Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: mumofstig on January 01, 2017, 10:42
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As we start the New Year..
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Nothing achieved of note, looked over the plot and had a hot drink in the shed... Browsed the seed catalogue and thumb marked my D T Brown's. Going to order Moles Pelleted carrots and onions.... Peeked under the fleece flats, not a peep from the seeds...Swiss chard - home saved - but I'm an optimist! Our Potato Day is this weekend, and already have a list of my early's and main cropping. Happy new year everyone!
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Happy New Year everyone.
Didn't do much, collected some potatoes from the shed for lunch, dreamed about what the coming season will bring and regreted not putting in my garlic. I guess I'll have to put them out in modules now.
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Emptied shed, gasped at just how much stuff you acquire!. Creosoted the old floor which was showing some wear, screwed a new piece of ply on top and fixed a couple of shelving brackets. Put it all back in again. Taking the week off so back tomorrow to fix shelves, hooks and get it all in some order. Glorious afternoon in north Wales with snow falling over to mountains in the distance.
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I pruned the Autumn raspberries.
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Hello all, up for another year. I too cut down my Autumn raspberries today, which will help tomorrows bonfire. Being a bit later than I would normally be, I hope I didn't cut any of the Summer canes by mistake.
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Two lots of wood ash and have raked the plot over. Must say combined with recent frosts my soil looks very good at the moment!
Cheers
Aled
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I checked the purple sprouting broccoli - and it isn't. (Patience needed)
Noted that all of the garlic has sprouted and is getting quite tall (need to remove the mesh tunnels)
Spotted the green tips of over-wintering onions coming through.
All good.... just a little bit of digging left to do.
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What! Noone out there enjoying the bright sunshine and fresh air?
I think scenic has the right idea.... shed tidying. Just as soon as I can that'll be my next job....with a radio, hot flask and room to unfold the chair ;)
(Must take my specs and a book).
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Nah it was raining yesterday when we went down to top up the compost heap. It's from frozen solid to soggy at the moment. Nothing urgent to do - digging over all done but a rake to clear around the edges from fallen leaves and such if it's ever dry enough. Roll on gardening weather.
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Realised when I got there today that I'd not screwed the shelves down (that explained the screws in my coat pocket!!) so found their contents on the floor after yesterday's blustery weather. Gggrrrr.
Pruned one row raspberries and shifted a couple of barrows of the well rotted stuff to mulch over and feed tommorrow.
Too wet underfoot to dig.
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A bit of tidying up, spread some rotted manure on a bed that will take potatoes in a few months.
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I didn't do a thing but..
Realised when I got there today that I'd not screwed the shelves down (that explained the screws in my coat pocket!!) so found their contents on the floor after yesterday's blustery weather. Gggrrrr.
Sorry... this made me laugh... what a relief to hear it's not just me! :lol:
I can take a pile of screws out of the garage to do something, get distracted and then wonder where I put the screws - finally running out of time or enthusiasm only to find the screws a day later when I've almost forgotten what I wanted them for in the first place.
Worse still is hunting for the right tools - mine are spread all over the place: under the stairs, down in the garage, aviary storage drawers or garden shed over the road... and usually I am right - Someone borrowed them and didn't put them back. I simply can't remember where I've hidden what!! ::)
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First trip this year. Took vegetable peelings & some shredding of the Christmas tree to add to the compost bins. Had a look round my plots, dug up & washed the last of the carrots, some were consigned to the compost bins riddled with carrot fly.
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I stood and looked over the hedge and wondered...... and decided I will lift some more leeks in a day or twos time.
Nice to have time to stand and stare... (it was a bit sticky underfoot).
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Nothing. But I can feel the stirrings.
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I deemed the plot to be too much of a mud fest, but at home I have tidied up herb beds and the greenhouse. There is parsley germinating in there :wacko:
I set off a parsley seed mat a few months ago (old 50p seed sale bargain I found whilst doing a seed tidy) and it did nothing. Assuming it was seed that was past it, I slung the pot in the corner of the greenhouse intending to empty it and there it stayed. In mid January, with frost and snow around, up came the parsley :lol:
Its rescued from the corner and in the blowaway that is inside the greenhouse now. I reckoned it needed some TLC after such a rough start ;)
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Collected seaweed, did some digging, spread the seaweed and had a fire.
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Did some more digging on the new plot - nearly finished the next 2 beds 😁 but one of the fences came down in the winds🙁
MBM (yesterday)
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:( not started out this year, been unwell and with the rain have stayed in..i however have ordered my seeds and started my planting plan
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Too wet for the allotment today but found this little filing caninate in ikea and decided it would be perfect for my ever growing collection of seeds.
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm168/s25ale/2F22A504-0029-42C5-BE62-A0DCAE096748-27835-00001AAE37019EEE_zpsnijxgwgn.jpg)
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Looks as though you are going to solve the risk of tariffs on food imports from the EU after Brexit.!!
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Not feeling so bad about my plastic container full now! Thank you for that.
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Lifted and trimmed some leeks for dinner.... Thank heavens for the scaffold plank as it saved wading over the soil.
(Nice seed store by the way Hayleynotts!!)
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Over the weekend I collected seaweed and spread it on the beds. Also got some wood from the skip hire center for good old price of nothing :).
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Put some wood ash on the veg patch, and added some bat guano to the compost bin.
Cheers
Aled
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The ground was still frozen when I attended the allotments this afternoon. Rest of week looks no better. However, I have sorted out the cardboard donation I was left for future composting over the weekend at the plot by removing staples and sellotape.
I had transported the boxes from the new computer and screen not flattened and these are now holding both new and old cardboard. So a nice tidy shed corner.
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Everything is wet and slimy here :( but I've been itching for some fresh air (no sun though as we had dense fog until lunch) so took an hour in the garden. Pruned some of the espalier apples, tied in and pruned the new pear trees.
I was going to hold on to the cuttings in case anyone wanted some graft wood but there's been no interest :wacko: , so they'll be off to the bin; along with most of the raspberry canes I lifted earlier this year as there's nowhere for them to go.
I still need to find a final position for 1 apple and a plum tree - quickly too before they wake up.
Nice to see the rhubarb is up perhaps the threat of it's last warning has had an impact ::) and Im sure the buds on the fig are swelling.
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Im sure the buds on the fig are swelling.
I was very surprised to see them swelling here, as well, despite the heavy frosts we've been having lately. They must have a death wish!
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Hi all, I picked up my key yesterday afternoon and finally got to see my plot.
It needs some attention but not too much which i'm pleased about.
Anyhow, i pulled up the old runner bean plants and structure, cleared all the polystyrene cups thats were all over the plot and quite a bit of other stuff too so just a general tidy yesterday with a view to doing a bit more today.
I have some pics so will be posting them when i can find my data cable for my phone.
Andy
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Hi all, I picked up my key yesterday afternoon and finally got to see my plot.
It needs some attention but not too much which i'm pleased about.
Anyhow, i pulled up the old runner bean plants and structure, cleared all the polystyrene cups thats were all over the plot and quite a bit of other stuff too so just a general tidy yesterday with a view to doing a bit more today.
I have some pics so will be posting them when i can find my data cable for my phone.
Andy
Good to have a nice large space... I miss my plot and especially the chance to get away for a few hours to somewhere quiet. Will you have a shed for a cuppa out of the wind?
(These days my veg plots are just over the road - a minute's walk away but I might dig out my camping gas cooker for later in the year. Must clear the shed up first.)
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I didn't have the energy for digging the plot today, but I've been pottering at home. Seed potatoes are now set up for chitting. The onions and welsh onions are pricked out into modules and I did a bit of seed sowing.
Patio aubergines (I know I'm going to regret this but they sounded so good ::)), cabbage Heart and summer savoury are on the windowsill. The aubergines got a plastic bag as extra insulation. I also got some aquilegia, some dianthus and some sweet peas going. Apart from the aubergines, all this is pretty tough stuff and is going into the blowaway in the greenhouse once it has got going.
I also sowed a couple of big tubs of peas in the greenhouse. I've done an early crop of mangetout before, but these are a dwarf variety called Bingo, which are supposed to be great for containers. They were 50p seed sale bargains, so worth a punt ;)
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Did a seaweed run today.
Andy.
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I actually made it to the plot today which is no mean feat as I have 3 kids 7 and under (they stayed at home :unsure:)
As soon as I got there it started raining but not enough to put me off. I'd say about 1/2 of my plot is weedy and overgrown, I dug over less than 1sq m but filled an entire sack with bind weed :(
But I also managed to clear a couple of paths and put some cardboard down.
Barely any of my plot is defined so my aim over the next few months is to mark out the beds and paths and have a section for my kids to play safely in.
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Did a little clearing, lifted up the last leeks and heeled them in yesterday, it was bitterly cold up there. After a light frost its becoming a little milder today so i began laying the new path from the shed allow me to get around the plot after fencing and replacing last year. Soil under foot very heavy at the tope end where him doing the work.
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Cleared out Brussel sprout stalks from one raised bed, broccoli from another. Harvested some leeks for lunchtime soup. Seriously sticky underfoot today, rain stopped any further preparation.
Cheers HH
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Mild and warm enough but the soil doesn't want standing on.. squishy.
I keep peering at my purple sprouting from the path... I am impatient to be cutting a few shoots.
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Had a walk round & that's all. Some of the other plots at the bottom of the site were waterlogged 😞
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At last, some sunshine! Dug up some leeks which have survived the subzero temps. Noticed they've got leek moth damage even having been under enviromesh since last May!
Picked some sprouts which have been super this year. I put this down to digging in a mountain of horse manure over the last 2 years.
There are now quite a lot of vacant plots on our site...I wonder if the enthusiasm for allotmenteering is waning?
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At last, some sunshine! Dug up some leeks which have survived the subzero temps. Noticed they've got leek moth damage even having been under enviromesh since last May!
Picked some sprouts which have been super this year. I put this down to digging in a mountain of horse manure over the last 2 years.
There are now quite a lot of vacant plots on our site...I wonder if the enthusiasm for allotmenteering is waning?
I'd not be surprised if price increases caused by poor weather in Spain and Italy to veg in the shops doesn't see a surge in interested new allotmenteers!
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Sowed cut and come again lettuce in greenhouse...I will help the shortage :D
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Rehung the greenhouse door that blew off. The birds were able to get in and munch some of my overwintering peas, but they'll survive. A cloche also blew off some outdoors overwintering peas, but again ok.
Eased and pulled out some couch roots in and around the raspberries.
Harvested some greenhouse lettuce, a couple of parsnips, kale, sprouts and the last of the rainbow beetroots.
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Rehung the greenhouse door that blew off. The birds were able to get in and munch some of my overwintering peas, but they'll survive. A cloche also blew off some outdoors overwintering peas, but again ok.
Eased and pulled out some couch roots in and around the raspberries.
Harvested some greenhouse lettuce, a couple of parsnips, kale, sprouts and the last of the rainbow beetroots.
Was it windy? I know the forecasts said it would be (sometime or other) but not noticed it here. :ohmy:
Today I put 90 shallots into cells and plonked the lot in an unheated greenhouse.... I know they can be planted straight out onto the plot in mid February but I like to get mine shooting and plant when the weather's warmer and sunnier.
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Got some wood from the dump to mark out a few beds to make the plot look tidy. Harvested some leeks and celeriac. Purchased seed potatoes from the local Horticultural Society shop.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Andrew.
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Tackled the disaster that is my polytunnel today.
Didn't manage to do anything with it during 2016 as was nursing my father in law through Cancer treatment.
Its not too bad in there, but alot of weeding and digging in of horse manure to be done.
I haven't sowed anything yet. I hate trying to manage seedling on windowsill in the house and guessing it's still too cold even in the polytunnel to get sowing. Please correct me if i am wrong.
Tired now and sat having a cup of tea in the house. Not sure if I will go down again today. I should do though as have tonnes of work to do before the season starts properly.
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Too wet to do much. A bit of mud-larking does a girl no harm, but there are limits even for me.
I did get some bags of green waste from the garden into the compost bins, then I cut down all the old canes and tied in the new ones on the hybrid berries, as I can get to these from the edges. Carted the prunings and surplus branches I had cut off to the communal dump, then wandered around drinking coffee and hatching plans.
It was getting dark when I got home and OH was about to launch a search party :lol:
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I trundled off to the plot with my wheelbarrow picked high of the pruned Christmas tree & added it to my bonfire pike. Then I dug up & washed some parsnips to bring home & pulled up a couple of rotted cabbages & the 2 sprout stems that had blown, cleaned them up & brought home what was salvageable for daughters chickens. Later on in the garden I snipped another pile of prunings to fit the wheelbarrow & put it in the greenhouse to dry a bit, never know it might dry enough to shred it
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Yesterday-
Had a good look over my new plot after receiving my shed key form the previouse owner.
Looks like i have inherited 2 thornless bramble bushes, lots and lots of raspberrys (really need thinning)
2 greenhouses, a cracking quite large shed and a multitude of trays, pea frames, a rake and other bits and bobs.
Hit the jackpot! :D
Only problem now is the kids (3 girls) want a patch of their own! ::) :D
Andy
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Well I've started now. I'd been chitting some Arran Pilot. They are now in bags with compost and covered with bubble wrap in the green house. The first tomatoes are up and potted on but still in the incubator. They'll be my first croppers grown against an outside south facing wall. Jalapeños are up. Sowed peas and broad beans in root trainers. The deer ate all my autumn sown beans, which was annoying. Sowed summer cabbage and some lettuce.
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Well I've started now. I'd been chitting some Arran Pilot. They are now in bags with compost and covered with bubble wrap in the green house. The first tomatoes are up and potted on but still in the incubator. They'll be my first croppers grown against an outside south facing wall. Jalapeños are up. Sowed peas and broad beans in root trainers. The deer ate all my autumn sown beans, which was annoying. Sowed summer cabbage and some lettuce.
You are doing well. Too cold here.... although the shallots are in cells in the unheated greenhouse.
Seeds sown = none...yet.
Looked at the plot again after lifting some leeks yesterday.... escaped back indoors again.
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Decided not to go..too blooming cold :D
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Husband and I pruned and tidied up the huge old Bramley apple tree in our garden today. Too cold to do much else.
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Popped down between the hail sleet and snow we've had today to take a closer look at the tree stump in the bottom corner... still scratching my head! Set away some leek seeds in the house as too wet to do anything else at the moment..
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Last cold night here tonight for a while, so tomorrow the onions from seed are heading to the blow away inside the greenhouse and a shunt round will commence inside. Leeks are showing and will move to a cool windowsill, as will some herbs and perennials I have on the go.
I've sown peppers and chillies today (just a couple each of Supergreen, Amanda, Lipstick, Pot Black, Hungarian Peach and Trinidad Perfume), plus some more aubergines. I had 1 germinate from the first lot ::) He's in a pot now and we'll have another go. I hope this isn't a harbinger of my aubergine growing this summer, but I fear the worst :ohmy: ::) :lol:
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I pruned my neighbours fruit trees x 2 as they were overhanging my plot by a couple of foot.
Apparently he never visited the plot last year and it's in a right state.
Moved the compost daleks so i can move the muck heap to a new position.
Also purchased my potatoes from the allotment shop, 1kg of Jazzy, 2kg of Charlotte, and 3kg of Diseree.
They are now in the greenhouse chitting :blush: under a tripple layer of fleece.
I also swept out the shed and had a look to see what goodies the previouse owner has left me.
Andy
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Some people really have been busy!
I looked at the purple sprouting (again) but it still isn't (sprouting).
Put the hoe through a patch in the sunshine (while waiting for the cat to wander away so I could go home without it following)
New Shoot - I am jealous! Having nowhere to germinate leek seed this year mine are still in the packet. :(
I am hoping I can sow outside and they might be ready by July for transplanting if not there'll be no leeks for 2017/18
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A lot drier today and managed to get a couple of hours digging in... looks like there's been a few sod fires as lots of potash coming to the surface!
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Collected 3 trugs full of manure from our local stables. Piled it up down at the plot.
Tidied up the raised beds used for brassicas removing the blue pipes used for debris netting.
The rain was still holding off so I pruned the raspberries in the fruit cage and added them to the pile of debris scheduled for burning.
Ground pretty wet so no digging but interested to see that the couch grass is waking up on my asparagus bed. (Does it ever rest??)
Cheers HH
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Lovely day today so went to Plot26 and did some more digging as well as some general tidying up..
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Managed to get a couple of hours at the plot so I prepared the bed for parsnips and carrots whilst I tended the incinerator, getting rid of tree branches the council left on my plot when they cut down a dead tree. Sowed some onion sets and put in a small row of carrot seeds in the polytunnel. Broad bean seeds to go in on my next visit!!!!!
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Prepared area for potatoes with bit of hoeing and weeding. Picked couple of sprout sticks and a lone swede. Pulled up rest of turnips, salvaged a couple to eat.
Rescued my plastic bench from another allotment.
Bit of weeding around strawberries.
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picked up my seed pots today so in the shed chitting away, charlotte and cara. will try and pop up plot and check on the broad beans and purple sprouting. not sure if i can get in yet as workmen putting in a badger proof fence some 1,8 meters deep, sadly lots of plots have been lost because of this.
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Lifted and trimmed leeks for dinner on the plot next-door.... moaned at the purple sprouting as it sill isn't.
Shut the cat in the shed unintentionally and then wondered where it was only to have it spring out at high speed when I put the tools away. Made me jump!
Checked on the shallots in the greenhouse.... Beginning to root.
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Received my seeds today and moved the garlic outside from the greenhouse.
Weeding tomorrow :(
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lovely day up the plot and got a fair bit done, tied all the broad beans up as there getting quite tall now, weeded the asparagus and onion beds, dug me last parsnips and pulled a few leeks.
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I keep popping tomato/pepper/other seedlings up to the cold greenhouse, tucking them up under domes, and leave, thinking there's so much more to be done on the plot. Spent 5 minutes inserting some pea sticks and string into my over winter pea crop that are now out of their cloche.
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Purchased battens and chopped up into stakes some battens to border my fruit bushes. Forked some festering couch roots onto the compost heap that had been soaking in water. Stacked some timber for a fire but didn't have a light.
Andy
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another beautiful sunny day it was a pleasure to get stuck in, managed to dig 2 large beds over and sort the kale and purple sprouting nets out, i noticed one spear of purple almost ready for picking. sorted out the carrot bins all 4 of them and gave them some fresh soil for this year. i must say the plot is looking very good now i would say im pretty much ready for planting when the time is right.
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Planted out two rows of broad beans. Finished moving some raspberry canes. Dug over another bed and covered it. Picked some sprouts and the last of the leeks. Pruned all of the old growth out of the tayberry and tied the new growth in. Came home tired but happy. The season has started at last!
