Here's hoping everyone has a very successful and slightly drier growing year ahead.
Good luck!!
Went to survey the plot-not been down for 5months as ive had a baby and i've been ill.
Plot not too bad, grass is dying which saves me weed-killing it. Pulled out weeds from 3 beds and put in a pile ready for burning. Moved some planks of wood that had found their way into the pond somehow.
Got home and decided to plan out what i'm going to plant this year, and put a shout out on Facebook for horse manure, fence posts and use of a petrol strimmer!
We were promised a few dry days but it is still *raining here! :(
Delivery of manure so decided to top up raised beds on plot 1 and clear old brussel plants and dig the bed over ready for compost to be added. Doing nicely and was going to move onto second half plot to begin clearing (only got this a couple of weeks ago) when...... saw two guys digging the raspberry bushes out from my new half plot!
Seems that the previous tenant had said that these guys could 'help themselves' to the rapsberry bushes and strawberry plants. I politely said that I was now the tenant and this sparked a torrent of abuse aimed mostly at the lottie committee.
To cut a long story short, I felt somewhat threatened by this behaviour and wonder what I will find (if anything) when I go up tomorrow?
The water has subsided so I made a raised bed border. (Sorry about the fuzzy photo, I must've got too excited)Hi Annen
Well I've followed my usual New Year pattern - digging out my triple DVD set of Geoff Hamilton's gardening - it never fails to cheer and inspire. Time for action now though, and so the greenhouse cleaning beckons (wonder if I could bribe the husband) and lots of clearing and tidying. Main problem - how much ground to give over to veg, and how much to roses, shrubs and flowers? (No allotment, just modest back garden).
This weekend in my 6 week old plot I edged 2 beds with bits of wood I have been piling up from the stuff that was dumped in my plot, I fought with (and won) 2 large bramble plants so only 4 or 5 more to go. I dragged 2 wooden pallets down ready to break up for more edging, I cleared another small area of knee-high stinging nettles and planted 2 rhubarb crowns - a present from a fellow allotmenteer who said he has been watching my progress with surprise! I think that being a 20-something female taking on weed patch/ mini jungle on my own raised a few eyebrows but I am proving them wrong. I can't wait to get back down there next weekend
This weekend in my 6 week old plot I edged 2 beds with bits of wood I have been piling up from the stuff that was dumped in my plot, I fought with (and won) 2 large bramble plants so only 4 or 5 more to go. I dragged 2 wooden pallets down ready to break up for more edging, I cleared another small area of knee-high stinging nettles and planted 2 rhubarb crowns - a present from a fellow allotmenteer who said he has been watching my progress with surprise! I think that being a 20-something female taking on weed patch/ mini jungle on my own raised a few eyebrows but I am proving them wrong. I can't wait to get back down there next weekend
Go girl go :D It's lovely when it all comes together isn't it.
Same job as me! I have a levelled area compacted down with sand etc ready for a shed.... Now to find one and persuade the fiancé to come down for long enough to help me build it (being 6'5 I think the height will be useful for doing the roof even if his DIY skills aren't all that!)have you got a picture of it
I have been looking round and think I have found the one I want.
Same job as me! I have a levelled area compacted down with sand etc ready for a shed.... Now to find one and persuade the fiancé to come down for long enough to help me build it (being 6'5 I think the height will be useful for doing the roof even if his DIY skills aren't all that!)
I have been looking round and think I have found the one I want.
http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Wooden-Sheds/BillyOh-Classic-Popular-Rustic-Economy-Overlap-Apex
This is the one I have been looking at in a 6x4 size.
And I think I am stuck with the fiancé I've got now ;)
- thanks to this forum I now have the offer of a plot near where I live. I'm going to see it at the weekend. HOW EXCITING!!!
- thanks to this forum I now have the offer of a plot near where I live. I'm going to see it at the weekend. HOW EXCITING!!!
Scouted around for pallets to make desperately needed compost bin but not as fortunate as JayG as didn't find any.
Where in Burbage? I'm on the Woodland Rd plots
I would like to know how to do crop rotation. Do you have any tips please?
I FROZE :lol:
Had a walk to the plots and took photographs for OH to see. Haven't had that much snow so no damage done. Where I had dug earlier last week, the foxes had been using this as a toilet so tidied this up and covered with plastic to keep the foxes off, if nothing else.
That is pretty nifty!
That is pretty nifty!
Why thank you, I have to say, I was very proud of myself! Now what to put into it, leafmould I think.
Hi Caroline.
I did a similar thing to what you have done but used an old shed. I filled it with the finished runner beans and climbing French beans and have topped it up with rabbit bedding /poo and shredded paper from work.
I lined it with plastic to stop the wood rotting and to keep the contents warm. I was amazed though how much it settles. I thought I had filled it, however a few days later it had settled to about half it's height!! ???
I kept topping it up and added manure that I had collected from a local stables. Finished it off last week with the soil from the bean trench and a bag of compost. Coved with plastic to keep the foxes from digging into it and using it as a toilet! Plan to use it as a seed bed for the brassicas and then to plant courgette/pumpkin in.
Thanks Yana, then that is what I shall do! I'll let you know how I get on :-)
Lady Mary, they should be fine,the blanket of snow will act as an insulation for them.Thanks for the input snowdrops! The garlic and onions have been growing about 6" high so far. I went over to have a look this afternoon. They are all covered in about 6 - 8" of snow. Not only that, the fleece over the broad beans was half blown off...resulting in them also covered in deep snow. Don't know if they will survive. Time will tell. Thought me a good lesson tho. If sowing in the winter, be prepared for the worst!
I went to pick some greens but couldn't find the kale
Managed to pick some rosemary to go with tonight's dinner.
