down at the allotment and in the garden what are you up to

[red]

planted yet more beans,, found that the rain only made the surface of the earth wet.. underneath is like dust..

founds caterpillars on one of my calabrese plants.. removed...

noticed one of my pea sticks is flowering... its a pruning... either pear or apple....

[mybarnconversion]

At the moment I am:

Chopping nettles, convincing people to eat cow-parsley, lusting over nearly ripe elderflowers & dreaming of wine, cordial, ice cream & fritters ....

[Christine]

Gave up and treated slugs with nematodes! Does seem to have had a bit of an effect. Problem is the manure and compost, I think. I used neither last year (first year on allotment) and had almost no damage.

Lost every single runner and french bean and the dwarf beans are no higher than when I put them out about 6 weeks ago - the slugs keep nibbling them. Now re-planted with beans grown to 30 cms (1 foot) on the windowsill to give them a chance!

Massive downpour early on Tuesday took off unset blossom from B Beans - which is a shame - but looking forward to those pods that are swelling. Haven't been able to resist picking them and eating the young beans raw. Yum!

Plastic bottle greenhouse works a treat - consistently even temperatures, no real need to shade (although neighbouring shed helps with that!) and the tomatoes are making massive growth. Slightly cooler than outside when sun is hot and slightly warmer than outside (and protected from wind, of course) when sun doesn't appear.

[red]

harvested our first new potatoes! and.. ate them!.. yum
spent tome time tying up bits of tomato sideshoots an dwodnering if i really should just let the tomato plants run riot unstead of neat orderly pinched out plants my mum has... then again.. i think I get more tomatoes...

[ohareward]

Hi Red. It is ok to let some of the laterals grow, as long as you can support them. Too many laterals take too much energy from the main plant and tomato production. Normally only two stems are grown. The second stem to grow is the one immediately below the first flower truss. All the rest should be pinched off when young. When the plant is growing , carefully twist the leaders around so that the fruit trusses are pointing outward.

Robin

[red]

thanks Robin

I think I shall carry on growing them this way - Ie basically leaving them to it and tying up the fallen bits - cos I've been doing this for hmmm nearly 2 decades.. and it seems to be working. mind you - I also choose the bush varieties... gardeners delight for cherry toms and Inca for plum - which both say on the packet not to remove side shoots.
it turns into a tomato jungle - and not orderly like my mums gh - but the yeild has always been good so far

[Millymollymandy]

Oh! I have always grown Gardeners Delight as a cordon as I didn't know it could be grown any other way! You learn something new every day!

[Cheezy]

Mostly this weekend i've been shovelling sh**e!

The local dairy farmer advertises at the allotment £20 a load.

Having seen a few peoples manure piles I estimated how much I'd be getting and started to build my hot box to hold it. (To be planted with tomatoes,squash,pumpkins and melons while its a bit "fresh")

Imagine my suprise when he dumped a very highly piled trailer load on the path out side my allotment. I estimate around 2 Tonnes worth!.



I had to build up my hot box ,(the white thing at the side now 2m by 1.5m by 1.2 m high!) which meant I was shot putting the muck over the fence into my box by fork, rather than shovelling in the side as I had imagined. I also had to bring into play my " fresh cutting" compost heap.

The local "old Boys" have had a field day taking the p**s all weekend.
One of the fellow newbies came past and asked in disbelief if it was £20 worth.

Still only took me 5 hours over the two days, and I was very lucky that it didn't rain. And I've got more muck than you can shake a sh**y stick at!.

[Karen_D]

Mostly this weekend i've been shovelling sh**e!



Imagine my suprise when he dumped a very highly piled trailer load on the path out side my allotment. I estimate around 2 Tonnes worth!.

I think you should have climbed the pile and stuck a flag on top!

Wassail

[Millymollymandy]

Yippee Amazing what things get us lot really excited!

[Christine]

Cheezy - you lucky old thing! Although I must admit I don't fancy shovelling that lot on my own over one weekend!

My muck has so far come 10 miles from Rotherham in the back of my car - having carried it, box by box, down a steep and rutted lane; in bags from my mate the dog walker; and garnered from a heap - yes, about that size - left down the bottom of the allotments by the local rare breed visitor 'attraction'.
I daren't get it delivered by the trailer load, 'cos it would have vanished into other allotments before I could shift it!

Thanks to Robin about the info re training toms - shame I've pinched out all the laterals so too late this year. Never mind, though, get it right next year.

[pskipper]

Weeding again today, trying to undo all the hard work the weeds did while it was too wet to get out there! Also sown Cipi di Rapa (a turnip family type of broccoli thing), fennel and a couple of rows of hardy land cress. More to go in when I've re-cleared the bed the toms were in before they got blighted!

[Millymollymandy]

I have cleared up where my onions were and transplanted my leeks. I was very restrained and chucked the very little ones and only have 72 leeks in 4 rows. We got sick of eating them last winter/spring!

Keep sowing seed but very poor germination from spring onions even though the seed was only bought last year (in England). I don't understand because normally they grow really easily. I have poor germination from carrots too, in the same plot.

And I finally have some flowers on my cucumbers at long long last! I can't have a summer without home grown cucumber!

[red]

today we worked on the hen house - (converting a shed into hen house), chopped and tacked lotsof logs.......hoed and weeded a large veg patch, picked some blackberries and wild strawberries, picked far too many peas (why did i do that? well up till now all the ripe peas was enough for tea.. i only noticed when i had filled the trug that I had overdone it... still.. froze some....) picked our first runner beans and a big calabrese.. and had them with our own spuds for tea.

[Christine]

Still picking courgettes, enjoyed broad beans and will be planting many, many more next year - they go nowhere! Occasionally get enough Chard and leaf beet to form a very small side vege but they aren't enjoying this weather at all.
Pots: Got first earlies out of the leaf bin - very poor crop, especially where the elderberry has grown up and shaded the end bed - but much easier than digging earth. also got up second earlies (Wilja, my favourite) some in laef bin and some in bags - and no real difference between the size and quality so I think puny crop is due to weather. couldnl't leave them, though, as nasty brown patches starting. Maincrop are also ready! Everything at once, for Pete's sake - and other allotments are the same.
runner beans: oh dear! after three plantings due to slug attack, one or two are finally making it up the sticks and I've planted some more in a raised bed (lined out big crate and filled it with bags of compost - no slugs right now). Also planted some Kelvedon Wonder peas in pots - maybe the mouse won't notice they're there!
Winter vege are looking OK, though, with brussel sprouts, greyhound cabbage and kale all Ok and fancy turnips from Real Seeds website also looking happy - slugs don't seem to like them!