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Planted a red current and loganberry. Put some reclaimed decking around vines and fruit bushes. Had a fire.
Andy.
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Finally got my first 2*3 polytunnel built :)
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Pruned the autumn raspberries, took the kitchen waste & added to the compost bins, then looked at the bonfire pile & decided it would all fit on the top of the ready to use compost under the lid to aid drying, so did just that although it involved a rather hefty rootball that required attacking with a saw & 2 forks to enable me to lift it. Came home a bit worse for wear after that
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Planted out two rows of broad beans. Finished moving some raspberry canes. Dug over another bed and covered it. Picked some sprouts and the last of the leeks. Pruned all of the old growth out of the tayberry and tied the new growth in. Came home tired but happy. The season has started at last!
well done with those broadbeans.... mine are still in the packet.
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Planted out two rows of broad beans. Finished moving some raspberry canes. Dug over another bed and covered it. Picked some sprouts and the last of the leeks. Pruned all of the old growth out of the tayberry and tied the new growth in. Came home tired but happy. The season has started at last!
well done with those broadbeans.... mine are still in the packet.
So are mine!
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Well my broad beans have just germinated in the root trainers. Another couple of weeks and I'll harden them off and then plant them out if it's relatively mild. Potted on my Super Mamande tomatoes and some Jalapeños today. My garden raised bed designated for salary type things has been finally prepared ready to receive the first lettuce in a week or two. All in all a good pottering today
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Turned the compost heap on the older of my two plots as it had middle aged spread. Before I put the black plastic covering back on I let the robin take a few worms. I didn't realise how much it had rotted down .... It was enormous when I started it with all sorts of things last October (someone's privet hedge clippings helped).
Added chicken pellets and mulch to the rhubarb on the newer of the two plots. Don't think I shall get anything off it this year as it has been moved and split but it can be encouraged for next year. Decided where I could put a compost heap when I get things growing (well the plot was stripped before the last tenant handed in the keys so there really isn't anything to get started with till the weeds grow and crops are harvested).
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Sowed two new varieties of tomato today. Akron and golden crown. Never grown these before but they seem to come highly recommended. These are destined to end up in the green house. Also sowed aubergines. Won't do anything until Doris has left.
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Doris departed. Not too much damage up the Lotty. Tidied up a bit. Harvested swedes, leeks and purple sprouting. Sowed Bunyards exhibition broad beans.
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Spent a while returning various sheets of ground cover to the plots they had originally belonged to. Doris obviously thought I needed considerably more weed cover than I already had. Quite interesting exercise, taking a sheet around to plots where I could see some missing, and trying to see if it matched the type they already had on and the size of the vacant area.
Gave up trying to find the right homes for various pots, containers, buckets, etc.
Raked a lot of debris off my plot, and then weeded a row of newly set strawberry plants.
Picked my first bunch of daffodils.
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Spent an hour or so down at plot yesterday turned over a couple of raised beds incorporating some horse manure. Planning to use these beds for beans etc. Hopefully the manure will have rotted a bit by the time I come to sow/plant the beans. Then spent some time weeding my asparagus bed it had also had some horse manure as a present for it but selected the oldest poo I could find as the asparagus will be up in a couple of months.(I hope!!)
Just sowed some boltardy beetroot in my conservatory as we are almost in March and this should give me some seedlings to plant out as soon as the weather allows next month. The weeds think spring is coming!!
Cheers HH
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I'm off to the allotment shop today to buy a onion set and some fish blood and bone .
No potatoes this year had enough Volunteers last year properly have some more
Spring onions already coming up in the greenhouse will sow some broad beans and maybe I'll start of a few French beans this weekend.
I,ll try sowing a few Brussel seeds too but don't have much luck with growing Brussels seeds or plant ,which is annoying as they are my favourite vegetable 😔
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You've got me going there blackberryjam. I was thinking the other day when I'll get my first french beans in root trainers that I can plant out and grow to harvest in the cold frame. Still a wee bit early for me. I think I'll get them going mid March.
Still I did sow some French Breakfast radish and little Chanteney carrots in troughs in my greenhouse this weekend. Really looking forward to all those salad crops.
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Robster I resisted sowing the French beans as you said it's a bit early, but I have sown 6 Brussel seeds today indoors . Couldn't resist buying two onion sets red baron and turbo at the allotment shop.
Going to garden the center tomorrow to get some more compost for my raised beds .🌱🌻🐝
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I found just enough time to prick my leek seedlings out into small individual modules. The blowaway in the greenhouse is now crammed, zipped up and fleeced up for the chilly night ahead.
The cold is carrying on for a few days, so I sorted out my next batch of seeds for sowing and left it at that. They can stay in the packets for now :)
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Pricked out little gem lettuce, turnip and potted on some basil. Sowed some mange tout into a big plastic box that I Also erected a net over an apricot tree to stop the blue tits eating all the blossom. Hopefully I'll get a crop this year.
A nice day for pottering
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Yesterday hubby & I repaired the gazebo fruit cage, had a bonfire, dug up the last of the leeks, did a bit of weeding
Today we stayed in the garden, I helped or hindered hubby in concreting the four slabs in place for the greenhouse path, only 8 years since I originally got the greenhouse. But we did move the whole thing last year.
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Yesterday
Used 3 prong cultivator to prep the ground for my onion sets to go into.
Dug over the greenhouse borders and fitted the 2 new pieces of glass that i had cut so the greenhouses are now sealed and secure, also removed some of the old rusting clips and replaced with new.
Had another dig around in the shed to see what other goodies have been left for me.
Andy
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planted some peas in guttering in the greenhouse and some in the soil under a cloche. See which do best! They were last years seed so if they decide not to grow at all I haven't lost much.
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Quick visit to put some chicken pellets and mulch on the raspberry canes on the new plot as there is a little bit of life there.
Am hanging on otherwise as it's been frosty over night the last couple of nights.
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Getting the itch to start doing things now, but the this constant wet weather is not helping. I do now however have an hour of daylight after work every evening which weather allowing may well help the situation.
Cheers
Aled
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I know how you feel Aled :lol:
I'm grabbing bits of time this week to get jobs done. Sowed onions Supersweet and Doux dec Cevennes, plus some Linaria Canon Went (flowers) yesterday.
Its all part of the windowsill shuffle, to get some of the hardier things done and out of the way before i break out the tomato seeds :)
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Yes, the wet weather is a problem, but most beds were dealt with before the Winter.
Woodchipped the barrow runs, and sowed my red shallots under net.
Sowed red cabbage, lettuce and rocket in greenhouse. Noticed my few early Swift potatoes are just peeping up through the greenhouse border soil. Along with the greenhouse peas, they'll be harvested before the tomatoes really take off. Bit of a squeeze in my 12ft by 6ft, but seems to work :)
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picked a nice big bag of purple sprouting, very happy as my 1st time growing this.
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Bought 3 bags of farmyard manure and compost mix and put them in my greenhouse, ready to put on my raised bedi tomorrow.
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Today I planted fruit bushes- 1x raspberry, 1x tayberry, 1x blackcurrant, 1x blackberry, 1x blueberry, 1x gooseberry.
I also put weed membrane down around one edge and put square decking boards down as a path. Did a bit of weeding too- all the rain is making them grow fast >:(
Managed to slice a bit of my finger off without knowing, thought i'd just trapped it. Lots of blood, but it soon stopped so i carried on digging and turning over the soil.
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Today I planted fruit bushes- 1x raspberry, 1x tayberry, 1x blackcurrant, 1x blackberry, 1x blueberry, 1x gooseberry.
I also put weed membrane down around one edge and put square decking boards down as a path. Did a bit of weeding too- all the rain is making them grow fast >:(
Managed to slice a bit of my finger off without knowing, thought i'd just trapped it. Lots of blood, but it soon stopped so i carried on digging and turning over the soil.
Ouch,ouch, my sympathies are with you, I took a chunk out of mine 2 weeks ago on a tin of cat food😱 Hope your up to date with your tetanus jabs, good reminder for us all
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Potted on Tomatoes (Akron) and iceberg lettuce. Planted out broad beans.
Sowed cucumelon. As I recall they took an age to germinate last year and I nearly gave up on them so they went in today.
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Yesterday
Moved the manure bin/box 1.5m x 1.5m sq
Pulled up a whole house worth of carpets under 3inch of wood chip with grass growing through (that was hard work) :(
Moved the compst daleks to their new position after emtying them then re filling them again and generally move alsorts of bits around at the top end of the plot.
Then rain and my 4 year olds cold hands stopped play.
Andy
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Pottered around doing some outdoor jobs last night clearing blocked guttering for example. Still too wet to get into the garden but time to plant a few tomato seedlings perhaps this week.
Cheers
Aled
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I know it's tempting fate, but I've just put in my 'experimental' row of potatoes. Five different varieties that I haven't grown before in a 3)' row, with only 3 or 4 of each. They are Manitou, Pink Gypsy, Epicure, Maris Bard and another one, but I can remember the name.
I picked some sprouts, dug up parsnips and the last but one lot of the carrots.
Took the spent brassicas out of one of the beds and rolled up the weed suppressant membrane. I've now covered this bed to try to dry it out a bit.
Dug all round the bottoms of the raspberries to try to get rid of as much bindweed root and nettles as I can before the raspberries get going.Decanted a sack of blood, fish and bone into plastic tubs with lids to stop Mr Ratty gnawing his way into it.
Last, but not least, picked myself a huge bunch of daffodils as a reward.
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Did my first serious outdoor sowings today. radish, beetroot spring onion and leeks. Planted out some turnips under a plastic tunnel cloche.
Feels nice to be outdoor sowing at last.
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Managed a full day there today and with free wood and bark given to me made a couple of raised beds. Just need to top them up with compost and they are ready for planting. Fixed the polytunnel where it had sprung leaks and sowed early carrots, parsnips and broad beans. Mulched date flower bed and all the fruit trees and planted a rosemary bush someone gave me. All in all a very productive day 😀
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Put the swoe over 2 of the beds.
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Put some of the compost on the raised beds then Dug them over.
Dug up the last two cabbages found a few potatoes when digging over HOPEFULLY WE WON'T HAVE ANY VOLUNTEERS THIS YEAR.
Cut back the brambles in the hedge and loped a few branches off which were growing over my greenhouse☉🐝🌱
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I didn't have much time yesterday, but I did manage to pot on the early cabbage and sweet peas, from their small modules to 9cm pots.
The leeks have transplanted well into modules and are growing away, the spinach seedlings are up, as are the early potatoes in buckets and the dwarf container peas. It is starting to look like I mean business in there. :D
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Yesterday
Went to the allotment staright from picking the kids up from schools and nursery.
They made a mess and cleared "some" weeds from their patches.
I planted my onion sets (Turbo) and dug over a 4' x 10' patch with a view to using the 3 prong cultivator to fine it off, i have bent the blade on my budget (£6.99) digging spade so need to buy a new one
Also made ammendments to my 6' x 8' greenhouse border by removing 2 slabs from the path to give me more growing space.
Next job is to sow the pepper plants.
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I've been away vagabonding since mid January, so checked my raised beds this week with a feeling of slight trepidation. I was relieved to find everything was fine.
I've been fighting what seemed to be a losing battle to grow purple sprouting broccoli. I only had three vaguely viable plants left when I went away and I was expecting them to have gone the way of the others. Two had, but one had not only survived, it was ready to start harvesting. To say I was delighted is an understatement!
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1st day on new plot.
dug and cleared area that i plan to put potatoes and started planning where everything else is to go.
Going to be a busy few weeks :D
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Sowed broad beans, bit of weeding and a trip to the allotment shop.
Andy.
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Sowed Tomatoes and Aubergines today.
Picked up some onion and shallot sets plus this year's experiment Asparagus.
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Dug over a couple of areas and covered. Need to do a more thorough job before sowing or planting but this will slow down the weeds at this point. Also turned over a raised bed and planted a bag of onions. Interesting that my planting ruler said 3" apart but that looked tight. So I have planted some at 3" and others at 5" will see whether it makes a significant difference. I am growing to eat not show so I don't need monsters! Noted that my neighbor had put a fleece over his onions so piled out a fleece cloche and covered mine too. Nights could be cold and hopefully this will put off the birds too.
Cheers HH
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Planted Strawb plants, planted parsnips :)
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In the garden made a start on washing last years pots, every year I say I'm going to do them as I empty them! And every year I've got hundreds need washing👿 Will I ever learn
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Planted Strawb plants, planted parsnips :)
Sounds like a good start. Hello and welcome btw :)
Today I finshed work early, so time was grabbed for pricking out shallot and onion seeds into modules, plus some more seed sowing. The first of the tomatoes were among the seed packets clutched in my hot little hand :)
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Digging + planted 2 rows of earlies, hopefully not too early :wacko:
@newshoot Thanks!
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Charlottes and Jerseys planted today. Thought I would try the poundland organic potato fertiliser to see how effective it is. Dressed one half of the crop.
Took off the net over the winter onions/garlic and scoffed quite a bit of sprouting broccoli.
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Finally managed to incinerate my raspberry prunings and other assorted twigs etc. Good news was a couple of days without rain helped dry out the material enough for it to burn well. Previous attempts failed as the wood was too damp. Spent the time weeding more beds and ducking the smoke. Weather willing I think I will prepare a bed and some potato bags tomorrow. Not sure I am brave enough to plant yet but spuds are chitting vigorously and in danger of getting too warm in the conservatory.
Cheers HH
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Yesterday
I took and old metal desk frame to the allotment and put it in the greenhouse as my sowing bench, i also put a mesh top on it to allow sun to get underneith it so i can grow plants under there whilst growing my mellons on top in pots and trays.
doesnt' sound like i did much but it took me a while to decide on the final placement and get the top fixed securely.
Checked the onion sets and watered the blubery bushes in pots in the greenhouse.
Also checked the spuds thta are chitting in there and the shoots are nice and stubby but growing steadily, i will look to planting the earlies at the end of the month to beginning of next.
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Yesterday
I took and old metal desk frame to the allotment and put it in the greenhouse as my sowing bench, i also put a mesh top on it to allow sun to get underneith it so i can grow plants under there whilst growing my mellons on top in pots and trays.
That's a nifty bit of recycling. I like the mesh top idea :D
Yesterday I finally emptied all my old planters from last year and got the compost bagged up ready to take to the plot. I'm going to top off compost bins with it and grow in them.
I'm at job no. 1 today, so have sneakily booked a couple of quotes in for OH tonight, so I can slip off to the plot and deliver them. I can do that, get home and get tea on without him pacing around restlessly now ;) :lol:
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Shoved the swoe around the garlic and autumn planted onion sets.... very few weeds but it allowed a little air into the surface after winter rains flattened the soil.
Still no purple sprouting :( but the shallots are shooting well and the beetroot is through :)
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Dug over a bed and sprinkled with lime. Planning to use the bed for brassicas. Emptied out an old container of chicken manure pellets and washed it out as they had become a rather smelly sludge. 🙈🙈Sowed some out of date purple sprouting broccoli in a pot at home -no issue if it doesn't germinate but seems silly to not give the seeds a chance to grow. Extracted my plastic green house from the garage I need to erect it and stop my spuds being cooked in the conservatory.
Cheers HH
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:( Soil still to wet to dig so potatoes etc will have to wait in the shed , planted lettuce seeds, cucumbers, tomatoes
peas, broad beans, celery weeded the flower borders, sorted out the potting shed I can actually walk from one end to the other now :D... where did 8hours go!!
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Last night with my children's help I potted up some tomato seeds.
Crossing my fingers that I can sort out some angling club business in plenty of time to get home and empty the compost bin, and put it on the veg patch before it gets dark!!
Cheers
Aled
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Sowing seeds in the polytunnel, celery, spinach, spring onions and coriander to start. Potatoes chitting nicely.
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Planted two rows of beetroot, two of onion sets.
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Not done n the plot, but finally finished washing all the plant pots & finished the assembly of my new greenhouse staging & put it in position & the new shelf I bought at the same time, very posh it looks
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Yesterday I finished mulching the fruit, finally dismantled my ramshackle and cobbled together cage for growing greens and dug the area over.
I installed 2 new small fruit cages side by side - bought cheaply in the garden centre January sales as both were missing the netting from the boxes, then set up the framework for a slightly less shameful attempt at a greens cage in front of them.
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Put in the first 2 rows of potatoes :)
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In the garden, continued sorting out the now washed plant pots, cleaned the wide blow away down & installed it in the greenhouse & the small one with no cover. Then a re sort in the shed, to make it flow a bit better. I had had a wooden tool chest from my dad's workshop when I cleared it after mum died, I'd put it under the wide shelf, but I couldn't really see in it. So emptied it of all the plant pots, moved it to by the door, refilled it with labels, string, chemicals. Then I'd got a couple of self inflating kneeler, so I inflated them & now I've got somewhere to sit.
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Over this weekend I've done some digging, sowed first earlies and planted two blueberry bushes in an old tin bath.
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Planted out honeyberries and a blackcurrant in my new fruit cage duo. Planted some broad beans and a few garlics that I had growing in pots. Dug over the remaining bits of the small plot and covered paths and some planting areas with weed membrane. The small plot just needs strimming and weedkilling round the edges and it is set to go :) The big plot now beckons :ohmy:
I also had a good tidy up of various bits I had stashed on both plots and came away with a big bag of rubbish - silly bits of netting and weed membrane that are too small to do anything with, broken bits and pieces and other tat that I was keeping for some reason :wacko:
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Planted out honeyberries and a blackcurrant in my new fruit cage duo. Planted some broad beans and a few garlics that I had growing in pots. Dug over the remaining bits of the small plot and covered paths and some planting areas with weed membrane. The small plot just needs strimming and weedkilling round the edges and it is set to go :) The big plot now beckons :ohmy:
I also had a good tidy up of various bits I had stashed on both plots and came away with a big bag of rubbish - silly bits of netting and weed membrane that are too small to do anything with, broken bits and pieces and other tat that I was keeping for some reason :wacko:
I know what you mean about all that tat, just why do we do it?
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I know what you mean about all that tat, just why do we do it?
No idea :lol: At home I am ruthless with clutter, but the amount of stuff I save on the plot 'in case it is useful'. Since I didn't even remember I had half of it, I reckoned that theory was blown and finally chucked it ::)
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At the weekend I managed to do a little more digging - the next two beds just need edging now😀. Picked up some slabs on freecycle to complete the main path, 'note to self': 30" x 24" x 2.5" are **** heavy!
Burnt the last lot of branches and old wood lying around - seems every plot had a bonfire yesterday!