You were brave :ohmy: it was too cold for me, I just picked a cabbage and a swede and scooted home off again
I went yesterday and it was glorious. Sunshine, quiet, birds and me. Dug another 1 x 5mtr strip and then realised that I had damaged myself! Ouch, surely 41 is too young for a hip replacement?!!! Seems to be okay today, I think I will sow some seeds rather than go for a dig, especially as it's raining and looking like snow..boo.
had a busy couple of days the wife and i. wanted to make the most of the sunshine and weve gone from this
(http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z219/jobby666/100_1064_zpsa60acffa.jpg)
to this
(http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z219/jobby666/100_1070_zpsda0412dd.jpg)
another few days and ill be pretty much ready
I like what you have done here. My back garden veg patch is about the same size and I'm starting from scratch. I'd like mine to look like yours very soon. Need to put in paths and edging. Ground is still a bit wet and claggy, with clay soil.
wow that's a great effort candy! have you double dug or just forked the weeds out? wish my plot was looking that neat
What is a lasagne bed? I am waiting for my raspberries to arrive - am very impatient now!
did think it was possible it could have dropped out when i opened a car doors. It was quite late by the time I'd called the shops I'd last been to and I didn't want to disturb the residents right next to the plots I will pop down first thig tomorrow and check
Rotovated? That's on my list of things to do in a very few weeks time but I haven't finished the winter clear up yet. :ohmy:
I must: sow leek seed, check to see what other seed I need to buy and get cracking!
anything in the bargain corner :)
I walked to the bottom of the garden and looked at our little home veg patch.
Saw the fox slink off through the hedge...
Added a tub full of peelings to the compost heap and enjoyed a splash of sunshine.
Spent the last two day digging over another area for veg
Before and after photos
I weeded and prepared 2 beds for the strawberies that are on order from Marshalls 30 bareroot runners for @£11.00 bargain!!I have the same coming just hope the delivery is faster than their Seeds :(
Also did some clearing and digging my back is stiff now.
Replanted 4 raspberries as cats or foxes keep digging them up on pooing on them!!!! :ohmy:
Hope to get down to allotment tomorrow if it dosent rain!!
Did a bit of weeding too. Doesn't sound like a lot but we thoroughly enjoyed being out in the sunshine for a couple of hours today!
Put debris netting over 2 raised beds which are now ready for planting. Also planted some Shasta Daisy, Alchemila Mollis and Aquilega in the cut flower area.
Put debris netting over 2 raised beds which are now ready for planting. Also planted some Shasta Daisy, Alchemila Mollis and Aquilega in the cut flower area.
Shasta Daisy = a favourite as it reminds me of my grandfather's garden. :happy:
Emptied the greenhouse, swept, jet-washed, cleaned down with diluted Jeyes fluid, will jet-rinse before it gets dark (remembered to disconnect the pipes to the water butts before I started this time!)
Started to clear my strawberry bed, wasnt going to as its its last year (been in for three years this year) but thought if I thined it might get a half decent crop (weather permitting!) this year. Also Started cleaning the greenhouse glass before I get my toms in.
Braved the cold for a walk up to the plot to drop the new chicken rota for April off and check on lottie cat Tabitha (as she wasn't there sunday evening (and she's a fragile little old lady :unsure:) and found my netting had blown down over the onions and the fleece had blown down over the broad beans!
Rescued and fixed said net and fleece and dropped off a load of composting scraps.
Cat is fine! :happy:
Took some more broad beans from the greenhouse at home to the cold frame on the plot. Maybe if the weather would just ease up a bit I might get them out into the ground under a cloche.
Do you share chickens or have a communal coup?
while I was digging a friend appeared, he was very grateful for the bits of the worm I accidentaly chopped in half.
(http://s15.postimage.org/hranubz9j/IMG_3206.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/hranubz9j/)
Grendel
when? who knows ::)
Digging? don't worry too much if it doesn't get done at all! everything still grows :)
head and valves have been decoked.I last de-coked an engine with my Dad in the 1960's - It was on his Ford Anglia when I was learning to drive! :)
I put my spuds in today too, deep as well. Also sowed broad beans under one of them mini poly tunnel things, worked for me in the past and the old lady who let me share her shed has planted out broad beans, under no protection so I think I should be alright.
Well maybe not today, but over the last three days I have moved tonnes of soil and replaced a falling down dry brick wall with a new timber wall. I was dismayed to find a second wall behind the first, all covered by feet if soil.. I am looking at this photo on my iPad. I keep turning the iPad around to look at the photo the right way up but the picture rotates as well !
The wall is made up of 10cmx10cmx2.7m posts.
I certainly ache now.
Updated: I think my photo is upside down! Sorry.
cordless flymo strimmer, charged up the battery and set off to said new plot ready to take on overgrown hillocks of grass etc......battery died after 15 minutes :(...
Not on the plot by I helped Mr S assemble the 2 new planters he has made me for the patio. I've planted the brown turkey fig in one & intend them for all edible plants as they are by the kitchen door. I'm thinking of salad leaves,radish,baby beetroot,small carrots.Hi Snowdrops
Any other suggestions gratefully received. I've already got a herb bed on the opposite side.
Cold wind, so came back in.
Had nice hot cup of tea. :)
Rotavated some of the plot (I'm guessing the air was thick with the small of petrol and oil today :)), planted potatoes, shallots and onion sets. Sowed carrots, spring onions & beetroot with my three year old daughter. I even mowed the lawn in the garden :tongue2:
Spent the day doing a planning application for site composting toilet (oh the joy!)
Would rather have been digging and planting on my plot!
Spent the day doing a planning application for site composting toilet (oh the joy!)
Would rather have been digging and planting on my plot!
Here's hoping everyone has a very successful and slightly drier growing year ahead.
Good luck!!
Sat on the step of the hut drinking a cup of tea made with my Christmas ghillie kettle on the plot, it is the first time it has been warm enough!
