines too (Chiltern seeds Jewel mix). I have given some seedlings away too!