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Emptied the compost dalek and spread it over the patch. That's it! There is some serious rain on the way at the moment so I don't know when i'll be able to get stuck in next.
Cheers
Aled
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Well I dragged the whole family down to the plot yesterday - husband was delighted :wub:
But I finally have storage so I took some tools down and put together a plastic climber thing for the kids to play on (mainly for my 2yr old to keep him out of mischief)
Also moved a load of pallets as I'll be putting in my earlies there.
So although I didn't do anything growing wise, I should be able to next time!
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Finished digging main plot for potaoes hopefully get them in at the weekend :D only 2 more smaller plots to dig over to get through. A little wierd though blinded by sunshine while snow is falling and not a cloud in the sky
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Emptied and moved 2 of the 3 compost bins on the big plot. Dug over and weeded a patch for them to stand on, then refilled 1 with the stuff that needs more time and topped off with used compost, so I can grow something on it.
Started digging next to the bins and worked in the good compost. Next stretch involves digging out the old raspberries, which is going to be a pig of a job. Better eat my spinach for the next few days ;)
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Sowed some broad beans in modules as I don't know when I'll be at the plot next, but at least I have made a start now!
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Living in hope for a period of settled weather!
Cheers
Aled
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Don't look like I'll be doing much today.
Yesterday I sowed 2 rows of carrots and a row of radish,then moved my strawberries from the bed into a strawberry tower
Hopefully that will stop some of the critters eating them.🐌🐁
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Pretty wet here today. Mind you checked conservatory and pleased to find broccoli has germinated despite being 6 years out of date. Beetroot, lettuce and broad beans also coming on well. All I need now is some dry warm weather. 😉😉
Cheers HH
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Started digging out the old weed infested raspberries. Got about halfway down the row before I ran out of steam.
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Living in hope for a period of settled weather!
Cheers
Aled
Looks like I'm in with a chance too!
Cheers
Aled
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Transplanted some onions to maximise spave, then digging and adding very rotten manure to provide a bed for my first earlies. Flower seeds planted up in the polytunnel and a healthy dose of weeding!
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Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple spuds in along with a couple of josaberry bushes. Also managed to have a bit of a weed and put some BFB around the garlic.
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The last of the potatoes went in and also sowed a couple of short rows of beetroot and Swiss chard.
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Nothing at the plot, but a mammoth seed sowing session in the potting shed in the back garden. I was at it all day sowing all sorts, and having a general tidy up of the shed as I went along. Looks a lot better now.
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So, what did I achieve today?
Painful knee. :(
Painful back. :(
Hamstrings that will be protesting hugely to the point that I already know I will find it hard to get out of bed on Tuesday morning. >:(
But, on the other hand, a goodly amount of weeding :D
And the sun was out :D
Life could be worse indeed :)
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Hamstrings that will be protesting hugely to the point that I already know I will find it hard to get out of bed on Tuesday morning. >:(
You intend to stay in bed til then? Must be bad :lol:
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Yesterday
Went and opened greenhouse number 1's vents
Watered the Blueberry plants
Waterd the onion sets that are now beginning to shoot.
It was 42c in the greenhouse when i arrived there at 12 ish.
Andy
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Yesterday I nearly finished the beds I am currently working on, I did manage to plant the first earlies which was good as that is the first thing in the ground for the new plot and the new year 😀
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I did 4 hours digging yesterday :ohmy: Not sensible I know, but I was on a roll.
The old raspberries are out and the area dug over, ready for main crop spuds. I also went over an area where I dug out some old gooseberries last autumn. That has been earmarked for the earlies, which I am going to try and get in this week. It will mean some juggling to find an hour here or there, but I will find a way ;) :D
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It was yesterday actually but I managed to do some digging. Very satisfying, although there's an awful lot to do. Still, the rhubarb looks good.
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popped down to strim the paths. I did lots of work on it a couple of weeks ago and it is ready for planting...I was pleased not to see too many weeds had regrown.
my earlies will go in next week.
came home and sowed some salad seeds in the veg patch and sowed some sprouts. the toms are coming along nicely on my sunny windowsill.
this warm spell has certainly sprung me into action although I don't know how long it will last.
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Dug the veg patch over on Sunday, ready for a good mash up with the rotovator next week!
Cheers
Aled
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Yesterday cleaned the greenhouse inside and out, that took 4 hours!!, fed the slugs in there. planted out onions and shallots, planted 5 rows of potatoes Charlotte, Picasso and Maris Piper.... not a bad days work .. ache today though
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Dug over some of the "odd" spots on the plot, and sowed some radish, mixed lettuce and beetroot. Picked the first of the forced rhubarb and some Russian kale.
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Dared to enter the falling down shed on the new plot, to empty it. It had been crammed full of old bed springs, rusty saw blades, rotten planks, etc.
Feel better for that! Just need to demolish the shed now.......
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Second earlies are now planted out. The last sowing of broad beans has gone in. Planted out beetroot seedlings.
The plastic cloches are off my first lettuces (little gem and an iceberg type) and also off my first turnips (a few are a bit slugged but not too bad) now under a protective net cloche.
Chillies, tomatoes peppers and aubergines are all being potted on as they come up to size. I think I'll take my bagged first earlies out of the greenhouse today. I'll need to keep an eye on the weather and rush them back in if it looks frosty though.
I really get the impression that things are moving along quickly now. I even saw a half a dozen asparagus the other day up the lotty. Maybe I'll be able to cut them soon.
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Found time yesterday for a flying visit to plant Charlotte and Kestrel potatoes. Thats 2 of the 4 lots of seed spuds in the ground :D
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Lovely sunny day down here today so I am potting up my tomato seedlings.
25 x San Marzano
25 x St Pierre
10 x Monte Carlo
10 x Cherry Roma
won't be using them all myself but the neighbours will get what I don't need. I will be planting a maximum of 40 plants this year. I will definitely plant 15 San Marzano for passata the rest will be a mix of the other three. Also started hardening off my onions this week which will go in next week sometime.
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Planted broad beans and sowed more seeds in bed too.
Weeded asparagus bed.
Sprinkled slug deterrent.
Good news first asparagus spears showing.
Cheers HH
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Planted on my original half plot, 2 rows of shallots and 2 rows of red onions. Next visit will plant 2 rows of white onions. Garlic is sprouting well. Covered a big pile of weeds, raspberry canes and other rubbish from autumn to dry out then can burn soon. Plot mostly tidy and weed free from hard work last autumn!
On my new half plot began digging bed ready for my potatoes.
Last November when I took it on, dug up potato crop and turned that soil over again today, lovely and crumbly.
Half of the plot is fruit bushes and trees and needs sorting out but today started digging over the other half.
Soil very compacted and full of mares tail roots and digging was hard going ::)
More to do next time and may borrow my plot neighbours rotivator as it was offered though potatoes will break up soil too.
Love having full plot and planning where everything will go as so much more space :)
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Removed the black plastic that had covered the plot through winter.
Removed some more woodchip and grass covered carpet.
Knocked in 2 x 8ft poles either side of one of the beds, then planted a runner from a thornless bramble bush.
Then did a bit of tidying around and had a chat with 2 of the older guys on the site where i secured myself a large load of manure for £15 to be delivered on Sunday morning so very pleased about that. :D
Andy
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Nice dull but pleasantly warm day so I got all my onions transplanted. Four 10m rows of Zebrune, Long red Florence, red Ampotsa and Golden Bear... never use that many but I can always let others have some.
edit
and a thunderstorm with hail the size of marbles arrives and destroys the lot :( Well all I can say is that I deliberately planted them an inch below the soil surface so although it looks like a heard of hippos have been wallowing in my garden hopefully when the whole thing dries down we may yet see some onions growing again... they are tough wee B's :)
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Crossed my fingers this afternoon and finally planted some early potatoes in bags. First time trying this method so I am hoping it gives me a slug free crop.
Cheers HH
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Planted out summer cabbage, spinach, spring onions and onions, plus weeded for a bit.
Nearly shut the plot robin in the compost bin. I was just going to put the lid back on when he shot out of there, landed in my plot neighbour's apple tree and proceeded to tell me off :lol:
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I've slacked off early today after finishing digging the rest of the area for the spuds and planting the last 2 lots out. I am now the owner of a vast and mighty potato patch and a very achy body ... but it was worth it :lol:
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Planted four half-rows of main crop potatoes. Pulled out some dandelions.
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Made a start on digging over the area's for the spuds. Got a shock while I was down there. As I am usually on my own when I am at the plot, was pleasantly surprised to see new people at the other plots. Seems like some plost have been given back to the council and have been taken up by some enthusiastic people.
The soil was so soft, it's as though it had been dug over every week I have been away.
As I am on 6am-2pm this week, it will be straight to the plot for an hour, weather permitting of course,
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Sowed some early carrots and weeded the raspberries.
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Put some French Bean seeds in pots.
Cheers
Aled
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Put some French Bean seeds in pots.
Cheers
Aled
I did that yesterday! :)
Where are you placing the pots? I've put mine in the greenhouse although it gets little sunshine :mellow:
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Demolished shed. Well, blew on it. Robins loving the insects I unhoused, including a seriously huge spider.....
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Another hour after work today. Another bed dug over, started to strim the paths the paths as well.
Sweetcorn seeds arrived today, sow them in the morning.
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Lots & lots. Narrowed out the well rotted manure to the potato bed, ready for hubby to rotovate tomorrow. Put the swoe over all the other beds & left the weeds to dry on the surface, I'll rake them up tomorrow then they can go straight on the bonfire I'm going to have. Hand weeded the onion bed & boy does it look better for it. Dug up the last parsnips & even a few beetroot that seem ok, well at least enough for some chutney. Rehomed some strawberries to another part of the plot. Swept up & had. a couple of sit downs & 2 cuppas, nit bad for a 6 hour stint
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Put last few new spuds into a bed. Planted beetroot seedlings into another bed and covered with cloche.
Cheers HH
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Too much to mention over the last 3 days but generally -
Rotavated the whole plot planted the potatoes, planted a new pear tree and sowed my tomato, pepper, corgette and pumpkin seeds.
You can read in more detail in my diary page, the link for it is in my signiture, also please feel free to comment.
Andy
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Put some French Bean seeds in pots.
Cheers
Aled
I did that yesterday! :)
Where are you placing the pots? I've put mine in the greenhouse although it gets little sunshine :mellow:
I've put mine on the windowsill of the dinning room. Its on a sandwich tray so the sills will remain dry.
Cheers
Aled
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Potted up my sweetcorn in their cardboard tubes should have checked them a couple of days ago some tap roots over 2 inches. An hour rough digging will finish off tomorrow, checked carrots no sign yes but 1st earlly pots peeping through compost in the greenhouse..... then off to work
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7 hour stint today with about 4hours from hubby. He rotorvated the potato,squash & another 3 beds. I had a huge bonfire, having fetched a load of wood from our daughters last night, got all the weeds burnt it got so hot. Hubby fetched me a load of confidential paperwork I've been shredding but much quicker to burn it. Then I tidied out both big & little sheds, I can actual see the floor in the big one again. But not in the little one as we keep the rotorvator in there & I like to keep it hidden behind a load of cardboard boxes. Cooked a sausage sandwich, & had a surprise visit from our little granddaughter & mummy, plus a couple of cups of tea. All in all a lovely day & the plot looks superb, nothing much in it but that won't take long to fill it
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Nothing at the plot today, but another seed sowing session in the potting shed at home. Probably go back to the plot in the morning.
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I dug a good deep hole and plonked in an old fence... strung some wire across from a wooden arch then tied in my blackberry.
(The rest of the day = household jobs that I have been putting off for a while but loads of plotting tomorrow ;) )
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Sowed my broad beans yesterday and today the onion sets went in.
I'm a little nervous because a friend got me a load of cow manure this winter but I'm not sure if it's old enough. I have no experience so I'm not sure what constitutes 'well rotted'! One person thought I should leave it for a year whilst another said it would be fine. Only one way to find out I suppose.
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Sowed my broad beans yesterday and today the onion sets went in.
I'm a little nervous because a friend got me a load of cow manure this winter but I'm not sure if it's old enough. I have no experience so I'm not sure what constitutes 'well rotted'! One person thought I should leave it for a year whilst another said it would be fine. Only one way to find out I suppose.
It may well depend upon what you are using it for - which crops and how you apply it. Dug in, mulched around or into a trench and forked in before covering with soil.
Some crops hate newly manured ground... I think it'd be ok to place it around fruit bushes but keep it away from the stems.
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Potted on aubergines, peppers, chilies and toms yesterday. Off up the plot once my morning coffee has kicked in. I want to do some more digging before it gets too warm :)
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As the weather is looking good for the weekend I expect to be busy. I have got plans to put in my Onions and shallots later today when the sun burns away the damp. I will carry on digging plots ready to take spuds next weekend. Have been reading spud planting tips on here for a few days now, need some Potato fertiliser now.
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Just got back from the plot. Planted about 100 Onion's and approx 20 Red shallots. Will have to go back on Sunday to plant the rest. I have another bag of Onions and 3 bags of Shallots to plant.
Strimmed all the paths and it's looking good again.
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Lots of grass cutting and sweet-pea a planting (first lot).
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Yesterday I did do some digging and watered the cabbage, spinach and onions that have recently been planted on the plot. Also some strimming of edges.
Today is a big seedling catch-up. I need to shuffle stuff around again and make some room in the greenhouse - wish me luck :lol:
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Sowed asparagus seeds 3 years ago. Finally getting my reward.
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After a couple of hours down at the plot this morning, I can safely say all my Onion sets are in. I did a rough count with the second bag and there approx 25 sets per row. Each bag did 6 rows. I think I will be ok for Onions. I also got 4 bags of Shallots in. Made a bed approx 1ft x 10ft larger, to keep all the edges of the beds in line with each other. Strimmed all the paths and got a bit of sunburn for my troubles.
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Watered.... picked purple sprouting... hoed a little
(Onions sprouting, shallots green tufted, beetroot = two leaves showing, transplanted raspberries looking good and even some early flower buds) :)
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Double dug and manured the plot on Sunday. I'll give it a week to settle then i'll rotovate and plant. Also planted out my strawberries.
Right we have now started proper!
Cheers
Aled
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Thought plenty of time this morning before work to plant beetroot, parsnip and turnip seeds, and some swede hadn't bargained on resident Robin overseeing trowel work from 3 inches away and hopping round my feet slowed things up a little, so just planted 2 rows parsnips and a row of beet
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Down to plot for a couple of hours. Erected a blue hoop tunnel covered with debris netting and planted out some summer broccoli from home. Then planted half a dozen summer cabbages from a local garden centre ( some missing from a strip so only £1 not £3.99) as one of my friends would say rude not too😂😂
Threw a bit of water onto beetroot seedlings and onions it seems very dry here at present.
Cheers HH
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Planted one long row of gladioli for cut flowers and four new dahlias - again for cut flowers for the house.
Readied a bed for sweet pea plants using canes at each end and a long cross-bar then tree prunings in-between.
Planting out tomorrow.
Watered as little rain in Sussex - the same in Hampshire it seems.
Nice to have time to potter... beginning to get the hang of being retired.
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First bean plant has just popped through! :)
Cheers
Aled
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Sat with a cup of coffee 5.30 this morning and admired the weedless ground... for now, painted potting shed and full green house of little seedlings... al's right with the world, well my world :D
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Planted two rows of asparagus, dug over another patch, only one to go and did some watering, it's so dry here had no rain in a couple of weeks
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Planted out the first caulis of the season under mesh. They're looking magnificent at the moment, couldn't have had a better upbringing. Started to plant out the sprouted paper pot parsnips.
A bag of PSB/lettuce/rocket/spinach for the table and noticed some flower buds on the early sungold tomatoes. Very pleased as early for me.
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Bit of an update from the last couple of weeks, digging in manure, emptying composters (good black stuff!), first earlies and shallots in, weeding, seed sowing in polytunnel, harvesting rhubarb and digging out an old tree root (tree long since logged up and burned in stove). So, busy times but great fun.
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made frame up for netting of peas, sown couple of rows of beetroot, removed the finished psb and dug bed over ready for planting the beans later,
sown another bin off carrots
very dry at the moment so everything had a good drink need some rain down south
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Five weeks into my first allotment plot it's been all systems in high gear. Just loving it. A new polytunnel put up with friends' help last Sunday means I could import my seedlings from a friend's greenhouse today - mostly perennial herbs, flowers and tomatoes - re-pot the Ailsa Craig tomatoes (but no rush with the Roma and Gardener's Delight - why are they so far behind?), sowed Czar runner beans, borlottis, double red sweet corn & various zucchinis in pots. Plus - yay! - finish the third of my asparagus trenches: altogether 10 each of Pacific 2000, Ariane & Stewart's Purple. A bit wonky, but I'm not addicted to straight lines. Last night a neighbour let me cut my dinner from his asp. plot and it was just the incentive needed to get me through the last stage of a hard process! Fresh asparagus has nothing to do with those tired bundles from Spain in the supermarket.
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Got my bum out of bed early and then had a lazy morning ::)
It's a 45 minute drive from my home in Goole to my allotment in York, so got here about dinnertime. (I usually work around York, so it's local to go on in an evening for an hour or so).
Got my spud rows dug and planted. 1.5kg Sarpo Mira and 2kg Rooster.
Was given some caulie seedlings by a neighbour so split them off into seed trays and have them sitting in some water in the greenhouse.
Planted a small row of white beetroot (Detroit White) and a row of carrots (Resistafly F1) under glass outside.
Also planted the other half of my allotment with Buckwheat as a green manure. Did several rows about 2 feet apart so I can walk down/ rotavate between them.
Now I'm just sat in the greenhouse having a rest and a drink of nice cold water before I pack up and go home.
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- De-compacted and raked over the corner of the plot where SOMEONE had driven a tractor for a manure delivery
- Dug over small patch - maybe for squash, wheelbarrow full of bindweed root
- Assembled VERY EXPENSIVE fruit cage frame. No prices shown at the garden centre til I got to the checkout, turned out to be £7 per pole! :wacko:
- Drank tea to calm myself
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So, this is my second year of veggie growing and I'm excited and hoping I can repeat last year's successes and improve on the disasters!
I planted my potatoes last week and a few seeds under my cold frame. This year I'm going to stagger the seedlings so that I don't have so many gluts.
I've been watering the beds for the last few nights because it's been so dry.
Several seeds in the cold frame are showing tiny shoots... this is the bit I love!
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Sowed my broad beans yesterday and today the onion sets went in.
I'm a little nervous because a friend got me a load of cow manure this winter but I'm not sure if it's old enough. I have no experience so I'm not sure what constitutes 'well rotted'! One person thought I should leave it for a year whilst another said it would be fine. Only one way to find out I suppose.