Not on the plot by I helped Mr S assemble the 2 new planters he has made me for the patio. I've planted the brown turkey fig in one & intend them for all edible plants as they are by the kitchen door. I'm thinking of salad leaves,radish,baby beetroot,small carrots.
Any other suggestions gratefully received. I've already got a herb bed on the opposite side.
today, I loved my allotment.
I have a week off next week bar one shift on wed pm so am looking forward to living at my plot for the week! :D
I have a week off next week bar one shift on wed pm so am looking forward to living at my plot for the week! :D
I have a week off next week bar one shift on wed pm so am looking forward to living at my plot for the week! :D
A week off and in lovely Torquay 8) I'm also envious
Had a good walk around to see what other plot holders are up to - the anal bunch (raised beds and netting) have got all their shop brought peas, tomatoes and courgettes in CHEATS!!
Ha Ha, we have one like that - straight rows of raised beds, not a weed in sight on his paths, takes a week off work this time every year and goes out and buys a load of plug plants in Been and Queued. He then plants them in perfect straight lines (you would swear that he uses a ruler), pops up once a week for the summer and does a little weeding and harvesting and that is that! None of us even knows his name - he is know as plug (because of all the plug plants) by the plot holders. He couldn't possibly get any enjoyment out of his plot ;)
My class had an World War Two evacuation day. Suggested we had a Dig for Victory on MY ALLOTMENT .So five groups of children came and helped my weed and plant veg and flowers They did a very good job and enjoyed themselves getting grubby and my allotment has less weeding to be done. They were very proud of their handwork as I was of themBrilliant idea Devon (and I'm betting they had a wonderful time)! :D
My class had an World War Two evacuation day. Suggested we had a Dig for Victory on MY ALLOTMENT .So five groups of children came and helped my weed and plant veg and flowers They did a very good job and enjoyed themselves getting grubby and my allotment has less weeding to be done. They were very proud of their handwork as I was of them
Sowed chitted sweetcorn, alderman peas and Melissa French beans, potted on tomatoes, rudbeckia, alpine strawberries, chillis and aubergines. Hoping to get to the plot tomorrow with 4 year old in tow (wish me luck!)
went to the plot to start removing the weed ridden strawberry bed with the hope of replacing the alpine strawberries with normal ones, got a trug full of small plants, and I have only taken 18" off the end of the bed so far, 18 odd feet to go!!
Grendel
replanted the 120 odd strawberry plants into the strawberry stacks and pots at home, looking forward to many more hours clearing the bed. the other half plot wont be as easy as they were overrun by the raspberries.
Grendel
worse still I have over 100 strawberry seeds just starting to germinate (about 10 up so far) - those will be destined for the plot - well some of them anyway.replanted the 120 odd strawberry plants into the strawberry stacks and pots at home, looking forward to many more hours clearing the bed. the other half plot wont be as easy as they were overrun by the raspberries.
Grendel
104 pots of strawberries on, I still have a sixth of the bed that is rammed full of the things - and my bed is a lot smaller than yours by the sounds of it. At least cleaning off strawberry clods can be done sitting in the sun... :)
went to find that the neighbours chickens has scratched up a lot of my onion sets (my fault for not having anything to hand to protect them) so I replanted where I could and put up some chicken wire. I lit a fire and watch all of the weeds go up in flames (gotcha), carried on digging (was there ever a film called carry on digging?) and have got another bed ready to plant. Can't wait to see how much rain got into my waterbutt :-)not wanting to start a conflict but surely its your neighbours responsibility to keep his chickens of your plot,im pretty sure if mine had dug up my neighbours plot theyd be telling me in uncertain terms what they thought.
went to find that the neighbours chickens has scratched up a lot of my onion sets (my fault for not having anything to hand to protect them) so I replanted where I could and put up some chicken wire. I lit a fire and watch all of the weeds go up in flames (gotcha), carried on digging (was there ever a film called carry on digging?) and have got another bed ready to plant. Can't wait to see how much rain got into my waterbutt :-)not wanting to start a conflict but surely its your neighbours responsibility to keep his chickens of your plot,im pretty sure if mine had dug up my neighbours plot theyd be telling me in uncertain terms what they thought.
went to find that the neighbours chickens has scratched up a lot of my onion sets (my fault for not having anything to hand to protect them) so I replanted where I could and put up some chicken wire. I lit a fire and watch all of the weeds go up in flames (gotcha), carried on digging (was there ever a film called carry on digging?) and have got another bed ready to plant. Can't wait to see how much rain got into my waterbutt :-)not wanting to start a conflict but surely its your neighbours responsibility to keep his chickens of your plot,im pretty sure if mine had dug up my neighbours plot theyd be telling me in uncertain terms what they thought.
I'd be a bit miffed to say the least, are the chickens free range then :wacko:
went to find that the neighbours chickens has scratched up a lot of my onion sets (my fault for not having anything to hand to protect them) so I replanted where I could and put up some chicken wire. I lit a fire and watch all of the weeds go up in flames (gotcha), carried on digging (was there ever a film called carry on digging?) and have got another bed ready to plant. Can't wait to see how much rain got into my waterbutt :-)not wanting to start a conflict but surely its your neighbours responsibility to keep his chickens of your plot,im pretty sure if mine had dug up my neighbours plot theyd be telling me in uncertain terms what they thought.
It's just the way it is. It's private land and the owner has been really kind to me. I've now put up chicken wire so hopefully it will be okay. Thanks for all your concern though.
I'd be a bit miffed to say the least, are the chickens free range then :wacko:
that doesn't sound like fun - battling slugs, pigeons, cats, dear, greenfly, carrot fly, aphids, various beetles, normal birds and next doors chickens!