It may well depend upon what you are using it for - which crops and how you apply it. Dug in, mulched around or into a trench and forked in before covering with soil.
Some crops hate newly manured ground... I think it'd be ok to place it around fruit bushes but keep it away from the stems.
Sorry for not acknowledging your helpful reply sooner, Paul Plots. I checked which of my intended crops shouldn't be manured, and I've been cautious about the quantity of manure I've used. Fingers crossed!
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Planted out autumn leeks, bunching onions, turnips and komatsuma. Gave everything a good water. Nattered to plot neighbours :)
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Rotovated and dug over, plan to plant on Thursday...after rotovating again tomorrow.
Cheers
Aled
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Potted on the tomato seedlings, sowed pumpkin/squash/courgette seeds, watered everything well (so dry here), did a bit of weeding.
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I popped round earlier to ridge over the potato tops - heavy frosts forecast for the next few nights :(
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Dug over some more ground. There were just the first signs of potato leaves on the earlies, so put some soil over them.
OH strimmed then managed to blow up my wheelbarrow tyre with a compressor. I did say a foot pump was more than adequate ::)
Got home and potted on some tomatoes. OH shuffled off and looked at wheelbarrow tyres on line :lol:
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Planted 95 seed potatoes, deadheaded the daffodils & transplanted some winter onions to fill in the gaps where some fate had befallen some ( quite a lot actually) to make best use of the space.
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Planted a few lettuce seedlings amongst my cabbages. Noted that slugs had already started nibbling the cabbage seedlings so added some more pellets. Delivered three trugs of home made compost and spread onto potato bed to protect from the forecast frost. Weeded asparagus bed. Watered all of the still dry beds.
Cheers HH
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Sowed some beetroot seeds directly into bed. Covered bed with net to deter the neighbour's cat!
Did some digging, weeding and watering.
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Cleared a bit more of the final veg bed and sowed little gem and mizuna seeds; removed turf and dug over a third of a planned herb bed and sowed bronze fennel, dill and coriander - hard work but the previous incumbent had rather a lot of rather lovely lawn which I don't want. Rocket, red salad bowl, lollo rosso, yellow beetroot, perennial spinach and spring onions coming along outdoors - always such fun watching the little things get going. Re-potted Gardeners Delight & Roma tomatoes in the tunnel when it got too chilly to be much fun outdoors. No frost predicted around here, but it certainly felt like it.
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emptied the compost heap. its seemed a lot of barrow loads but it didn't go far on the ground.
soon started to fill it again.
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Dug over a bed ready for some leek seedlings. Checked French beans in conservatory and pleased to see they are starting to germinate.
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Watered some caulie seedlings I was given, watered some covered carrots and white beetroot. Also gave a few watering cans worth to my Buckwheat green manure seeds I planted on Friday.
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As there are some cold nights forecast I held off any more sowing. I weeded and watered my raised beds, then the rest of the time spent clearing buried glass and breaking up the rotten shed. Went into the greenhouse (its home made and not in a good state) and found a blackbirds nest with three eggs, so won't be using it for a while!
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Watered all beds, no decent rain in the last 3 weeks, everywhere seems so dry.
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Took 3 trugs of home made compost to plot and added to bed ready for leeks. Harvested some asparagus for dinner.
Cheers HH
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Thursday..
Did a lot of pruning, overgrown roses and self seeded trees got walloped..
Decided to make a new compost area next to the old one, which was full of rubbish and branches.
New area is in front of the old redundant gate, since fenced across by the council. Thick roses stems added for more security. No way in now ::)
Emptied the compost bin and forked it into its new area.
Still a long way to go.. chipping away a bit at a time.
(http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy181/gramayr/Allotment/12B5B137-8E8A-44E8-AFA0-5FD778403776_zpsjywat8c2.jpg)
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Right then dug then planted Potatoes, beetroot, carrots, spinach, shallots, & radishes, made my French bean wigwam, but at the moment I've only got 2 plants to put in there!!
Still we are getting there.
Cheers
Aled
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Dug over an already dug over area and planted lots of seed spuds. The only thing is, the area I dug over is not big enough for all the seed spuds. Didn't realise I had bought that many. Back to the plot in the morning then.
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Sowed another couple of rows of beetroot seeds and sowed my parsnip seeds straight into the bed.
Moved some pots of various sowings from the cold frame into a sunny indoor spot instead as I think it might be too cold for them to germinate.
My broad beans, onions and early spuds are all pushing through and I've been watering them daily as it's been so dry.
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Watered the seedlings (carrots and beetroot) and then picked a large bag full of purple sprouting.
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Just got back from putting the rest of the spuds in. Strimmed all the paths, looking a lot better now.
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Brought my spud bags together in a row and covered with a fleece cloche. Was going to create individual covers for each bag but decided this was a quicker and simpler defence. Whether it works will be determined by this coming weeks freezing conditions!! Had another watering session too as the weather is still very dry here.
Cheers HH
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Earthed up all the early spuds as they were showing through and we have a frosty week ahead. Then dug over a bit more of the plot until I ground to a standstill.
Enough digging for one day - home, showered and feet up now :)
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Dismantled greenhouse (have no time to put back up after it had to moved), weeded and watered.
Andrew.
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Also earthed up the spuds as they got slightly frosted earlier on in the week. Nearly finished the onion bed on the new plot - sets are a bit late going in!
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Digging beds over after work tonight, in the freezing wind, might get round to planting maincrop potatoes and onion sets at weekend.
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I got a bit ahead of myself and sowed sungold tomatoes in the middle of Feb (before reading the packet). Yet the 6 plants I am keeping are stocky, strong & already beginning their first flower truss, so I put 5 of them in half a grow-bag each today in the polytunnel. I've fleeced them well in case of the promised arctic weather and my fingers are crossed. Also sowed climbing peas, purple-stemmed broc, climbing French beans and Greek gigantes climbing beans for drying - all in cardboard modules.
And then - to grow them up - I built a couple of bean frames from the beautiful hazel stakes I got at the Ipswich beanpole day on Sunday - really like the height and structure they bring to my flat new plot.
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Potatoes earthed up yesterday as they were just peeping through in places... chilly nights for a day or two.
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Tucked my little tatties in to protect from the frost, fed the resident robin and blackbird, back in the house its started to snow
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Short visit whilst Mrs hog was at yoga in village hall by my allotment. Pretty cold at 4 degrees when we left home so asparagus was sulking no spears tonight. Decided I should make use of time so weeded all the beds and added some water to the spuds. Harvested some rhubarb.
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I got a bit ahead of myself and sowed sungold tomatoes in the middle of Feb (before reading the packet). Yet the 6 plants I am keeping are stocky, strong & already beginning their first flower truss, so I put 5 of them in half a grow-bag each today in the polytunnel. I've fleeced them well in case of the promised arctic weather and my fingers are crossed. Also sowed climbing peas, purple-stemmed broc, climbing French beans and Greek gigantes climbing beans for drying - all in cardboard modules.
And then - to grow them up - I built a couple of bean frames from the beautiful hazel stakes I got at the Ipswich beanpole day on Sunday - really like the height and structure they bring to my flat new plot.
I like the idea of a beanpole day😊
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Potter on some spinach seedlings, not a lot more today
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Hid from the frightful weather in the polytunnel, potting on tomatoes, peppers and such while it hailed and blew outside. A huge amount of drama and the soil wasn't even damp when it was over. Just very cold.
I don't like those cardboard modules after all. I had tried them on some of my tomatoes and when putting them in grow bags today it was clear that the roots had not penetrated them as they are supposed to. It's a bore because I have experimented with them on a few of my seedlings. Does anyone else have an opinion on them?
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I watered.... the seed beds.
Now we're in trouble for hijacking the thread and going off topic :( but.....
I don't like those cardboard modules after all. I had tried them on some of my tomatoes and when putting them in grow bags today it was clear that the roots had not penetrated them as they are supposed to. Does anyone else have an opinion on them?
Expensive - had some for a Christmas pressie one year - used them - results ok as they decompose once in the ground and the roots do usually grow through them once they are moist and decomposing. Personally I'd use home-made paper-pots in preference... cheaper too.
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Sorry. I'll start a new thread.
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Sorry. I'll start a new thread.
We're not in trouble... yet ;)
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Just got home, that's approx 40 Sweetcorn transplanted. Strimmed all paths and weeded, not that there was many.
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Assessed frost damage. Some potatoes shriveled but mostly OK. Marigolds completely destroyed! Put up netting around redcurrents and goosies. Put up supports for peas. Pulled out lots of bindweed shoots as per usual >:(
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Didn't make it to the plot, but I have sown sweetcorn, cosmos, sunflowers, fennel and huaunzontle at home and planted out calendula, leaf celery and giant parsley into the raised beds.
Potted on aquilegia, linaria, verbena and some onions. Also emptied the cold frame and got stuff ready to take to the plot tomorrow, then shuffled some greenhouse stuff out to the cold frame.
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Dropped by the other day to check on everything and take some fertiliser up. I've no idea what it is, but my dad got it from a farmer. He had to dilute a litre into about 50 litres, then that's diluted gain to use. I just put a glug in a watering can and that about does it (must ring the farmer up and ask him..)
Decided I'm going to pull up some bushes in the middle and use it to plant beans/caulies etc. I've got lots of garden canes so a Monty thingy will appear shortly I expect. I've bought some poly-tunnel things and the caulie seedling are coming along in the greenhouse and are ready for planting.
If my neighbour is up, I'll fetch 'Banty' the rotavator up for him. See how things go tomorrow
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Planted out the herbs which have been hardening off for about a week: tarragon, parsley, thyme, oregano, marjoram and a rosemary shrub and bay tree which have been languishing in the icy blast of a winter on my balcony.
Planted a double border of monarda inside a wobbly bean pole pergola leading from the orchardy part to the veg part of the allotment between the asparagus and strawberry beds. The climbing peas and french beans that will grow over the outside are sulking out of sight in their modules in the polytunnel.
Lovely afternoon - a lot of it spent drinking tea with various neighbours. It was Saturday, after all.
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Planted out Supersweet onions, Figaro shallots and khol rabi, all started from seed in modules. Also planted some beetroot modules - these were sown with a few seeds in each and planted out as a clump.
Dug about 2/3 of my netting fenced squash, sweetcorn and bean area. The last 1/3 was really solid, so I stuck the fork in here and there to break the surface and I'm hoping the rain we are forecast tonight and tomorrow might get in there and soften the ground a bit. The joys of clay ::)
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Took up 1 of the brassica areas & dug over enough of it adding chicken pellets & home made compost to it then planted the broad bean plants I had been & bought this morning( my seed sown ones failed) also planted 8 plugs of parsley I bought & 2 rows of ambassador peas to supplement the kelvedon wonder I sowed before I went on holiday last week
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Another couple of hours earlier today. Sown a row of Sugar snap peas, 2 rows of different spring onions and 2 rows of different radish. Hoed all the beds.
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Weeded the onions, thinned out the carrots and gave everything a good soaking. The strawberry bed had a really good soaking as there lots of flowers on them. Sowed another half a dozen runner beans in the propagator, you can never have too many runner beans! Some of the Potatoes have been caught by the frost we had last week.
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Another few more hours today. Just a general tidy, strimming of the paths, and transplanted a few Beetroot as well.
I am on 6am-2pm for the next 2 weeks so I will be popping after work a few days a week to keep it tidy.
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Whizzed around with the hoe.
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First few shoots are starting to push through. So not much other than having a look at it. I did however stick some cardboard and horse manure in the compost bin!
Cheers
Aled
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Not managed to get to plot for few weeks so quite a few weeds showing :(
Spent hour and half weeding and digging over area for peas and beans.
Back soon for another session digging the area ready for brassicas which does not have as many weeds ;)
Shallots, onions and garlic all showing.
My new other half plot is looking bit wild. Area which has already been dug over ready for squash and pumpkins has stayed weed free. Other part to dig over ready for my potatoes looks weed ridden and soil looks rock hard. Need OH to have a go at that :lol: then will borrow rotovator from plot neighbour.
The rest of that plot is very overgrown fruit bushes and looks terrible.
Think will have to try and tame some of it but think that is job for next year too ;)
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Lots and lots of people up there today. The overdue rain has got to the plot holders' roots as well as the crops and seedlings.
Perfect conditions at last for breaking down some beds to a final top tilth. Started planting out some more brassica seedlings that are well on their way. In view of the forecast, sowed runners, French and a third successional crop of peas under mice mesh. All direct.
Now it's just sorting the squash and swede, and it starts to be a doddle and a real pleasure. Heaven today. What a shame the annual Mayday I spent at Padstow obby oss yesterday was such a wet affair. Really wet.
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Another hour and a half digging and weeding and starting to feel on top of things. Two thirds of my original half plot dug over and weeded. Have pile of rubbish to burn too.
Next visit will tackle rest of area I will need for sowing brassicas. Some of it not too bad but one patch is covered with clumps of grass, the only bit that I left last year unfortunately!
Have patch where dug up blackcurrants and brambles last year. Covered it today with black plastic. Not growing on that this year because apart from weeds, brambles keep popping up.
Really aching now after three hours of solid digging :D
OH is looking at rotavators which is fine with me as long as he helps me :)
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Nipped up for a bit after work, didn't go over the long weekend as I was away. Put in some prunings for the peas to climb, and some mesh as the pigeons had pulled a couple up. Hoed raised beds, watered. Onions and early spuds looking good. Planted Dwarf French bean seedlings.Asked OH to make me a munty frame for borlotti beans etc!
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Put in the last row of beetroot and carrots. At last my final French Bean has pushed through!
Cheers
Aled
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Cut down damaged asparagus and fleeced the bed. Turning cool here today.
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Put in the last row of beetroot and carrots. At last my final French Bean has pushed through!
Cheers
Aled
You're doing well.... my first tray of beans has been through for a while - second tray not up yet. None planted out although I have plastic wind-breaks in place along both sides of the bean-frame warming up the soil I hope.
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Popped in for an hour after work earlier. Just had an hour to do a bit of weeding, hoeing and strimming of paths, then went to pick up SWMBO from work.
Forgot to add I also did a bit of watering as well as it's so dry.
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Dropped by the plot after work to do a bit of watering.. Ended up getting the hosepipe out, then weeding and finally putting some cloches together and planting out some caulies that I had coming on in the greenhouse.
Left just after 8pm..
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Dropped by the plot after work to do a bit of watering.. Ended up getting the hosepipe out, then weeding and finally putting some cloches together and planting out some caulies that I had coming on in the greenhouse.
Left just after 8pm..
I loved the after-work visits to the plot....... distress time (before going home for dinner and the evening's marking and planning).
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Ah Paul Pots, its pushed through, but its still on the windowsill of the dining room.... :blush:
Cheers
Aled
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Day off work so another three hour digging and weeding session and really feeling like have now starting catching up.
Back on Sunday with OH and I am going to dig and weed last bit of my original half plot and get my potatoes in finally and he is going to tackle some more of my new half plot.
Hopefully by the following weekend I will be able to rotovate and start sowing peas and beans too.
Trimmed the grass edges.
At home will sow some leeks and brassicas. Thought I was bit late for them but fellow plot holder has only just sown his so will get cabbages, broccoli, sprouts and leeks started.
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Potted on Tomatoes "Red Cherry", Cosmos "Appollo White" and placed them in the cold frame. Potatoes, Cabbages, Carrots and Brussels all looking good. Strawberries have lots of flowers with the occasional small fruits showing. Runner beans 8 - 10" high but WILL NOT plant them in their final positions till at least 15th as a late frost caught them last year.
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Potted on more tomatoes and peppers so almost everything is in a 1L or 2L pot now. Sowed squash, cucumbers, dwarf french beans, dwarf cannellini beans, soy beans and baby corn. Potted on lovage seedlings as well.
All a bit of a rush as I am off to work in a bit, but it feels like the plant factory is in full swing here :D
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Good day of planting, tomatoes, peppers and chillies potted up, peas planted out, more seeds in and some weeding done.
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Nothing at all this weekend. Had been at the plot every afternoon after work all week and every afternoon over the bank holiday. As the plot was looking very good, with not a weed in site decided to have the weekend off. Will be back on Monday afternoon though, watering it all and probably do hoeing as well.
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Tackling last quarter of my original half plot. More digging and weeding. Rubbish to burn next visit then digging over and weeding last bit. Two more visits and plot ready for planting?
Covered some with black plastic as some lumps of grass.
OH came to start with my new half. A third dug over and weeded already but ground is so hard so he started on the bit with most lumps of grass! More managable now but still some to dig.
Had an explore of all the fruit bushes. Lots of gooseberries showing which I think the bushes are red gooseberries. What looks like a good sized apple tree and maybe cherry tree?
Found large piece of black plastic behind shed. Patch of ground between fruit that is bare apart from weeds. Covered that over until decide what to do with it.
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Still behind with all the planting/sowing for the new plot- it is so dry I have pretty much given up digging at the moment🙁
I did get all the ground tubes in for the new polytunnel though, I think it is square!😄
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OK all completed:
The tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce are planted out in the plastic houses.
Also French Beans are planted in the veg patch.
Had a small space so I planted a few rows of parsnips, a bit late but hey ho.
First green shoots on my other plants are starting to push through.
Cheers
Aled
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OK all completed:
The tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce are planted out in the plastic houses.
Also French Beans are planted in the veg patch.
Had a small space so I planted a few rows of parsnips, a bit late but hey ho.
First green shoots on my other plants are starting to push through.
Cheers
Aled
You are miles ahead of me. Where in the country are you?
I'm right down south but have only risked planting out a very few climbing beans and they are surrounded by plastic sheeting along both sides and ends of the bean-frame.
Parsnips are through at last after direct sowing... they are frost hardy.
Yesterday: I cut a huge long hedge, mowed, hoed and watered. Not a bad day.
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Hi Paul
I'm in West Wales, interestingly both my Father & Father in law are well in front of me!.
Cheers
Aled
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Popped in today after work (2-30pm) just to do some watering.
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Another hour and half digging and weeding :)
Getting on top of everything now.
Back on Friday to try and finish digging odd areas of weeds and grass as hoping to have rotovator by the weekend. Haven't sown anything direct yet so have peas and french beans to sow once soil is managable aswell as beetroot, turnip, spinach.
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Hubby & I finished the new compost palace!😄 Back home for lunch & back to burn some rubbish, then I rejigged the water barrels & bottled 25 litres of comfrey juice. Then a put lots of cardboard on the squash bed & weighted it down with bricks,slabs & a pallet ready for Friday when it's due to rain. ☔️ came home very mucky for a hot shower
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Thinned out a few of the new shoots.