So sunny and warm - just had to get out there 8) Sowed carrots, beetroot, french beans, radishes in the open, sweetcorn, kale, white & purple broccoli, 2nd lot of sweeetcorn seeds in pots, planted 6 early brussels out. Opened up the first 1000kgs bag of home-made compost and it is sooooooooo lubberly and crumbly - so spread some of that around. Now it's too warm for me so in the shade reading (and being tweeted to by the cockatiel!)
took the electric strimmer, battery and inverter to the plot yesterday, worked fine for a while until I ran out of strimmer cord, hoping to get it low enough to *manage with my push mower. back again later to finish off and try the hand mower.Grendel
Hubby's turn as I am still not well ::)
He's taken up more strawberry plants out of the paths, earthed up spuds and I hope weeded :wacko: I'll see if he returns with a bucket of weeds or not.
Hubby's turn as I am still not well ::)
He's taken up more strawberry plants out of the paths, earthed up spuds and I hope weeded :wacko: I'll see if he returns with a bucket of weeds or not.
If not perhaps he's been for a nice quiet sit in the pub? :lol:
well almost there, finished the strimming, went to use the push mower, but one of the bolts to adjust the height had rusted solid so I couldnt adust the height, which needed to be on a high ish setting, but was on super short, bought it home and have managed to adjust it now..took the electric strimmer, battery and inverter to the plot yesterday, worked fine for a while until I ran out of strimmer cord, hoping to get it low enough to *manage with my push mower. back again later to finish off and try the hand mower.Grendel
*That's my aim too.
I have a fairly new spare push mower and will leave it at the plot hoping it stays there safely locked in the shed. It'll be easier than the 2 mile round walk pushing the petrol mower.
Good luck with yours Grendel.
Compost bin is nearly done, honestly it's fit for a queen to use. He's blacked all the sides, wired the bottom, moved one load of half rotted compost up the hill, only eight more bags to go.
I did offer to help ( secretly I was hoping he would say no) he did phew lol not sure I am up to wheeling all that up the hill to the plot lol. I am all for equal rights but there is a time and a place. :lol:
It's a good job I don't have my gate key yet as I'd be down there everyday :D
Looked on line for plans for an Ark!
More weeding - but a question! Does anyone have a picture of parsnip seedlings- never grown them before and can't sort them from weeds!
Thank you - now I can get the weeds!More weeding - but a question! Does anyone have a picture of parsnip seedlings- never grown them before and can't sort them from weeds!
They look like this
I always make time for a cup of tea or two, even if it means something doesn't get done.
Well, there's always something that doesn't get done :)
Just dropped of some potting compost, to cold to do anything. :(
I got withdrawal symptoms so bought 3 strawberry plants for 79p each in asda, they already have fruit on, planted them with the other hundred strawberries in the front garden. As most of the transplants from the plot are alpines or wild, some full sized strawberries wont go amiss.
Grendel
Is there such a thing as too many strawberries :lol:Not in this house
Is there such a thing as too many strawberries :lol:Not in this house
Mmmm...think you might have a new name Grendel...The Strawberry King! :lol:Is there such a thing as too many strawberries :lol:Not in this house
Is there such a thing as too many strawberries :lol:Not in this house
Cut some leeks and now planning on makng some nice soup :)
Cut some leeks and now planning on makng some nice soup :)
Why is your wheel barrow so clean :blink: I'd love mine like that but hubby keeps using it. ::)
Took on a new plot that's only 2 minutes walk from house, I hope the other allotment guys aren't too annoyed that ill be leaving (again) but at least the plots in good shape.
Dug over 6, yes 6 beds on the new plot ready for frantic sowing tomorrow as its so late. Met lots of the other tenants and discovered they have a cider shed :ohmy: :) also dug over the little bed I found, think I'll use it for flowers.
Drank a cider, sat in the sun for a bit, bed early ready for long day tomorrow.
Next just need to level that corner and put in a serious bed of raspberries along the edge. Can't waste them.
Also weeded mine at 6.30am but I actually run out of weeds to pull out. :blink:
Next just need to level that corner and put in a serious bed of raspberries along the edge. Can't waste them.
Also weeded mine at 6.30am but I actually run out of weeds to pull out. :blink:
Don't you just love that time of day :)
Also weeded mine at 6.30am but I actually run out of weeds to pull out. :blink:
Weeded where the asparagus is supposed to be,don't think it has made it. Hoed another mares tail bed,dug some of another mares tail bed. Was going to sow carrots but it was too windy-they'd have blown away. Hoed around the fruit trees & bushes. Had a cuppa & a couple of rests. Once home I washed every plant pot/tray in sight, only took 4 1/2 hours :wacko: I know I know it should have all been done by now but it wasn't. I was going to sow squash & sweetcorn but hadn't any of the pots I needed & once I'd started I thought I might as well carry on. As it was so windy I put them all in the greenhouse to dry,then when I was tidying a way i heard a crash & half the greenhouse bench had collapsed,crashing my carefully labelled tomato & chilli seedlings to the floor, along with some dahlia's,soya beans, all on to the freshly washed seed trays :mad: :mad: Now to order the proper staging/bench to match the greenhouse that I priced up at Malvern & decided to make do this year.
Nothing as I would have had to swim there :( typical weather when I have a week off!
Nothing as I would have had to swim there :( typical weather when I have a week off!
I'm working the next 2 days - 12 hour shifts - it will be dry and sunny, whatever our local weatherman Brainey says!! :tongue2: :D
It will rain on Friday, saturday and sunday - while I have days off! ::)
Nothing as I would have had to swim there :( typical weather when I have a week off!