Cheers
Aled
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Built a couple of wigwams for beans.(soil very dry so tricky to erect)
Cut the grass beds, removed fleece protection from spuds (still frosted despite protection)
Watered spuds, brassicas, beetroot and asparagus.
Fingers crossed we will get some of the rain that is promised later in the week.
Cheers HH
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Emptied a few more plants from the greenhouse and into to their final resting place. I can walk in there now without stumbling.
Collected ten barrow loads of clean grass cuttings from the latest council mowing of our site pathways. Allowed to dry somewhat, it's always a brilliant bulk addition to the never ending compost/mulch/soil maintenance regime.
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Moved a compost heap to make room for a new building..... transplanted some small shrubs.... watered seed beds... planted a dahlia... trimmed grass paths..
Stopped and stared :)
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Watered and thinned last night. All my potatoes are through the soil.
Cheers
Aled
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Painted the shed which is massive (about 15' by 12') and it took me all day. Strimmed the grass and put the toms to bed in the big greenhouse. Having a day off today, as I have painters wrist.... :(
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Planted a Hinomaki gooseberry. Took quite a while as when I started to dig the hole I found some brick foundations to hoik out.
Other half made me a Munty frame, learned about this on this site -my beans will be in shortly.
Hoeing, watering - we had a shower or two, very restful sitting in the shed listening to the rain -but its still very dry.
Tree bees are nesting in the bird box on the shed.
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thinned and transplanted beetroot, great soil conditions after the rain.
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This was yesterday, but I was too tired to even type about it last night ::)
Anyway, finished digging over the large area I have fenced with posts ad netting. This is my bean, squash and sweetcorn bit and the netting fence is to keep the muntjac out.
The later spuds are all up, but spotted a few bits of bindweed showing. Dug them out while the spuds are small enough to work round. This area has old soft fruit in it which got invade by bindweed from the next door plot. I dug it over twice before planting and now it has had another good weed. I did the same tactics where my earlies are and I can't see any bindweed reappearing. Victory will be mine 8)
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Went with OH to plot to test out new rotovator :)
Dug out odd weed then rotovated large soil area on new half plot. Raked it level and looks great. Going to use it for squash and pumpkins and anything that run out of space for. Rest of that plot now is fruit bushes. Weeds still under plum tree and fruit bushes are bit wild.
Rotovated area of my original half plot for beans and peas to sow tomorrow.
No time for the rest so OH will do that next weekend.
Back tomorrow to weed odd areas of grassy lumps and dig up last years red cabbages.
Plot looking bit bare but better than a month ago. :)
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Today's escapades - planted up a netted cage with perpetual spinach and erbette. Also planted out modules of spring onions and Nipper leeks.
Came home and shunted some more stuff from the greenhouse to the cold frame, then moved all the seedlings from inside the house out to the greenhouse.
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A bit of weeding, pleased to see my outdoor beans are starting to push through, everything else is through.
Cheers
Aled
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Lovely day down here today so tomatoes are in!
16 x San Marzano
10 x St Pierre
5 x Cherry Roma
6 x Monte Carlo
this is followed by
6 x Aubergine
6 x sweet bell pepper
4 x Courgette
12 X Chilli D'Arbol
6 x Jalapeno
and finish of with a 10m row of Dwarf French beans.
Great working in the garden at this time of year , not too hot at about 27C but nice sunny and warm.
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Hoe, hoe ,hoe. Just been away for a week!!!
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Filled another of my new compost bin palaces with waste plants from the community hanging baskets that our garden club empties & fills, & better still trundled an awful lot of waste compost to my plot too😊. A very happy if tired bunny today
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I picked up some bargain onion sets on my travels the other day, so planted them. They were in surprisingly good condition, with only a dozen per bag being squishy. For what they cost me, its still a good deal.
My overwintering onions have been looking like they were stalled for a few weeks now. We have been eating them as giant spring onions, but an inspection today revealed necks starting to harden up - flower stalks forming :( I dug the rest up to eat up quick and then dug that area over.
That means both plots have been fully dug, except where the overwintering Wizard beans, garlic and shallots are in. Plus ready for the ground to soak up the rain we are promised for tonight and tomorrow 8)
I would do the dance of joy ... if I could still move :lol:
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Put sticks in for my peas, weeded the nettle seedlings out of the raised beds wearing surgical gloves! Checked on my beans planted at the weekend, everything is very happy with this long wished for rain.
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Too much :lol: :lol: dismantled the old compost bins with hubby, had a bonfire & burnt it all, dug over the area then took up the old narrow path (small slabs)next to the area & between the raspberries, then helped hubby to relay the path with larger slabs ( so I can get round easier with the wheel barrow & it Di away with a step up to the central path, that I trip on on a regular basis). Had lunch a couple of cuppas. Now shattered & a bit bruised where hubby banged into my hand with a very heavy 2" slab 🙁 Plot looks so much better though
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Fair play it looks like people are busy. So far so good (touch wood!) everything looks like its pushing through and growing well so a bit of weeding tonight!
Cheers
Aled
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Finally planted my potatoes. Bit late but area for them only just ready.
Started digging over and weeding last area full of grass and weeds. Not too much left. Will carry on tomorrow hopefully if dry. Over the weekend OH going to rotovate rest of the plot then I can sow all of my seeds.
Plot looking better and hopefully after the weekend won't be much left to tackle :)
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Lots :)
Outdoor tomatoes potted into their final containers and now out of the greenhouse, greenhouse tomatoes planted into to builders buckets. All peppers and chillies (bar 1) now in their final pots as well. All the tomatoes are flowering and the Latah even had some decent sized fruits, The sweet peppers all have flower buds and the Pot Black chillies are flowering.
Sowed a load more seeds - climbing beans of various sorts, a late season sweetcorn, fennel, courgettes and mitsuba.
Very tired now but I had a great day :D
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I'm even more behind than the usual behind I am... ::)
Some of the tomato plants are in their final pots, I've reduced them to 5L rather than the 15L I usually use, they're still tiny anyway. There are a few in cells still if I can find the time to clear the glass from the top GH.
Put 4 sides of netting up around the blueberry bed - need to get some netting to make a roof for it before it's too late.
Did another air layer on my fig and 1 on each of the 2 blueberry plants in pots.
Sowed some chard and a couple of courgettes, I wasn't going to bother but it doesn't feel right not having any courgettes or runner beans, what next a season with no tomatoes ?
Very poor set on the apples due to the late frost and now the aphids and ants have moved in they were looking very sickly, I sprayed again (3rd time this year) but this modern, organic stuff is useless I might as well ask them to leave politely.
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Yesterday I planted out squash under cloches.
On the bit of plot I hadn't touched yet I cleared out a great many volunteer spuds. OH made a start on a path, edges are down. I made a bigger frame and mesh for the Brussels.
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Everything in, so weeding, watering, and earthing up potatoes at the moment.
Radishes looking a bit sparse. Tomatoes seem to be coming along well, so far so "touch wood".
Cheers
Aled
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Weeded & earthed up the potatoes, finished weeding the front of plot 40 where we took out the old compost bins. Then hubby turned up with a coffee for me, so after that I dug up the bulbs at the end of the potato plot ready for the path alterations. Hubby moved the gladioli to the new flower bed(old compost bin plot)
Came home & after lunch spent the afternoon in the garden planting out dahlias & various half hardy annuals that I've grown from seed in modules.
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No allotment at the weekend as spent it in my garden, cutting the grass and making raised beds. Got lots of marseille roof tiles from freecycle and started making raised beds from them attaching them together with wire. Looking good so far.
So back to the plot today to carry on weeding last area of original half plot.
Tackled patches of grass and feeling effects now! Half of that patch done. :)
Another visit and that part of the plot will be under control with some foliage to burn.
My raspberries are overgrown with buttercup so found some black plastic to cover some of weeds. Think that will be an ongoing job but path next to them needs renewing too.
At home sowed butternut squash, burgess buttercup squash, cucumber, broccoli and sweetbaby tomatoes.
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Planted out a couple of courgettes and squashes. Harvested some more asparagus.
Fantastic weather for growing.
Must go back first thing tomorrow to plant out the rest of the squashes.
Cheers HH
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More digging and weeding.
Now have two piles of weeds and foliage to burn. ;)
Dug up last years red cabbage that had gone to seed. Just raspberries now to try and tackle weeds.
At home sowed yellow french beans and tepee beans.
Struggled last year with germination when directly sown so will grow in pots and plant out on plot.
Will get OH to rotovate rest of plot at weekend and then can sow beetroot, turnips, swede, spinach, pak choi and spring onions.
Plot looks bit bare at moment but certainly better than it was. :)
Have covered area near my shed on my new half plot that was full of weeds with large black plastic sheet to tackle later.
Under plum tree the weeds are growing too so will cover that with black plastic too.
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Took various pruning's to the plot, planted out the spring onions I forgot to take yesterday with the Bedfordshire seedlings yesterday. Went back this evening to water & plant out the 4 broad beans that grew, just as well I bought some plantsearlier.
Back home had a good tidy round then washed all the pots that had accumulated plus the freebies from yesterday's garden club basket planting. Potted up loads of gladioli seedlings I brought back from the plot yesterday.
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Watered and weeded last night. Looked at the plot this morning, and its grown over night! :D
Lovely.
Aled
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Watered the plot this morning. Harvested some asparagus and radish. Sowed some more French beans in pots at home.
Cheers HH
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Sweated!!!!
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Nothing, had a day off after the last week of very busy days,but I did direct hubby which branches to prune off the Rowan tree in the garden, then snipped up the prunings as kindling for the next bonfire, yhen I dead headed a few flowers in the garden
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Bought myself a little toy off Glumtree.:
(http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy181/gramayr/Allotment/54759302-4E2A-48E3-BC47-7B74AE8EFF68_zpsp6pnvwzv.jpg)
Had a strimmer bump head thingy that soon ran out of line after shredding the head guard (and cutting blade). Managed to cut down the jungle that were my paths and some borders before it ran out.. Brushcutter blade didn't really do anything. Bought a decent head now that you put cut legths of line in, far better..
Sprinkled some Vitax D-14 on my spuds (couple of Oz/SqYrd) and watered it in after weeding.
Also weeded my carrots and buckwheat, and watered.
Roosters are coming along nicely, whereas the Sarpo Mira are a bit slow..
(http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy181/gramayr/Allotment/77910018-0E13-4ABC-A2D3-32ACBD701D25_zpsvma6yfw4.jpg)
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Weeded all the beds, strimmed all the paths. Planted out 18 Tom's, 3 different types.
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Planted out sweetcorn, mini corn, malabar spinach and savoy cabbage. Did quite a lot of weeding and hoeing. Had a couple of wildlife encounters.
The first was several blissed out slow worms basking under the black plastic sheet lid when I uncovered the compost bin to put some stuff in. They were not moving, so I left the stuff at the side of the bin to go in another day. The second was when I looked up from planting to find a red kite sitting on the edge of the water butt under the plot tap. We both did a bit of a 'Oh I didn't know you were there' jump. He finished his drink and gracefully swooped off down the site, while I kicked myself for not having my phone in my back pocket so I could have taken a picture :D
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Planted out sweetcorn, mini corn, malabar spinach and savoy cabbage. Did quite a lot of weeding and hoeing. Had a couple of wildlife encounters.
The first was several blissed out slow worms basking under the black plastic sheet lid when I uncovered the compost bin to put some stuff in. They were not moving, so I left the stuff at the side of the bin to go in another day. The second was when I looked up from planting to find a red kite sitting on the edge of the water butt under the plot tap. We both did a bit of a 'Oh I didn't know you were there' jump. He finished his drink and gracefully swooped off down the site, while I kicked myself for not having my phone in my back pocket so I could have taken a picture :D
It's encounters like these that add to the joy of having an allotment, you are so lucky to have wildlife like this in your area. My sightings this week include one large, ginger cat, and one very cheeky, fat rabbit. Ah well!!
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Weeded the plot quite well, looks good I must say. Earthed up the potatoes, and planted out another lot of lettuce seeds. Mixed the compost bin. Also washed the car!
Cheers
Aled
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Dug over a bed and planted some more broad bean seeds (Karmzyn), potted on some brassica seedlings, planted out climbing french beans, Halloween pumpkins and lettuce outdoors. Planted cucumber in the polytunnel and tied up all the tomatoes. Felt like a productive day and we even got some rain 😀
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Lots of weeding, sowing and planting including squash, celery, spring onions, swede, French beans, more carrots and filled gaps in the parsnip rows.
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Started on the last bit of plot I haven't tackled yet, although its so humid I didn't get a lot done. Amongst the nettles, lush clumps of grass and forest of volunteer spuds I found various bits of comfrey which I am happy about - the light soil needs all the feed it can get, and the bees will be happy too!
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At home in the potting shed I potted on 12 aubergines ( how did that happen) into their final pots, potted on the cucumbers to try to spring them into growth, then the gherkins.
Then I planted out some more tiny flower seedlings mainly poppies I think although all the permanent marker has washed off👿. Revamped the soil in the 2 planters by the back door, 1 has the fig tree in & the other the saffron corms, then planted the alpine strawberries grown from seed into them
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yet another large bag of broad beans picked, removed the plants that have finished and dug over to make room for some more beetroot.
nice tub of strawberries and some pea tops and beet leaves and chives to add to my salad tonight.
strimmed the grass put some more string up for the runners and then sat in the chair with a nice cold beer.
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Weeded the onion bed, had a cuppa with quiet Dave, then hubby turned up, so with Dave's help we moved the brassica cage from last years bed to this years bed which just happened to be as far from each other as they could be 😄, cleared all the spent psb & a few weeds, then took up the old rotten wooden edging ready to burn it next week. Then hubby rotorvated it & I added some chicken pellets & the leaf mold. Oh & hubby put down 3 slabs over the bed so we don't have to walk all the way round the shed to get to the far path. Another cuppa & home for lunch
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I haven't been on the forum for a few weeks, so doing a bit of catching up. I've started spraying my broad beans with a weak washing-up liquid mixture because of aphids. This worked a treat last year, so I'm hoping it will have the same effect this year - but it's very time consuming!
Other than that, my spuds have gone bonkers to the extent that I can't earth them up any more and I've been keeping on top of the weeding fairly well.
Only one of my leek seeds has germinated! I think I'll just have to buy some seedlings as I think it's too late to try a new batch.
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Did some weeding, digging, planted out some tomatoes and pruned the plum tree which is covered in aphids :(.
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Weeded the onion bed and asparagus bed, very pleased 4 have appeared this week after being planted in April
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Dug over a very large bed and put out the sweetcorn. Also managed to put in a row of carrots and French beans then watered.
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Weed removal and not much more. Crops are going great.
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Lots of planting out - 4 kinds of climbing beans, 4 kinds of squash and 3 kinds of cucumber, then some weeding and general tidying.
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Weeding, cut the grass and planted out some chilies.
Andrew.
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Even more weeding
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Weeding, and a tidy up. Planted more radishes and lettuce.....also ate the first radishes and lettuce!
Cheers
Aled
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Popped on this morning for a bit to do some weeding, and chop down a Sharon Fruit tree that's taking over the greenhouse. My dad planted it for my mum years ago (dad passed away in August last year, mum died in August 2012). she loved Sharon fruit, though I don't like the mess it makes in Autumn ::) So it's going..
Spuds are doing well, the Sarpo Mira have finally all come through and are about 6 inches high. Roosters are about 15" high..
Also picked some roses for home..
(http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy181/gramayr/Allotment/A56F5316-3D50-4982-8162-EC60F7A8D706_zpse6hrqxak.jpg)
(http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy181/gramayr/Allotment/9506C4ED-0D03-4915-977D-A6396E1A7561_zpsv0w2tmq7.jpg)
(http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy181/gramayr/Allotment/C0999241-6EF7-4A2E-B9C7-C559C9352B3A_zpsm928yu5r.jpg)
(http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy181/gramayr/Allotment/466DE52A-8BE9-4E84-90EC-A877809C589A_zps5xlt6i6j.jpg)
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Bindweed - 'nuff said.
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Bindweed - 'nuff said.
Yep. Bindweed wrapped round dead rosewood and brambles, with a carpet of goosgrass for good measure.
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It grows SO quickly...... I'm away for 2 weeks, I'll have a forest of it when I get back. Also did lots of other weeding.
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Planted out more sweetcorn and beans. Did some weeding.
I spent all day yesterday tidying the garden at home and planting out ornamental stuff I had grown from seed, so only gentle jobs today ;)
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Planted out more sweetcorn and beans. Did some weeding.
I spent all day yesterday tidying the garden at home and planting out ornamental stuff I had grown from seed, so only gentle jobs today ;)
Are you actually me in a parallel universe? - cos I did exactly the same :wacko:
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Are you actually me in a parallel universe? - cos I did exactly the same :wacko:
:D Nope, but we were both furiously sowing flower seeds earlier in the year and talking about stuff to follow the bulbs, so I guess we reaped what we sowed :lol: Funny we both picked the same day to plant out though :wacko:
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Spent the day in the garden & greenhouse. All tomatoes & cucumbers are in their final pots( note to self sort out the strings tomorrow). All excess plants are either in the 2 blowaways or taking their chances outside( note to self- don't pot on in excess of 100 tomatoes🙄). Tidied the shed out to allow access. Then I disposed of loads of plant trays & modular trays that were far more than I shall ever use. Tidied around the greenhouse area so now we can get round without taking your life in your hands
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Weeding and feeding. Eating lettuces and radishes.
Cheers
Aled
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picked 2lb of strawberries, pulled 5 garlic as a tester too see what size there at...not bad (think the bulk will be coming out tommorow as there all rusted to hell and have lost a few to rot, all the rain we`ve had recently?), frowned at the fact I`m gonna have to do ANOTHER sowing of french beans (pigeons,slugs).Pulled 4 short rows of carrot seedlings out, leaves had died down and roots appeared to be rotted, carrot fly?. Tied all the toms in and had my first ripe one of the year(SunGold), neem oiled the small tunnel cos the black fly in there have got to biblical proportions.
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Quick trip after work to cut the grass paths and have a sneaky spray of the empty plots bordering the small plot. I only did the edges, but that should keep the weeds back a bit :)
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A weeding trip after dinner, weeded 2 short rows(5ft) of peas then put up some posts & string for them to grow up, then weeded the 6 rows of parsnips, oh & pulled out a few large weeds in the potatoes. Noticed some flowers forming on theearlt potatoes 😄 Soon be time for a furtle.
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Tomatoes finally planted in the greenhouse in flower buckets on top of grow bags. Have black russian, brandywine, some beef tomatoes that can't remember name, roma and moneymaker.
Sowed fennel in pots.