I'm working the next 2 days - 12 hour shifts - it will be dry and sunny, whatever our local weatherman Brainey says!! :tongue2: :D
It will rain on Friday, saturday and sunday - while I have days off! ::)
Sunshine here today so I expect you have the same, weeds will be having a party ::)
NOT WHAT ID PLANNED-up there bright early 6am thought get plenty done then home for 9 then out we the kids ,pottering along getting things done chickens fed watered cleaned out ,rake over the bed were my various squashes are going(7-15) phone goes "you best get home"my youngest(4)as stuck a bead up his nose so for next 2 1/2 hrs spent in AE for offending bead to fall out just as we were called to be seen ???
weeded the peas and beans on the other plot, that took an hour for 4 beds, then weeded the potato row and onions, weeded out a few strawberries that encroached on the weeded bits, bought them home and planted in gaps in the wheelbarrow.:lol: more strawberries. Grendel I challenge you to go a whole day without saying the s word. :lol:
Grendel
My French beans were looking a bit yellow on the newer leaves so I fed them some chicken manure pellets - was this the right thing to do does anyone know?
My French beans were looking a bit yellow on the newer leaves so I fed them some chicken manure pellets - was this the right thing to do does anyone know?
That should help. :) Or some nitrogen rich feed.
We tidied out my shed and found a mouse nest! No mice luckily :D
My chicken day today so cleaned and poop scooped.
:lol: more strawberries. Grendel I challenge you to go a whole day without saying the s word. :lol:Ah...! ::)
up to the other plot, crops there all weeded now, a bit of grass cutting done (by hand) 2 1/2 hours of weeding and home by 11am
Grendel
up to the other plot, crops there all weeded now, a bit of grass cutting done (by hand) 2 1/2 hours of weeding and home by 11am
Grendel
Ok I have seen too many posts without it now. Say the word Grendel. I see your name and say to myself "strawberries" I'll never ban the word again. Did you not dig out even one little one. :tongue2:
planted 8 tomatoes, 4 cabbage and weeded my leeks, weeded out a few strawberries which I planted at home, cut one path with a mower but resorted to shears when the mower kept jamming.
Grendel
planted out 8 courgette plants (i know its a lot but i like them) and 2 pumpkin plants
I'm currently having a break in the sunshine.
Have been digging and weeding on my mate John's plot all morning until now and he's kindly let nme use his 'brassica house' basically a full size to stand up in structure covered in enviromesh type stuff! :D. Ideal! I was running out of room!
Have just dug over, chicken pelleted and limed the soil and will plant my broccoli in there this week!
Watered, and hoes the paths.... I really should get some black weed sheeting and wood chip.....
I dont think anything will stop them..... where there is sunlight, there is weeds.....
They even grow through tarmac in the roads of our estate.
Watered, and hoes the paths.... I really should get some black weed sheeting and wood chip.....
Went to the plot yesterday evening in a rush to water all the emerging plants as forecast was for sun and drying winds only to be awoken at 6.00 am by thunder with lightening and showers. No mention in any forecast of thunder and lightening!!! Nevertheless the rain was welcome but it can stop now please
Had a month away after falling and hurting my leg pretty badly. I had cleared the plot in winter...
(http://i43.tinypic.com/72gjgj.jpg)
I nearly cried :(
But..
I got on with it...
(http://i42.tinypic.com/fm0wvc.jpg)
Hoping to clear similar size today...
nothing again, watered plants in garden, and spotted my first two pea sized strawberries starting to turn red.
Grendel
Hubby went up last night and carried on the big dig even though it was on and off rain. If we stopped for the rain down here we'd still be digging the first plot ::)It's grim down south! :tongue2: Rain stopped this afternoon so caught up with my plans.
I HARVESTED :D new potatoes - my first thing from there, 6 months after I started. So exciting but not sure I want anyone to eat them now I've washed them. Apologies to anyone in the south-west Leicestershire area who may have been disturbed by the squealing....!!! LOL, very happy :)
He took the trowel shuttle across the back fence into the alley :tongue2:
I took my two little ones up for a "quick visit" mainly to grab a bit of salad and check everything was ok. Instead, my youngest (2 1/2) decided to lock himself in the shed and lose the keys. He's not talking yet so I eventually established what had happened through a series of "esss" and "ohhh" (yes and no).
"Where are the keys Zac?"
"Asss"
"Can you unlock the door Zac?"
"Ohhh"
"Have you got the keys?"
"Ohhh"
"Do you know where the keys are?"
"Ohhh"
"*".
I ended up having to borrow a screwdriver from a plot neighbour and take the shed door off. ::)
An hour later we returned home to an initially very cross Mrs Rabbit...until I told my tale and then she peed herself laughing!
Have you now altered the lock so he can't lock it from the inside again?
nothing as today was job interview day, fingers crossed it seemed to go quite well.Good luck. Hope you scrubbed your finger nails!
Grendel
nothing as today was job interview day, fingers crossed it seemed to go quite well.Good luck Grendel,when will you know & what was it for?
Grendel
probably Friday week, and my field of expertise - CAD (technical drawing on computer)nothing as today was job interview day, fingers crossed it seemed to go quite well.Good luck Grendel,when will you know & what was it for?
Grendel
Nothing at the plot as work continued in the garden. Cut back a weigela which had got very leggy, plus a big trim of the fatsia and a big weeding session. Twenty compost bagfuls of prunings later, we had finished. It looks like a trip to the tip is in the offing tomorrow.
just had a phone call :) dont know the start date yet, but was asked for my address to send the contract to :)
Purposely off topic:
Grendel please let us know (somewhere or other) about the job interview. CAD! Clever chap!!
Nothing at the plot as work continued in the garden. Cut back a weigela which had got very leggy, plus a big trim of the fatsia and a big weeding session. Twenty compost bagfuls of prunings later, we had finished. It looks like a trip to the tip is in the offing tomorrow.
Stick those prunings through a shredder and add them to your compost heap. Saves on driving time / petrol and adds to the garden in return.
Waste not want not. ;) A brilliant soil improver!!