Not been to plot for couple of weeks due to holiday and being ill but next visit will be to sow peas and mange tout and plant out all my french bean plants.
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Spent some time weeding last night, then added some organic feed to the plot. For some reason, some of the plants are thriving, and others (my French beans especially) seem to be struggling. Tomatoes and Cucumber were fed as well. Eating lettuce and radishes at the moment.
Cheers
Aled
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Weeding, tending, watering and a pint afterwards!
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Had a bonfire to burn yet more rubbish, weeded the peas,broad beans,potatoes & various other bits. Played with our granddaughter when her & mummy visited, well mainly watched her like a hawk & salvaged some strawberries before she ate them all! 😊, she went home filthy, stained in red juice & a full tummy lol, hope she's not sick.
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Yesterdays feed has improved things some growth and greenery today.
Watered this evening we are back in the game....he said hopefully!
Cheers
Aled
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Finally managed to get to plot and was looking bit overgrown :ohmy:
Spent most of the day there and feel more in control.
Weeded my onions.
Planted my french beans but forgot to take my peas to sow!
My new half plot has a wildflower patch which looks very pretty with foxgloves and calendula but it had gone bit wild and the weeds in it had covered my strawberries. Dug out all the weeds and dug between strawberries so they look better.
My paths are covered in weeds that have grown through fabric so started tackling them.
Need some wood chippings or bark.
Tried to trim grass around edges but it's grown quite long. My plot neighbour used to cut the grass between our plots but he has given up his plot this year so think need to invest in push mower.
Back tomorrow to tackle some more.
Will sow mange tout and peas and weed where my squash, pumpkins and courgettes are going. Oh will rotovate that area at weekend.
Lots of weeds and foliage to burn so will also tackle that tomorrow.
Two weeks away and plot starts to look neglected but hopefully in couple of days it will be tidier and more productive :)
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Weeded beds 3, 4 and 5 there's nothing in them but a few apples and a plum I'd healed in so It wasn't too difficult. Didn't see a single worm in the beds at all though, completely lifeless :( I also tried to make a start weeding the asparagus but gave up after plunging my arm into nettles one too many times.
Weeded around the apples and pears on tier 2 although the raspberry canes aren't making life easy - I really should have removed them all rather than just digging gaps for the trees, it felt like such a waste though.
Put a really poor support up for the rio grande toms in the top GH - note to self to make something better before the fruit sets otherwise it will end in tears
Sprayed some of the more tiresome weeds creeping in from next door :wub:
Planted out some of the apples from last year which were still in pots, they'll need moving again but at least I wont have to keep picking the pots up when they blow over.
It looks and feels a little more like a veg patch now, although I really should have been working today :blush:
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Another useful visit.
Peas sown and then back tomorrow to sow mange tout.
Weeded and dug half of area for squash, back later to finish.
Carried on tackling path, pulled up weeds and made path narrower and straighter!
Still stuff to burn which will do tomorrow.
Still overgrown patches. Around raspberries is pretty bad but at the very end of plot there are loads of fruit bushes and they are like a jungle. :ohmy:
Didn't get chance to tackle that area when took on the extra half plot and it is like a jungle although you can see how much fruit is growing just about ;)
Lots of gooseberries, red ones, blackcurrants and jostaberry.
At end of season am going to strim, put weed fabric down and chippings then will actually be able to see how many bushes there are there ;)
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Back to plot again tonight! On a mission to make up for past couple of weeks :D
Finished weeding and digging rest of large bed. Ready for rotovating at weekend.
Sowed mange tout.
Back tomorrow and plan to burn rubbish and tackle raspberry bed.
After that and a final small patch of grass and weeds to dig, my original half plot is in good condition and ready for brassicas and squash.
While OH is rotovating at the weekend, will tackle large bed on new half plot which just has superficial weeds as we had already weeded and rotovated that and will sow spinach, beetroot, turnip, spring onions, chard and swede.
Feel very behind with everything but hopefully will catch up. Lots of things at home but seems slow germination and growth ;)
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My shallots and my French beans are really struggling to get going. Can anybody suggest anything I can do to give them a boost?
Many thanks
Aled
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Started tackling the rasberry bed. Hard going as digging up huge piles of buttercups ;)
Have another weed pile now to burn!
Earthed up potatoes.
Back soon for round two to finish that bed and start burning rubbish. If time will start sowing some seed.
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Second visit to plot. Finished digging around raspberries and looks such a lot better.
Think I need to fence around them to keep them under control and then make the area easier to weed.
Don't think I want to do this again next year ;)
Started burning rubbish pile but slow going.
Half plot I took over has two compost bins which are really overgrown. Covered them with cardboard to help rot down and started pulling up weeds around them. Full of nettles, foxgloves, general weeds and raspberries.
Barely made a dent in it ;)
Sprayed weed killer in small patch I cleared. Think needs strimming.
Covered another bit next to fruit bushes with black plastic. Feel like am moving plastic around to try and control weeds. ;)
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OH rotovated large area ready for squash and pumkins.
Started weeding superficial weeds on big area on new half plot and sowed spinach and turnips.
Will finish next visit and then sow beetroot, swede, chard, spring onions and pak choi.
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Dropped by after work and got the hosepipe out. Sprinkled some Vitax D-14 on my spuds and drenched them all.
Roosters are doing very well..
Eat a few rasps and Logan berries whilst wandering around with the hose. Where I've strimmed the Buckwheat down, I'm going to rotavate with my Howard 220 now I've got it running.. Hopefully it'll do a better job than Banty.
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Tipped out 11 bags of well rotted manure on to the squash bed, then 6 Barrowed loads of garden compost, followed by 5 ish bags of spent compost from the community hanging baskets. Then had a sit down when dil & granddaughter arrived with an ice cold drink for me, a treat in all ways. Then layered up the empty compost bin with fresh manure & some of the contents of the other c.bin.
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Watered and weeded, also added some fine sawdust to the compost bin, at the moment there is too much grass clippings in it.
Cheers
Aled
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Lots of weeding. Cleared the Wizard beans except the few at the end of the patch I am saving for seeds. I was worried they weren't coming to much earlier in the year, but we have had carrier bags full off them.
Planted 2 courgette, 2 Black Futsu squash, 1 sharks fin melon and 6 swede which were all grown from seed. Also planted autumn cabbage and some more leeks, which were bought in plants. I already had leeks, but there was space and we will happily eat more :)
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A busy trip to the plot today,planted 6 gherkin plants after picking 2 gherkins before I took them! Then made a frame for them to grow up. Planted out 2 lots of sweetcorn,1 is the usual for eating fresh off the cob, the other is fiesta for drying & popping in the microwave so that should be interesting if I get any,planted in two different beds. Barrowed 2 loads of compost to the fiesta sweetcorn bed first & forked that in with a good helping of chicken pellets as the other bed had the last of the manure. Sorted out the fire tin & tidied that away. Then picked the strawberries, unfortunately the plants have got very dry & most of the large crop of strawberries were small & quite hard so I took all the leaves off, then gave them a humongous watering,need to take a bit of care of them ready for the next crop. All in all about 6 hours with a stop for a cuppa with a friend who called to see me & a break for lunch that hubby kindly brought me
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Daughter came with me tonight. She put straw under the strawberries and watered the french bean plants and the peas which are starting to peep out of the soil. Was very late sowing them.
I weeded the onions and cut the grass.
Under and next to my plum tree are loads of weeds which were getting out of hand ;)
Plot neighbour lent me huge piece of weed fabric so we covered whole area with it and weighed it down.
Although big piece of black fabric doesn't look great, it is better than all the weeds :unsure:
Have bed full of wild flowers and weeds which needs tackling so covered some of that with small piece of black plastic I had.
Need to strim it so can dig it all out easily.
Plot looks better already after covering a big area of weeds until I can tackle them. ;)
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Managed an hour between showers. ;)
Planted my burgess buttercup, butternut squash, pumpkins and the one courgette that germinated ;)
Also planted some sprouts and covered with debris netting.
Bought some celeriac today as had no seeds and planted them out. Should have been eight plants but most cells had two in so happy with that :)
Even with a day of rain, the soil was dry underneath top layer but few more peas peeping out of the soil :)
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A bit of weeding. Pleased to report that the shallots and French beans have had a growth spurt. I'll be eating potatoes any day.
Cheers
Aled
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Have been away for 2 weeks, so have started clearing the resulting weeds. Things have developed a lot, harvested beets, spuds, chard, French beans, broad beans, spring onions, radishes, gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, loganberries. This is my first summer with the allotment, I am learning, eating and enjoying!
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Planted out khol rabi, land cress, beetroot, fennel and spring onions. Did lots and lots of weeding - the compost bins are brimming :)
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Planted mixture of cabbages and two cauliflower out and covered with debris netting.
OH rotovated another two areas of soil while I dug and weeded patch ready to sow beetroot and chard.
French beans look like they have barely grown and no show from mange tout.
Few peas showing.
Back later to water everything and sow more peas, beans and mange tout and plant another courgette which was 50p in sale.
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Weeding, emptied some old pots ready for replanting. Harvested pot of potatoes, picked 2 large punnets strawberries, few pea pods, bunch syboes, summer & yellow rasps starting and sampled some gooseberries. Will pick gooseberries tomorrow to make chutney.
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Back tonight and bit more digging and weeding. Nearly finished that bed.
Sowed two rows of beetroot, one white and a row of chard.
Planted my 50p courgette and rest of celeriac plants.
Watered everything.
Weeded onions. No more pea or mange tout to sow where nothing has grown from previous sowing so gave them good watering and hope a few pop up ;)
Will buy some more seed tomorrow.
Fennel finally germinated at home and sowed some pak choi in pots.
Back tomorrow to finish weeding and sow swede.
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Good hour weeding yesterday. Garden looks better for it.
Cheers
Aled
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Planted 12 rows of 9 leeks, 5 rows of carrots & I of peas &1 of mangetout(5ft rows) netted the leeks & carrots with enviromesh after bring it home to sow into the appropriate sized piece.
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Sowed some more peas and netted them and hopefully get germination this time. ;)
Planted half of my calabrese and netted. They are bit small but were getting bit leggy in pots at home.
Need to plant other half but need to trim my debris netting at home.
More digging and weeding of last big bed.Hard going :ohmy:
Have large pile of weeds now but at least they are piled on grassy weeds so stopping that growing ;)
Sowed row of swede, spring onions, lettuce and carrots.
Earthed up potatoes bit more.
Watered rows of seeds and peas and beans. The french beans have barely grown :(
Feeling mostly on top of whole plot now.
Just need to strim around jungle of fruit bushes ;)
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Sowed some more peas and netted them and hopefully get germination this time. ;)
Planted half of my calabrese and netted. They are bit small but were getting bit leggy in pots at home.
Need to plant other half but need to trim my debris netting at home.
More digging and weeding of last big bed.Hard going :ohmy:
Have large pile of weeds now but at least they are piled on grassy weeds so stopping that growing ;)
Sowed row of swede, spring onions, lettuce and carrots.
Earthed up potatoes bit more.
Watered rows of seeds and peas and beans. The french beans have barely grown :(
Feeling mostly on top of whole plot now.
Just need to strim around jungle of fruit bushes ;)
My French beans are poor this year,& the ones I direct sowed are very uneven germination.
Have you thought of covering the weed pile with thick plastic to let it rot down?
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Yes will probably do that soon.
Problem is that I took on the other half to my half plot when it came free in December and it was quite neglected.
It now has patches of black plastic dotted all over it :lol:
Under a lovely plum tree is a huge piece lent by my plot neighbour (probably concerned about weeds drifting onto theirs :lol:)
There was a lovely wild flower patch which is bit too wild now so half covered by another piece ;)
Another lovely plot holder has taken pity on me and offered to strim my fruit bushes as they are like a jungle and can hardly get to them to pick all the lovely fruit. ;)
Have gooseberries, blackcurrants, jostaberry, loganberries.
Another two piles of weeds mainly buttercup have plastic covering them until I can burn them.
Hopefully these newest weeds which are full of mares tail will stay dry until a piece of black plastic becomes available :lol:
Have discovered two plastic bins under weeds around compost bin and my plot neighbour puts her mares tail in water and uses water on plot so now I can reach them will do this.
Will be worth the hard work hopefully by end of year when it seems more managable.
Am going to put weed fabric between fruit bushes with bark so cut back on constant weeding.
When I knew my neighbour was thinking of giving up her plot and it was getting neglected, I wanted to offer to dig and weed but felt a bit cheeky and also wasn't sure if I would get to take it on.
Now with aching shoulders, I wish I would have done :D
Any advice is greatly appreciated :)
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Might be worth putting thick cardboard down,before you put the membrane & bark around the fruit bushes,I didn't & I wish I had & have had some mares tail poke through. To be fair it is easy to pull out,seems a bit weaker, but cardboard might have suppressed it more. Bike shops are a good source of large cardboard boxes, or find out when it is recycling day in your nearest town & get down there before the lorry comes the shops might even save you some
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Might be worth putting thick cardboard down,before you put the membrane & bark around the fruit bushes,I didn't & I wish I had & have had some mares tail poke through. To be fair it is easy to pull out,seems a bit weaker, but cardboard might have suppressed it more. Bike shops are a good source of large cardboard boxes, or find out when it is recycling day in your nearest town & get down there before the lorry comes the shops might even save you some
Thanks Snowdrops. That sounds like a great idea.
Hoping to get the strimming done this weekend and looking forward to being able to get to my fruit bushes :D
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OH came with me to plot today.
Gathered together most of the piles of weeds dotted about and either incinerated them or put them in dalek compost bin.
Started putting cardboard on weeds around fruit bushes as snowdrops suggested.
Can get to gooseberries now :)
Planted kale and rest of calabrese plants. Bit small but hopefully will grow to good size.
Have now got large piece of debris netting and managed to cover all of my brassicas with this.
So much easier than separate tunnels and don't need gaps between rows so more space.
Hopefully will stay in place ;)
Got two courgette plants for 75p each as only had one plant germinated so planted them.
OH rotovated last patch on new half plot.
Got fennel and pak choi to go there.
Gave everything really good watering.
Got so much done in 3 hours :)
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Harvested early spuds, very poor yield, I can only think it was the really long dry spell, first go at them on the allotment. Learning curve! Put PSB and kale plants in their place, duly netted as pigeons had a go at the Brussels.
Weeding and watering. Harvested French and broad beans, beet, onions and chard.
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Harvested some shallots, and one tomato and one cucumber, plus some lettuce!
Cheers
Aled
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Had a trundle onto the plot. Weeded round my caulies and carrots, also weeded round my spuds.
Where I've hit a weed patch with glyphosate has all gone brown. Good...
Picked a ton of rasps and some loganberries.
Also got a few comments on my first attempts at spud growing.. My Roosters are at least 4 feet high! Sarpo Mira are just over 2 1/2 feet high. I might dig a Rooster up to see how they're doing...
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Me and another allotment holder cleared a load of weeds from another allotment whose tenant is injured, we thought it would be a nice gesture!
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Found out that I have planted Dwarf French Beans!
Cheers
Aled
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after that lovely drop of rain it made working on the allotment quite a pleasure so we decided to put the rest of the raised beds I made on the plot ready to plant tomorrow that brings us up to 25 raised beds in total all numbered for crop rotation
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Put together a cane and netting fence for my sharks fin melon as it was escaping out of the net tunnel it was under and the deer will eat it otherwise. Got drizzled on.
Planted out cabbage, dwarf french beans and lovage. Got even more drizzled on with bursts of heavier rain on and off.
Started a bit of weeding, got fed up of the rain and came home. It stopped the minute I got back of course ::) Its really wet and drippy out there still, so rain has officially stopped play for the day.
It feels funny saying that. It has happened so little for weeks so far this season :wacko:
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Just got back from a couple of hours tidying. OMG, I have got so many shallots, there are hundreds of them.
I have pulled the shallots and they are now drying. What do people do with them?
Do you store them as onion's or do you pickle them all?
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I got pretty wet at the plot this morning too. Sorted labelling of everything as inspection day on Tuesday. No mice in the traps in the carrot tunnel today... they obviously didn't want to get wet!
Took out all the tomato "elbows" in the polytunnel and tied the plants up neatly. Gave them all a feed too. Plenty of fruit but not yet ready to ripen; really late with sowing this year
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Lots of weeding, plus sorted the tayberry and loganberry. There were new canes everywhere, so they got tied in out of the way and the old fruited ones were cut out.
Came home and did even more weeding. Weeds R us ::)
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repotted most of the swedes, turnips, beetroot and winter radishes
nipped off some tomato leaves and cabbage leaves
spent 2 hours with the chicken
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Sowed a row of beetroot plus another of fennel. Also planted out some lettuce seedlings from living salad.
Grabbed a few weeds!!
Cheers HH
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Hoed around pumpkins and squash which are so slow in growing and some reduced to stalks ::)
Weeded onions.
None of my mangetout germinated at all :( Weeded area and sowed oregan sugar snap peas and covered with net.
Minimal germination of peas, removed net and weeded around them and put in some pea sticks.
Picked bowl of loganberries and ate plenty too :)
More cardboard between fruit bushes.
Think strawberries on my new half plot are finished so can dig them up and move them as ground full of weeds.
That's for next visit ;)
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Over the weekend I've weeded the new front flower border & the raspberry bed,also thinned out some of the autumn raspberries. Weeded the dwarf been bed & found some wanting to climb!? I checked the packets before I planted them that they were all dwarf!. Sat in the sun & had a cuppa, then some harvesting.
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Turned and topped up three composters, weeding and tending.
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Weeded my big fenced area which is full of corn, squash, cukes and beans. Found lots of squash forming :D
There are at least 8 vegetable spaghetti and some are a decent size. There are 2 plants of these. There are also 2 gem rolet and lots of small fruits on them. The tromba has 2 big fruits and a couple of baby ones. Can't see anything on the queensland blue, but it has dived in among the bean wigwams, so there may be something afoot I can't see.
It was quite nice weeding in the shade of the corn and bean wigwams, but way too hot to work out in the open.
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Mainly watering, feeding and harvesting today :).
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Called late after work to water everything. Pumpkins and squash still small.
Seedlings peeping through from stuff sown a week or so ago. Just can't remember the order I sowed anything :D
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Just checked tomatoes at home on patio after last nights storm.
Pleased that the accompanying winds haven't blown over the plants which are heavily laden with green tomatoes at present.
Emptied trays under pots of basil which were full of water.
Off to plot shortly to check nothing has drowned or blown away. 😱😱😱
Cheers HH
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Popped down for an hour at 9am this morning. Picked up all the Shallots that have been drying for a few days. Strimmed all the paths and prepared an area for the Leeks to go into later in the week.