Let me be the first on here to congratulate you. You must be thrilled. How long have you been out of work? Such a relief for you.just had a phone call :) dont know the start date yet, but was asked for my address to send the contract to :)
Purposely off topic:
Grendel please let us know (somewhere or other) about the job interview. CAD! Clever chap!!
on the plot front nothing today, but I have tidied up in the garden and taken down 2 of the 4 sets of shelves in the garden, only a few plant left to go from pot to plot.
Grendel
well the last year I have technically been employed but only on a pay as you go basis and the work has been thin on the ground ( a couple of hours work this year), which has given me the time to work on the allotment more regularly, at least almost everything is in the ground now, so the long work days hopefully wont impact too badly, quick visits on the way home from work and weekends, much as previous years when I was working, ah well.
Grendel
Nothing at the plot as work continued in the garden. Cut back a weigela which had got very leggy, plus a big trim of the fatsia and a big weeding session. Twenty compost bagfuls of prunings later, we had finished. It looks like a trip to the tip is in the offing tomorrow.
Stick those prunings through a shredder and add them to your compost heap. Saves on driving time / petrol and adds to the garden in return.
Waste not want not. ;) A brilliant soil improver!!
Yes I agree & was going to suggest it,plus it's amazing to see a huge pile of prunings go down to such a small pile of shreddings.
Nothing at the plot as work continued in the garden. Cut back a weigela which had got very leggy, plus a big trim of the fatsia and a big weeding session. Twenty compost bagfuls of prunings later, we had finished. It looks like a trip to the tip is in the offing tomorrow.
Stick those prunings through a shredder and add them to your compost heap. Saves on driving time / petrol and adds to the garden in return.
Waste not want not. ;) A brilliant soil improver!!
Yes I agree & was going to suggest it,plus it's amazing to see a huge pile of prunings go down to such a small pile of shreddings.
I would usually agree totally - would never take prunings to the tip as the shreddings are invaluable for the chicken coop (they then go on the garden once the chooks have had a good go at them!). Unfortunately, when I adopted my children I discovered that they are both terrified of the shredder noise!
I always have a long list of jobs that I need to get done when the children are at school, the prunings just piled up and up waiting the day when I would have time to do the shredding. I had to just accept that the trip to the tip was necessary on this occasion as I am so sick of the garden being a mess. On the plus side, I had removed the leaves and soft growth by hand, so it was just twigs in the bags.
The best bit was that I tried to burn them the other day when we had a drizzly day here, and my old incinerator collapsed - it had rotted through! Typical!
Roll on September when my youngest goes to school full time so I have more time to do these jobs!
Grendel, I have just seen your news, congrats!
quite a bit of weeding and picked over 6lb of strawberries, yes, sad I know but I just had to weigh them :wub:
quite a bit of weeding and picked over 6lb of strawberries, yes, sad I know but I just had to weigh them :wub:
Poor thing!
Oh well i could always hoover i suppose ::)
Totally off topic and norty step for me (someone bring sandwiches and a cool drink please!)
Excellent news Grendel!!! Well done you. :)
Got to the allotment twice today, :D this morning before picking up DD from nursery I added to the compost bin, weeded and then a kind gentleman who has taken on a nearby gave me some white and purple sprouting broccoli, and even helped me pop it in as he knew I didn't have much time.
I then popped back after tea with my girlies and found the 'gentleman' had covered my broccoli with chicken wire. There really are some very kind people around aren't there!
More weeding, watering....slowly getting rid of my grassy bits!
Mrswashi 8)
Got to the allotment twice today, :D this morning before picking up DD from nursery I added to the compost bin, weeded and then a kind gentleman who has taken on a nearby gave me some white and purple sprouting broccoli, and even helped me pop it in as he knew I didn't have much time.but there realy are some miserable gits too >:( gotta couple round me who cant even nod or reply when you say hello , :)
I then popped back after tea with my girlies and found the 'gentleman' had covered my broccoli with chicken wire. There really are some very kind people around aren't there!
More weeding, watering....slowly getting rid of my grassy bits!
Mrswashi 8)
Some very nice people about... "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" . One good turn deserves a big thank you. ;)
A quick pop up to the allotment after work resulted in me bringing home my first proper hoarde of goodies, 3 punnets of strawberries, courgettes, 1st early potatoes, purple sprouting and a couple of shallots :D.
(http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj86/TheNutcracker1985/image-2.jpg) (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/TheNutcracker1985/media/image-2.jpg.html)
Started laying the walls for the chicken coop and run.
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb340/nightstalkernij/E9E49995-968C-4C03-984E-B666D882413B-7276-0000079E8261784B_zps3f862ca4.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/nightstalkernij/media/E9E49995-968C-4C03-984E-B666D882413B-7276-0000079E8261784B_zps3f862ca4.jpg.html)
The far wall looks bowed (it isnt - dodo picture)
Then put about two inch of glass in the bottom and filled it up with the soil I dug out earlier.
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb340/nightstalkernij/162983E3-9D45-456A-8EF0-3356C2208384-7276-0000079E90DA85F8_zps311c6d55.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/nightstalkernij/media/162983E3-9D45-456A-8EF0-3356C2208384-7276-0000079E90DA85F8_zps311c6d55.jpg.html)
Again the wall looks bowed - I agree the concreting isnt the most square thing ever but it does the job.
Finally a little water, weeding & check-up....my pot's have started flowering :)
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb340/nightstalkernij/D1C68B5F-4059-447B-9255-1517E7D97A05-7276-0000079EA08F87EF_zps557668b0.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/nightstalkernij/media/D1C68B5F-4059-447B-9255-1517E7D97A05-7276-0000079EA08F87EF_zps557668b0.jpg.html)
Why do you put glass in the hole?
my mum has baked bread every other day all her life, her dad was a baker, I have had a few disasters along the way but can now knock out a nice half wholemeal multiseeded loaf, with just a couple of hours notice (depending on rising time) just munching on 'breakfast' - just plain bread and butter, and have to say its gorgeous.