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Pulled all my caulies up, ready or not. 2 had bolted, one on the way.. Got one small decent one and a few mouthfuls. Not impressed.. :(
Green manure is doing well and so is the borage.
Decided to plough the lot in when I can get my rotavator down (getting a small van soon)
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In between the hefty showers I belted down the garden path - grabbed a watering can full from the water butt - watered the greenhouse tomatoes and spotted a gladioli that had fallen over with the weight of rain.
Into the garden shed for a knife... four minutes later a dozen gladioli cut, knife away and me back home before the next lot of rain pounded down.
Nice to have a day off :)
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Finished work at 2pm, popped to the plot. Just got back home after planting 45 Leeks. Hoed all round and sniped off the side shoots on the tom's.
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At last had my bonfire of diseased vegetation and thistles/seed rich foxgloves etc. Amazing how quickly a plot can start looking a lot more tidy with some targeted work. Relaid half the paths with the free woodchip delivered to the site.
Harvested tonnes of lovely things. :)
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Moved my manure store down to the corner after a big tidy up, freezing up approx 6 by 3 feet of extra growing space that gets loads of sun. Needs a good dig now.
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Weeded and hoed around pumpkin and squash. Still slow growing :(
Sugar snap peas under net have germinated and lots of little shoots popping up :)
Small amount of germinated peas are growing well.
Weeded between rows of seedlings that can't remember order I sowed them in ;)
Weeded strawberries.
Picked and pruned bushes and loads of blackcurrants and red gooseberries and pulled up loads of weeds around them.
Small area around fruit bushes now that is clearer.
Going to tackle rest of fruit bushes at the weekend with help of OH.
Hoping can avoid borrowing strimmer and that can pull up most of weeds, lots of sticky weed.
Will get weed fabric and bark down.
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Busy you! Blimey.
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Busy you! Blimey.
:lol:
My mum was visiting for few days and she popped down with me.
Think she may have regretted her offer to help after an hour and a half tackling weeds and getting scratched by brambles :D
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Picked a few brambles and rasps, grazing really.. :D
Dug up some spuds (Roosters), not a mark on them. No slug, worm or any damage at all. Pretty chuffed and looking forward to having some for tea tomorrow 8)
Green manure patch is doing great! Buckwheat has shot up, though not that you'd notice as the Borage has taken over. All good
Stuff..
(https://i.imgur.com/FZW2EZO_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=high)
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Managed to get this lot planted out before the rain set in. Cabbages R us :lol: Also some erbette and nipper leeks.
Harvested stuff and was just about to start weeding a section, when the odd spots of rain turned into something more persistent and dreary.
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Weeded one sweetcorn bed,earthed them up & added 2 barrow loads of well rotted manure as a mulch, looked lovely when I stood back. Dug up the last couple of plants of Lady Chrystal potatoes. Came home & did some dead heading in the garden then shredded the pruning of buddleia & bamboo that I pruned the other day
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Manged all afternoon with OH as weather stayed dry.
He dug over and weeded patch where blackcurrant bushes had been and bonfire after.
Lots of roots there still and odd raspberries showing through. Looks so much better now.
He started digging and weeding patch near fruit bushes where I had pulled up lots of weeds and started pruning fruit bushes.
I hoed between peas, beans, squash and celeriac.
Squash are finally showing signs of spreading :)
All looks so much better too.
Planted under two nets, lots of pak choi. Sown at home and all germinated so good job I really like them :D
Dug up few plants of charlotte potatoes, lovely clean big potatoes.
Also dug up my garlic, shallots and a few red onions.
Got so much done between us. OH only visits plot very occasionally ;)
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when down the allotment hadn't been down for several days but that rain had altered things we picked a lovely crop of climbing French beans a couple of pointed cabbage and 4 marrows
I always think when you pick veg like that of ones plot it really makes working on your allotment so worth the effort
there are a couple spaces where we picked our broad beans and onions that are showing our favourite weed redshank that will be sprayed of this week to keep things tidy
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Quick visit late on to hoe around.
Leveled soil from digging over at weekend.
At home spread onions and shallots in conservatory to dry out.
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Planted two different types of cabbages and netted.
Planted few fennel plants and sowed fennel seeds.
Hoed and weeded.
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Picked more lurkers
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Pruned back all the excess summer growth on the grape vine at home so the grapes can ripen. The chickens have now spotted them however, so anything within leaping distance will be history ::)
Harvested plums - plum brandy now maturing in a big jar in the cupboard under the stairs and plum crumble now in my tum :D
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Got some seedlings coming along on my windowsill (cabbage and turnip), which will be ready to plant when I've sorted my green manured half of my plot out.
As far as that has gone, I've strimmed it all flat (about 2 foot high Buckwheat and Borage. It;s looking tidy at least, until it gets turned over.
Might have to give it a miss tomorrow as there's some race going on in York, and our site is near the centre of the race. Will be a nightmare to get to unless I get there damn early. On a Sunday, when I'm up at 5 every morning.. Maybe not...
Also dug a few spud plants up for my neighbour. I think I'll have plenty so don't mind letting some folks have a few (Roosters. and they taste great). Also strimmed a big patch of weeds for him as well. Took it practically back to bare soil. Been a good buy has my second hand brushcutter/strimmer.
Realised I've been working this plot for one year now as I started it to help my father out who was ill with cancer at the time. He passed away on the 1st August last year so I've had it properly for a year now.
I hope he would be proud of how I've done. Still lots of hard work to do to get it into shape as he'd let it go quite a lot. I wish he could be here to guide me with the vast knowledge he had.. Oh well, I'm getting there.
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Got to the plot earlier and all the Onions where laying flat, so pulled up one bed of them, got the soil off and left them on the ground to dry for a few days. Looking at the one's drying out and the other plot of Onions left I must have planted approx 200. Strimmed all the paths, hoed all round, tied up some Tom's, pinched out side shoots.
Forget to post last week about what I did, so just to say that last weekend I planted out about 30-35 Leeks.
Now going into potting shed to sow some Spring cabbage, turnips etc and what ever else I think can go in.
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Dug out the last of the Supasweet onions I was growing for summer salad use. There were shallots next to them that had already been harvested, so dug over and weeded that whole bit.
Carried on weeding amongst the leeks and cabbages and got a huge pile of stuff for the compost bin. I had to relocate several slow worms to adjacent bins so I could pile all the new stuff in. They weren't that impressed, but slid off to find new basking spots under the black plastic covers.
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cut off all the potato haulms. hope I have not left it to late as they were quite diseased.
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Done some harvesting and weeding. The plot has been invaded quite badly by a purple leafed plant which produces a blue flower, that I've got growing in the gaps in the tarmac on the area we park the car. It looks like it may need some serious weedkiller to control it before next spring.
Cheers
Aled
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Got some weeds out and sowed a last lot of eskimo carrot seed for winter harvesting.
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Pulled the remaining approx 100 Onions, left them to dry for a few days. Hoed all the beds, strimmed all the paths, tied up some Toms, pinching out side shoots as I went. Brought home the first batch of approx 100 onions, put them on the drying racks at home to keep an eye on them.
Done all the above because I flying to Cork at 5pm until midweek with work.
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Took my Howard 220 (with a 5hp Honda engine) onto the plot Saturday afternoon. Had a good go at tilling the green manure patch. It was hard work, as all the plants (Buckwheat and Borage) got tangled up and needed to be chopped up more). The soil was claggy as well which didn't help. Managed to get it done to an extent but left it when I got tired of it. Think I'll get some black polythene or weed suppressant fabric to cover it over winter. Put some horse muck down first though.. First I might sow a load of hot mustard to kill off any pests as I got a lot of wireworm damage to my spuds last year (and slugs etc.)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4392/36530019135_99bd59387f_z.jpg) (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=seored;u=aHR0cHM6Ly9mbGljLmtyL3AvWEUyVTE4)
Also decided to give a spent spud row a quick going over as I still had a bit of petrol left in the Howard. I don't like putting it in my van when it's still got petrol in - H&S and all that, plus it stinks if it leaks..
This is where my winter cabbage is going.. Seedlings are on my windowsill at home.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4432/35694665214_6cb267b51b_z.jpg) (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=seored;u=aHR0cHM6Ly9mbGljLmtyL3AvV29kdW9q)
Also went over a patch that hasn't been touched in years. It had brambles, rasps and a lot if weeds on it.
Before..
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4343/36530195515_dbe48c3ca2_z.jpg) (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=seored;u=aHR0cHM6Ly9mbGljLmtyL3AvWEUzTnJh)
After..
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4387/36483140616_4e069df567_z.jpg) (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=seored;u=aHR0cHM6Ly9mbGljLmtyL3AvWHpUQ0RO)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4355/35694666364_9ed5e961f9_z.jpg) (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=seored;u=aHR0cHM6Ly9mbGljLmtyL3AvV29kdUo5)
Gone are the old, knackered blackberry, and gooseberry bushes. For what they were, they were a waste of space and very woody/dead.
Next door neighbour gave me a marrow, some runner beans and some beetroot as well as some small spuds for boiling. Sunday tea is looking good :tongue2:
And here's a walkaround... (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=seored;u=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g/dj0xc3l6N0ZxZ0hVNA==)
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Brown spots on potato haulms so cut them all off!
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Today idug a trench ready for next years runner beans, 2ft wide x 2ft deep x the width of the plot 18ft. Then half filled it with manure left over from last year and topped it up to the top with all sorts, spent marrow plants, rhubarb leaves, grass cuttings from the plot paths, summer apple tree prunings , turnips gone to seed, beetroot leaves, and also some tea bags and coffee grounds. Once we have taken down the bean plants they too will go in I may even top off with comfrey and then around mid September backfill and leave nature do its thing.
Fail to prepare = prepare to fail
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Tidied up around the plot, harvested loads as per the other thread, meant to sow a row of swedes but forgot to take them with me. Filled next years bean trench more with plot cuttings then went home cut the lawn and trimmed the shrubs and hedges and took them down and put the grass in the bean trench and the cuttings in the compost bins
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Spent 5 hours cutting back the massive hedge using manual tools. My hands are now swollen and throbbing. Once I start doing something can't rest until it's done!
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Not been to plot for few weeks due to hols so was expecting lots of weeds ;)
Wasn't too horrendous.
Dug up last of charlotte potatoes. Chopped foliage from my desiree as they were looking bit shriveled. Hopefully ok.
Dug up few more red and white onions.
Lifted net from my brassicas and attempted to weed area. Managed to make it look a bit better. More weeding next visit.
Picked a small cabbage, at least it was small by the time I had pulled all the tatty leaves off ;)
Rest of brassicas looking better than I have grown them before.
Pulled a few turnips, no damage at all.
Picked some plums, so many on the ground and damaged. Need to go back for more with a bigger container :)
Picked large courgette.
Need few more visits until I feel like weeds are under control but lovely to see how things have grown.
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Just had a shower after a couple of hours at the plot earlier today.
Just a tidy up really, although I did bring back about half a dozen Toms back. I think I will have to go every other day now to pick the Toms.
I also dug up 1 row of spuds just to see what they are like to be honest and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of spuds I got and at the size of them. I will leave the rest of the spuds for a few weeks now, before digging them up. Looking at the amount I got from 1 row, I should be OK for spuds for a very long time.
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Another visit trying to catch up with weeding. ;)
Dug over and weeded where charlotte potatoes had been and carried on digging up creeping buttercup alongside my fruit bushes.
Have another patch where seeds sown had not germinated so weeded there, soil quite easy to dig over as had been rotovated.
Weeded carrots and celeriac.
Still lots to do but feels bit more under control.
Have row of weed ridden strawberries on new plot half with an overgrown path next to them which need digging up and strawbs need moving.
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Binned all the rio grande tomatoes :(
Yesterday I saw a potential blight spot on a leaf, today the lot was mush, talk about no tolerance :ohmy: I have 2 cat litter trays of green toms and not a red one amongst them, someone remind me not to try them again next year. ::)
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Well we had a goodly drop of rain on Wednesday evening which wetted the soil perfectly for me to get my sprouts, broccoli and cabbages in. So today they were transplanted 30 cabbages, 20 broccoli and 16 sprouts. We will get at least two more months of quite decent weather and then it will go away to more wet and cooler so it will be interesting to see how things go. I could be eating some in the late winter but I hope they do well anyway we can get weather in the mid to late teens right through Nov and Dec however the light will fall away of course.
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At home, I did a major tidy of the greenhouse and cut a lot of the foliage off the tomatoes, plus bits without fruit on them. Spaced things out by putting them on the floor, now there is a lot more light getting through. That freed up some bench space for autumn sowings :)
Took all the bags of debris to the plot for the compost bins (no blight here yet) and did lots of picking. I need to go back tomorrow and tackle the weeds :ohmy:
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Mad 3 hour weeding session before the rain set in too much.
Also tied the boysenberry back onto its post and wires. I discovered roaming canes whilst weeding the raspberries ::) It was a bit of a fight, but after 3 falls and a submission, I emerged victorious. Covered in mud and with leaves in my hair, but victorious :lol:
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Managed 3 hour visit and dug over big bed where very little germinated. ;)
All that is left there are turnips and spinach that has gone to seed and a couple of rows of pak choi and cabbage.
Around raspberries was full of weeds so started to pull up the biggest and removed black plastic covering some of them. Will dig over and weeds that bit next visit.
Picked tons of plums and will be freezing them.
At home my Brandywine tomatoes are finally ripening :)
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I was planning a morning plot visit before work, but it has turned wet here :(
What I have managed to do is sow some seeds in the greenhouse for overwintering onions, spinach and some oriental greens for the plot. I also sowed some salads and herbs to grow in the greenhouse over autumn and winter :)
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Another day off work and another 3 hour digging and weeding session. :)
Dug and weeded large bed where onions and beans had been.
Started digging and weeding around raspberries.
Plot starting to look better finally.
Back tomorrow to continue.
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More preparing for autumn ;)
Finished digging and weeding around raspberries and bed next to them where blackcurrants were last year and looks so much better.
Still have brambles popping up there and haven't grown anything there this year because of that.
Not sure what to grow there.
Picked loads of raspberries.
Feeling like getting on top of weeds :D
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Persuaded OH to come for couple of hours before rain this afternoon.
Removed black plastic around and behind plum tree and OH rotovated so soil nice and crumbly for next year :)
Weeded around pak choi which are looking very scrawny.
Put large piece of black plastic over wild flower weedridden patch ready to dig over hopefully before weather worsens or next year.
On a mission to get new half plot sorted as never really felt had got on top of it after taking on last November.
Love having full plot but it's hard work too ;)
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Pulled up remaining sweetcorn stems, harvested, accidentally broke off a winter squash, seems pretty ripe so fingers crossed it will cure OK. First year on this plot, turns out the vine we inherited has black dessert grapes, found out when pruning back the leaves to let more light in, they were lurking beneath the unripe green bunches!
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Persuaded OH to come for couple of hours before rain this afternoon.
Removed black plastic around and behind plum tree and OH rotovated so soil nice and crumbly for next year :)
Weeded around pak choi which are looking very scrawny.
Put large piece of black plastic over wild flower weedridden patch ready to dig over hopefully before weather worsens or next year.
On a mission to get new half plot sorted as never really felt had got on top of it after taking on last November.
Love having full plot but it's hard work too ;)
I know what that feeling too well. I needed to find ways of making it a bit easier & that's why I went down the root of slabbed paths & narrow beds & use of weed membrane. I still need to do more but I'm going to try a couple of beds no dig next year I think
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Glad am not alone in feeling bit overwhelmed by plot snowdrops ;)
Am thinking next year about going down the route you have taken with paths.
When I just had a half plot, I took so long digging up all the grassy paths to make the most of every bit of it. ;)
Now I have the full plot, like you I want to make it easier to manage, especially as OH only comes with me when forced ;)
Am planning on putting a path down the middle with weed fabric, wood edging, courtesy of freecycle :D and bark which a fellow plot holder can get cheaply.
Might have one or two paths across and OH is making me a few raised beds for where the soil is poor or shaded.
Was stood today planning it all and talking to myself at plot after more weeding :D
The plots next to me and opposite are divided by paths and both agree that it is easier.
What I don't finish this year, will tackle next year and am hoping by end of spring to have my plot matching the picture of it I have in my head :D
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Take a look at my diary, not that I've updated it at all this year, my 2 1/2 plots are side be side so I have a path at each outside edge, 1 down the middle & 2 more on each half, this creates 3 long beds on each half, each about 5ft wide & the length of the plot minus sheds, fruit cage & compost bins. This allows access for the rotavator, which of course might become redundant if I like the no dig. Hubby does help now & again,but all has to be done at high speed, no chance of time to stop & stare, have a think, potter 🙄
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I visited my hellishly weedy plot yesterday for yet another weeding session. It's got but neglected of late what with one thing and another
Some good Veg though! :D. Came home with Desirees, onions red and brown, courgettes green and yellow :)
I sawed up some manky old wood for a weed fire 😎
I forgot my bottle of water so had the idea of getting some out of the plot water tank. I schlepped over there with my bottle and watering can to displace the water to activate the filler upper. Dismantled the covers over the filler. Couldn't fit the bottle under it. Traipsed back to my shed for sommat smaller. Back again but this time with a teapot. Still too big! Dammit. Went back with two mugs 😁 By now the cistern had stopped refilling so I had to repeat the entire operation. Walking back to my plot with full cups of water I had to titter. Not too much as I was afraid of spilling it or lurching forward over a mole hill 😃 What a palaver for a hot drink. Turned the gas on and nowt! Nil, zilch, nada! The so**ing gas had run out! 😩😩😩😩.
So by this time I was parched so plucked a red apple off my tree. Delicious! Saved 😁
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had a day on my daughters allotment digging spuds and generally tidying up the plot have had quite a busy week making space in my workshop for yet another freezer
because this has been a good year for us on the allotments with plenty of veg we had to buy another freezer to replace the one we scraped 4 freezers in total now and all full mostly with fruit and veg
but we can't complain its all good grub and well worth the effort thank god for our allotment and we have to harvest our own potatoes in the next couple of days
there's nothing like growing and eating your own veg :D
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Take a look at my diary, not that I've updated it at all this year, my 2 1/2 plots are side be side so I have a path at each outside edge, 1 down the middle & 2 more on each half, this creates 3 long beds on each half, each about 5ft wide & the length of the plot minus sheds, fruit cage & compost bins. This allows access for the rotavator, which of course might become redundant if I like the no dig. Hubby does help now & again,but all has to be done at high speed, no chance of time to stop & stare, have a think, potter 🙄
Thanks, I will have a look at your diary to get some ideas.