Grendel
It is raining!
A nice harvest there Grendel :) - I assume by 'volunteer' you mean you chose one to sacrifice if it all went pete tong?no these are where the potatoes were last year, just popped up, now current wisdom says they could be a source for blight, but last year the weeds grew up in my potato beds and the slugs got the foliage way before blight hit, so I thought I would risk it, plus if I harvest them as earlies, then I can have them finished and done with before blight gets anywhere near. waste not want not.
Today, managed to complete the wall for the chooks, potted two tom plants and put some beetroot seedlings into the ground :)
Certainly.
Would you share some recipes on the recipe section, over winter i am going to crack bread for omce and for all.
Went up there after school today, but just sat with a cup of tea. Contemplation time .......... :nowink:But they are the nicest times. It does your soul good to do that occasionally. :)
Went up there after school today, but just sat with a cup of tea. Contemplation time .......... :nowink:But they are the nicest times. It does your soul good to do that occasionally. :)
Went up there after school today, but just sat with a cup of tea. Contemplation time .......... :nowink:But they are the nicest times. It does your soul good to do that occasionally. :)
It was lovely actually ...... we had some bad news at school :(
Nothing doing tonight at the plot .... it was raining. I WILL do something up there tomorrow ;)
I trip to take some compostable waste & added to bin,came home to sort out the greenhouse out But didn't get that far as I broke my toe :(Oh no! You'll have to put that on the ailments thread! What did you do?
Picked elderflower for some alchol concoction - dug up somefirst earlies - Red Duke of York - about 50% decent size the rest a little on the small size.
By the way, is the comfrey press just a standard guttering pipe and then a lemonade bottle - have you weighted the bottle or do you just press it down when you put new leaves in? Its my next construction job one way or another..
Cheers,
Balders.
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=107160.msg1203043#msg1203043I trip to take some compostable waste & added to bin,came home to sort out the greenhouse out But didn't get that far as I broke my toe :(Oh no! You'll have to put that on the ailments thread! What did you do?
taught niece how to tell what seeds they are by looking at the picture on the pack.
'Just a quick trip to the allotment' - We have all said those famous words I am sure, and if it wasn't for the phone call reminding me to collect my daughter from pre-school, I would probably still be there.....It's great when it all comes together & good to be able to accomplish more than you set out to do,unfortunatley that rarely happens in my case. Your plot's looking great. :)
All of the job's I wanted to get done were completed and I got a bit extra in :) don't you just love days like today :)
First job was to tidy the shed, its been a dumping ground since it was first put up, then a mini harvest (radish, salad leaves, a single strawberry and five raspberries, a couple of peas and a handfull of small new potatoes from a 'volunteer plant').
Then the bonus being I was able to weed the leek 'bed' :)
It's great when it all comes together & good to be able to accomplish more than you set out to do,unfortunatley that rarely happens in my case. Your plot's looking great. :)
It sounds as if you are digging up Somerset! :ohmy: How much plot do you have.
Spent 2.5 hours watering 100 squash plants, 24 tomatoes, 10 Kale, 2 beds Chard, 10 Artichokes, 1 bed Runner Beans. I currently take water from a fen, so watering is quite time consuming and as I can't get down over the weekend I wanted to water heavily tonight so I gave each plant roughly half a can. Now quite tired :)100 squash plants...did I read that right? All I can say is wow! On my lottie, I can only manage 10, considering I need space for other stuff as well.
Watered all fruit and veg. Noticed that something been eating my broccoli they look like skeletons. its not slugs as I put down pellets, so it's probably flea beetle. I don't know how to stop these little pests . They wiped out my cauliflower earlier >:(It could easy be pigeons,are the leaves stripped back to the middle and raggedy? Flea beetle dont usually do that much damage.Weve had a bit of pigeon bother on our site and most folk have had to net,the brassicas are like skeletons like you say.
Watered all fruit and veg. Noticed that something been eating my broccoli they look like skeletons. its not slugs as I put down pellets, so it's probably flea beetle. I don't know how to stop these little pests . They wiped out my cauliflower earlier >:(It could easy be pigeons,are the leaves stripped back to the middle and raggedy? Flea beetle dont usually do that much damage.Weve had a bit of pigeon bother on our site and most folk have had to net,the brassicas are like skeletons like you say.
Could be pigeons plenty of them around here
ill have to sort out my old cds and string them across maybe that will keep them off. Strange though, they have not eaten anything else.
Are they all girls BQ?
went up and had a good weed, since I will be starting work tomorrow and unable to visit except evenings and weekends, strawberry bed nearly all dug over now, hand pulled the weeds in the remaining bit, so at least its tidy ish.
Grendel
Watered and harvested
Will shortly be emptying many many MANY bean pods of their beans for the freezer!! :D[size=78%][/font][/size]
Hubby discovered someone had helped themselves to some potatoes >:(
Just rude very rude they did however take the green evidence with them and left any speared spuds behind
Hubby discovered someone had helped themselves to some potatoes >:(
Just rude very rude they did however take the green evidence with them and left any speared spuds behind
That is really awful,after all the hard work of growing them. How can someone justify taking them. is your site not secure?
Sad to hear that BQ.
In my view it is always the healthy option to never think it's an inside job, and the odds are it's not.
There is no future in harbouring suspicion about a neighbour.
Treat some crop thefts as just another pest to guard against and move on. Bad weather and blight are the biggest thieves of all.
We'll need q bigger freezer. :ohmy:
More jam. ::)
You BQ Digging ? :ohmy:
Thanks Bob, I suppose if they are allowed to dry a bit on the soil it means they can be spread out a bit more to let the air around them, before they are gathered up to dry on a rack. Always provided it doesn't pour in the next few days. ::)
As far as understand it. You dry them otherwise they will go rotten in storage. This applies particularly to the top bit where the onion changes into a stem. You will tie the Onions together using the stems and so this must be free of moisture before you do it. This way they can store, in a cool dark place, for four months. The reason for leaving them outside is to not force dry them but to let them dry in their own time.