Started putting cardboard around fruit bushes and am going to put a weed fabric path around them, L shaped to keep them from encroaching onto rest of plot :D
My OH is the same with the high speed approach.
Sometimes when I get to plot, it's lovely to catch up with people I haven't seen for a while.
Getting the "Paddington bear hard stare" from OH means he wants to get done and home quickly :D
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Waiting for the rain to stop!
Cheers
Aled
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Me and Mrs T did an hour this evening, weeding and getting rid of the tired old pea plants etc, starting to clear it ready for autumn.
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Cycled to the new pot, glowered at the un-earthed rubble (did`nt help...its still there), cycled home, in the rain, with no coat..baht 'at.Picked a Melon from the Tunnel...my gardening day.
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picked the rest of the marrows and courgettes as its getting more like autumn maybe a frost mite be imminent French and runner beans all over with picked the last of the lettuce looks like some cabbage nearly ready and the pumpkins are getting quite big
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Dug the last of the potatoes, sawed down quite a few sunflowers as they were either leaning or fallen or finished
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Another row of potatoes up!
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Today - plans scuppered yet again - emailed the solicitor instead :(
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Dug up spuds, then dug over the area they came out of as I want to plant overwintering onions and garlic there.
Came home and while I was waiting for the spuds to dry off, I did a load of pruning.
I'm absolutely knackered now :lol:
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Today - plans scuppered yet again - emailed the solicitor instead :(
Oh dear Paul, I hope you get your time sometime soon🙁
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Last of the Lady Christl spuds were starting to get attacked by slugs (hardly surprising after sitting in the ground for the best part of 3 months), so I dug them out this morning, (TWICE - THERE WILL BE NO VOLUNTEER SPUDS ON THAT PATCH NEXT YEAR!) :lol:
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Pulled up rest of turnips and spinach that had gone to seed and started weeding and digging over patch.
Parts of plot that have been dug over already have stayed weed free :D
Put a few strawberry runners in pots for next year but need more pots as loads of runners. Crop was quite small this year so will dig it up next year and plant the runners, maybe in a different spot.
Ran out of time to pick lots of raspberries that I could see so back tomorrow and will finish weeding.
Pumpkins starting to grow bigger and also my celeriac which I have never managed to grow at all before.
Carrots too are looking like they are getting to be a decent size and when I have grown them before, they have been tiny so all good late in the season :)
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Another day spent digging and strimming. The more we strim the bigger the plot appears to get. Unearthed loads more rubbish to get rid of. On the plus side I cleared a bed and to my untrained eye the soil looks in pretty good condition. Loads of worms and other creatures. I am tempted to plant something there to spur us on a bit. Any suggestions what could go there? I would say the bed is roughly 10 x 10 foot so it's a fair size. Ta very much.
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Another day spent digging and strimming. The more we strim the bigger the plot appears to get. Unearthed loads more rubbish to get rid of. On the plus side I cleared a bed and to my untrained eye the soil looks in pretty good condition. Loads of worms and other creatures. I am tempted to plant something there to spur us on a bit. Any suggestions what could go there? I would say the bed is roughly 10 x 10 foot so it's a fair size. Ta very much.
You plant some overwintering Japanese onions, you might also find some cabbages or lettuces to plant now, garlic from November & sow some broad beans for overwintering
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Weeded some of the cabbages. Cleared dwarf french beans which have finished now and dug that patch over. Started on some of the fruit cages and got dandelions and buttercups out. There is some smaller non perennial stuff to weed out, but I ran out of time.
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Dug up two rows of Sarpo Mira.. (something, rats probably, had helped themselves already..)
Rotavated both ends as my new belt arrived for the Howard 220. Also the weather held up as it's been too wet to do anything (too claggy). Larger end needs lots of muck and love. The soil is pretty heavy and I'm planning on planting my spuds there when the time arrives.. plus other stuff..
Planted some Pak Choi, Red Onion sets that arrived the other day (Autumn planting Comred). Got some winter lettuce as well, but need to clear an area to plant them. Scattered some Hot Mustard where I have wireworm infestations and sprayed some weeds with glyphosate the previous evening. Hopefully that will shunt them back a bit.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4503/23507461108_12b858d8c5_z.jpg)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4431/37102834790_5a26e9998b_z.jpg)
Splitting this end up so I can rotate my spuds, and plant beans/peas/etc. Needs manuring, and covering up for winter. At least it's had a good rotavate now.
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Hi, haven't been around for ages due to a very busy summer. Anyway all my beds are cleared of the last of the veggies, weeded and manured and all but one are now covered in black plastic. The last one has been delayed because of weather and the need to find more material to hold the plastic down. I also need to research the threads to find out what to do with my rhubarb plant.
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Hi everyone. I think we are sowly making progress. Some onions went in last week. We are trying to get the ground elder under control and we tried to finish digging another bed only to be met by thick clay. After some rain the plot is a bit on the "boggy" side so I imagine we are going to have to improve the soil somehow. I appreciate there are no quick fixes but any tips will be thankfully received.
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went down today for a quick visit as I haven't been for ages and the weather was supposed to be awful.
3 hours later... ::),,,,dug up the last of the (disappointing) spuds, a few butternut quash and a couple more pumpkins. weeded the whole patch and strimmed the paths.
watched some new lottie holders clearing their patch :) but saw them drink more tea than dig :lol:
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Gathered the last courgettes and removed the plants, with help of OH turned compost into newly empty bin, that compost having been used over cardboard on an empty bed. Collected more apples, perp spinach, carrots, french beans. Amazed by the carrots, they were barely even weeded and left under unsupported mesh to avoid root fly. They are perfect! Various leaves I sowed a few weeks back looking very good. Looking forward to a change in wind direction as I need a bonfire, although we have had the plot 6 months there is still a lot to clear.
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More digging today. Started clearing another bed. I have also discovered a huge pile of fresh wood chips and lots of delicious mulch. After speaking to a bloke I learned that is just the ticket for my heavy clay soil. So more digging in manure and mulch. The more the better he told me
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the ground is still a bit wet after rain over the weekend thankfully we harvested our potato crop last week
I brought another load of horse manure down the allotment I'm going to spread manure on half the plot before I winter plough I like to leave it as long as possible before I winter plough still got my raised beds to clean and dig got to plant some spring cabbage plants I have grown in pots
still have plenty to do before winter sets in :D
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In the garden I cleared the greenhouse of all the tomato & cucumber plants. The compost is still there for another day, swept up down one side of & then moved the staging to there. Will empty the compost another day & then get it washed down.
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not been up for a couple of weeks so lots of weeds to sort out due to the still mild weather, dug over one large bed after removing the courgette plants. planted some elephant garlic. need to cut the grass at the weekend cant belive how quick its grown,
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I fetched loads of manure to dig in and some mulch to put over the top. Ordered some raspberry canes so I've got to dig the trenches for those. Most exciting of all our Japanese onions have made an appearance. 😊
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Went to view a free shed I’ve been offered to replace my rotten one 😄, it’s bigger than my old one too, looked in ok condition so said yes please thank you very much. He’s says all being well he’ll clear it at the weekend & then I can get it sorted & moved, needs a bit of repair but hopefully not too much.
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Oh great result Snowdrops 8) Free is everyone's favourite price :)
I dug up all the remaining spuds today and then dug the area over, plus did some other harvesting.
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We're supposed to have a dry weekend. I'm pulling up the last of my beetroot!
Cheers
Aled
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First posting so I may get it wrong! Went to the Lottie and dug the first parsnip. Took 10 minutes to get it out of the ground - its massive. I think I will be feeding the street this weekend. Tomatoes keep producing - but Sungold are now running out, worse luck.
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First posting so I may get it wrong! Went to the Lottie and dug the first parsnip. Took 10 minutes to get it out of the ground - its massive. I think I will be feeding the street this weekend. Tomatoes keep producing - but Sungold are now running out, worse luck.
Sounds like you got a result with your parsnip growing Dev. Welcome to the forum :)
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Did about 4 hours today, so feeling a bit weary now :lol:
Planted overwintering onions, shallots and garlic, then did loads of clearing and filled 2 compost bins with greenery. Harvested a few more squash as the plants had given up the ghost. I'm not convinced they are fully ripe, so they are on the benches in the greenhouse for the next few weeks.
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Lots, harvested the squash, cleared the plants to the compost bin, cut down & composted yet more sunflowers,saving some heads for daughters chickens,cleared some of the climbing bees, left the borlotti on as it’s supposed to be nice for a couple of days so they can dry a bit more as nature intended, bit of weeding,picked a punnet of raspberries
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Cleared one of the beds of a few weeds (not that many to be honest), then finished digging it over. The other half was dug over, over the past couple of weeks removing the spuds. Then applied a covering of "Clay breaker" on the freshly dug area, will need another box of the stuff for the remainder. Cleared some Toms to the compost bin, ready to dig over the area so I can plant some Raspberries, never planted them before, already looking forward to them.
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Cleared the last couple of bean wigwams and then dug and filled 2 trenches in my squash, sweetcorn and bean area. It was green waste and kitchen peelings that will rot fast.
I reckon I have room for 3 more, but ran out of steam for digging and waste for filling. A job for another day.
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it Sunday clocks turned back and all had a very busy busy day we demolished our garden wall earlier this week and prepared to re build my builder friend drove some metal post's with his JCB n hold some 3 tonnes concreate panels to hold back the soil
so being Sunday and the wall being on the roadside not much traffic no heavies to worry about we lifted them in with his giant fork lift I was praying every thing went rite but him up there must have been on our side because we had no problems and we will be getting another 2mts of garden to use
the old wall had been there for over 75 years and we dug loads of good rockery stones when clearing the old wall so rockery that's another job I've been tasked with doing thanks to my wife :D
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dismantled the 8x6 love shack, hauled it over to the new plot, backs broke now...won`t be any lovin` tonite.
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Had a great day. Emptied and spread a very full 4ft x 4ft x 4ft compost bin. Dug up all bolted leeks and started new compost heap with them. Harvested half a dozen good (not bolted) leeks, a couple of parsnips and three decent celeriacs. Put the fuchsias into greenhouse for the winter and emptied tubs of begonias and other bedding plants. Planted a few wallflowers and dug out some creeping buttercups, nettles and dandelions. Just enjoying a quiet cuppa before putting all the tools away until tomorrow
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Put some ash, and home brew compost on the plot, plus dug over, and covered with cardboard.
Cheers
Aled
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Sat with a cuppa this morning waiting for the frost to thaw then filled topped up my raised beds with half a ton of Greengrow from the local tip.
Dug up my snips as they were in the spot where I start building my polytunnel next week. Really pleassed with my haul, a couple of monsters in there :D
*Edit* Accidently uploaded a picture of the boy enjoying his hot chocolate ;) Fixed.
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Relaid a few of the loose edging slabs round my pond, and repointed some of the others (had to stop because it started to rain and I had to dash to the shed to get a couple of old compost bags to stop the elements undoing my handiwork. :wacko:)
Picked a few more Florence Fennel 'bulbs' as they're showing signs of succumbing to the cold (inverted commas partly because they're not of course bulbs, but mainly because I sowed them a bit too late - at least they're nice and tender! :tongue2:)
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I got a load of manure last week - very rotted horse dung. Today I removed the weed control fabric from Bed 2 and spread manure over the soil. Then I re-covered it - it's fabric not just a sheet of plastic. I'm planning to do this right across the plot - weather permitting.
I still have a few cabbages in, and the parsnips. And some leeks that are growing nicely, though rather slowly! They went in on 1 July, my lottie diary tells me.
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Harvested the last few ripe, semi-ripe and green tomatoes from greenhouse No 3 and then took out the plants and manured the borders. Always a sad day for me when the toms are done :( Still a few chillies and peppers going in greenhouse No 2 and I was pleasantly surprised to find a cucumber lurking in the rafters of greenhouse No 1. Not sure how it's survived as the plants came out a couple of weeks ago! Bit of an odd shape but hopefully it will taste OK.
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I need to do a good veg patch dig and empty the compost bin completely!
Cheers
Aled
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It was a sunny but chilly day, did some hoeing and weeding, put the number up on our gate, saw a bumble bee, a wasp and a butterfly! Oca has been frosted slightly, will be able to harvest in a few weeks.
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I dug a bed ready for next year. I took the easy (lazy) option and just turned it over leaving the soil in huge chunks hoping the frost would kill the weeds. I suspect it won't so now I've just made it worse.😢😢
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Gave the sheds their second coat of the second colour of paint, now just to touch up where I blobbed on the first colour, very smart they look, need the guttering putting back up & replace the water barrels
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Got a few bonus carts last night, patch still producing a bit.
Cheers
Aled
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Had a huge bonfire & in just over 3 hours burnt most of the old shed & the huge pile of weeds which. Had decided to compost on their own,but the fire was hot they were soon gone, had a good tidy round, stacked & covered the rest of the wood for another bonfire. Replaced the water barrels at the ends of the sheds now the painting is about done, having repositioned the bricks & slabs they are raised on. Had a lovely bowl of soup for lunch, butternut squash & chorizo,just right for a bonfire day 😊
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Moved and spread a manure delivery - it's worth the cost just to watch the farmer reverse down to the plot! I am now ready for a long soak in a hot bath!
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Moved the rabbits into their winter quarters, giving me loads of rabbit droppings muck for my new raised bed. Got to lay down the straw first. Spread some soot and eggshells around cabbages as the slugs have been munching again was going to do a 🍺 trap but ran out of daylight. Tomorrow's another day.
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More muck spreading! Lots more to be done, but I'm making progress. My aquadolce beans are up, planted them on 20/10, so pretty quick! Hope to get some more spreading done over the coming weekend.
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And some more manure spreading this morning before the rain started. I've now covered about a quarter of my plot with manure.
I think I've been going about this wrong - I have had a weed problem - couch and bindweed- since I started (8 years ago), and a few years back I bought a roll of weed control fabric. Then I've been covering each weedy bed in the autumn after pulling up whatever was growing there, and leaving it covered over the winter. This does deal with the weeds quite effectively. Since getting my load of horse manure a couple of weeks ago I've been removing the fabric from a bed, spreading manure on it and then replacing the cover on it. I think this is wrong. Surely I should leave the cover off, once I've spread the manure. Then the rain will wash the nutrients down into the soil. If I replace the fabric, the nutrients will stay in the manure.
Presumably weeds will grow where it's uncovered, and I'll just have to pull 'em up when I see them.
As you can see, I'm flying by the seat of my pants!
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And some more manure spreading this morning before the rain started. I've now covered about a quarter of my plot with manure.
I think I've been going about this wrong - I have had a weed problem - couch and bindweed- since I started (8 years ago), and a few years back I bought a roll of weed control fabric. Then I've been covering each weedy bed in the autumn after pulling up whatever was growing there, and leaving it covered over the winter. This does deal with the weeds quite effectively. Since getting my load of horse manure a couple of weeks ago I've been removing the fabric from a bed, spreading manure on it and then replacing the cover on it. I think this is wrong. Surely I should leave the cover off, once I've spread the manure. Then the rain will wash the nutrients down into the soil. If I replace the fabric, the nutrients will stay in the manure.
Presumably weeds will grow where it's uncovered, and I'll just have to pull 'em up when I see them.
As you can see, I'm flying by the seat of my pants!
If the weed control fabric is porous the nutrients will wash down plus the worms will take the manure down over the winter, with it being covered it will stay a bit warmerfor the worms to stay nearer the surface. There’s no right or wrong way what just works for you 😊
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Put a load of wood ash over the plot.
Cheers
Aled
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Now that the fishing season is finished and that excuse is gone, finished digging an area of plot. Fair bit still to do but need to wait for leeks parsnips sprouts to come out.....
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Harvested the Oca, way bigger than the ones I used to grow at home, and much better yield. Found out I had a little success with parsnips, they were hiding amongst the turnips.... Small and few,but healthy! A lovely day with lots of birds about, cold and frosty but sunny. I would live down here if I didn't have to earn!
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A bit of a squelchy trip on the way to work today to drop off bags of green waste from clearing up in the garden at home over the weekend.
The Wizard beans are up, as are all the overwintering onions, garlic and shallots. The soil is soaked though. I think any more digging will be postposted until it dries out a bit.
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Trundled off to the plot with my trusty steed(wheelbarrow) not once but twice, hubby has cleared the garage out of wood he doesn’t want, so 1 load taken to the plot in the hope I can burn it tomorrow, brought back the old shed roof felt & added that to the dustbin before it was emptied. Then trundled back with all the compost waste & another load of wood. Jus5 got 2 long heavy chunks to take, might do that if I get to go tomorrow for burning day.
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The plot is frozen today, but I did some productive work emptying out the sacks of spuds in the shed and checking them over. I proudly reached into the Kifli to offer some to Sunshineband earlier in the week and fetched out a squishy one sporting tufts of white mould :ohmy:
Anyway just 5-6 out of 4 sacks were binned so not too bad. Also spotted a squash with a suspicious mark developing on the side. That has come into the kitchen for immediate use.
Check your stores folk before the festive rush descends ;)
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Check your stores folk before the festive rush descends ;)
Excellent advice. I checked through our onions yesterday and found half a dozen with softish patches, so they are now in the kitchen basket to make sure they get used in the next day or two
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been busy sweeping snow from the pathways had quite a downfall hear in the east midlands never bothered to open the greenhouse doors looked in on the poly tunnel dark and damp
maybe light the fire in the greenhouse stove tomorrow do a bit of tidying up pots need to get down the allotments to pick some veg also have some dahlias to dig up that was planned for today something like the best laid plans of mice and men comes to mind :D
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I have a Workawayer helping me and we have just come in having built five pallet compost bins this afternoon. Shattered and cold, it's only 5°C here. Tomorrow we will start shifting the "still to rot" contents of the old bins into the new ones. The compost which is ready will be spread on the veggie and fruit beds.
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Could barely make out where the raised beds were, so gave up and went home to build a snowman with the nipper! Just hope the broad beans will survive....
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Looked at it and thought "that's the first time I have ever seen it covered in snow"...
did however give the compost bin a turn and added some wood ash!
Cheers
Aled
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One of my 1000 litre cube water containers has slipped off its base as it's sunk into the very wet ground. I've emptied it now and bought some concrete blocks. Hopefully tomorrow we may be able to lift it away, build the concrete blocks up and replace the container so it can refill from the feed shed guttering. So much liquid mud on the field, it's not easy .
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A pile of wood ash over the veg patch, then raked it in.
Cheers
Aled
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Dumped all the festive peelings into the compost heap, then helped one of my neighbours with further repairs to his fruit cage which was damaged by the snow the other week. In return he'll help me fix the sheeting to my new polytunnel when I finally get round to building it!