Well done for getting a Cauli.it aint a monster but nice for our tea :D
They are two foot slabs so they will make the centre path on dads plot.
They sound like old council slabs and very heavy. Tell him to be careful else he will do his back in.
Just a quick visit after work to pick and water the urgent stuff. I need to win the lottery so I can spend more time there ;)funny isn't it... Win the lottery and we all want to give up work, but no one wants to give up working on the plot!
Well done for getting a Cauli.it aint a monster but nice for our tea :D
Its called dinner down here. Tea is a drink drunk at 4pm often served with jam and scones, sometimes cake. :happy:
well pardon my English but up north we not quite that posh :tongue2: :tongue2:
i suppose £60m is a bit of a life changer. Maybe you are right and I'd be too busy to dig, or just live somewhere really glamorous where they don't have veggie plots or allotment.... Nah!Just a quick visit after work to pick and water the urgent stuff. I need to win the lottery so I can spend more time there ;)funny isn't it... Win the lottery and we all want to give up work, but no one wants to give up working on the plot!
I wonder, say you won Sixty million quid. Would you still do your allotment? Isn't that what goes wrong when people do that, gain money and loose the value of life. An accountant can tell you the cost of everything but knows the value of nothing.
Just a quick visit after work to pick and water the urgent stuff. I need to win the lottery so I can spend more time there ;)funny isn't it... Win the lottery and we all want to give up work, but no one wants to give up working on the plot!
I wonder, say you won Sixty million quid. Would you still do your allotment? Isn't that what goes wrong when people do that, gain money and loose the value of life. An accountant can tell you the cost of everything but knows the value of nothing.
. Including cleaners and a cook for when you don't feel like it, and to do the clearing up when you do, oh and a large orchard, a bit like the one at rhs Wisley.
I have absolutely no doubt that if I won the lottery I would keep growing veg as I am totally addicted...maybe not my allotment, perhaps a new walled garden attached to the new manor house instead... :lol:
Now you're talking, 50 acres, Plus 100 acres of woodland. Comfy house with a walled garden. Thats how to spend a lot of money. A herd of Alpacas. A donkey sanctuary, home for old horses. Chicken sanctuary for battery hens. Need a team of course. But thats the way to do it.
I cant believe people didnt get the storm! It was biblical here, thunder and lightning and torrential rain from 2.30am to 10am, didnt get a wink of sleep!
I cant believe people didnt get the storm! It was biblical here, thunder and lightning and torrential rain from 2.30am to 10am, didnt get a wink of sleep!
Soo many visits to the plot today :tongue2:
Managed to acquire some free slabs from one of the Facebay selling pages, so they got laid.
The found someone selling some for a £1 a slab, so the plot is finally all paved where it needs to be (i.e where it floods and we have paths)
Couple of visits to harvest, and final trip of the day just done to water in the greenhouse.
Get on freecycle we have had 200 slabs i about 3 weeks all for FREE :D yes we had to collect but they were all local.
Moved another four slabs up the hill, picked and just photographed my beautiful plots
BQ pardon !! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Quoteauthor=Beetroot queen link=topic=101023.msg1217887#msg1217887 date=1375131351]
Whats wrong with that ???
Your preggy and due to produce in three weeks. Honestly !!
13 days to go BQ. :D
back home swept the patio & applied Patio cleaner- H*ro- to try & get of the black mould spots that appeared over last year & the winter. Mr S jet washed it a couple of weeks ago & although it made a difference it's still stained. Got Indian sandstone so I suspect not ideal for our climate.
Nothing for me, been having really low back pain all day and its getting worse so i am sat on the sofa and my chutney hasnt been done yet.Hmmm, low back pain and a history of babies born back to back... Sounds familiar. Good luck if you have a baby before your next post! :D :D :D
Hubby has however gone the plot with a flea in his ear as he hasnt watered or rubbed eggs off my cabbages so i have had to ditch about 40 they were seriously wrecked >:( i am not a happy bunny to say the least.
BQ everybody on the site is pulling for you and the baby.
Finished the greenhouse - total cost £27.50 for 8x6. Think its a bargain so don't spoil it! Watered toms/chillies and peppers. Back tomorrow for picking stuff!
Not enough >:(screw a piece of bar on one side and use it like a prop to hold that piece upright while you sort out the join.
I decided I would have a go at building the shed on my own but after several failed attempts realised that I really do need 2 people as it is impossible to hold the panels and screw them together at the same time. I was hoping it was going to be like flat pack furniture that always said 2 people but that I have always done single handedly but obviously not - so that's another 10-11 days I have to wait until I stand a chance of getting it made :( By this point I was in a bit of a grump as my other main planned job was to plant out the new brassicas.... That still haven't arrived.
Sop I just ended up pottering, hanging the onions upside down on chicken mesh and bringing home the tiny ones to pickle. I should really have continued with the major weeding/clearing section but I was too grumpy and not in the mood. Hopefully some cooking will sort that out tonight.
Not enough >:(screw a piece of bar on one side and use it like a prop to hold that piece upright while you sort out the join.
I decided I would have a go at building the shed on my own but after several failed attempts realised that I really do need 2 people as it is impossible to hold the panels and screw them together at the same time. I was hoping it was going to be like flat pack furniture that always said 2 people but that I have always done single handedly but obviously not - so that's another 10-11 days I have to wait until I stand a chance of getting it made :( By this point I was in a bit of a grump as my other main planned job was to plant out the new brassicas.... That still haven't arrived.
Sop I just ended up pottering, hanging the onions upside down on chicken mesh and bringing home the tiny ones to pickle. I should really have continued with the major weeding/clearing section but I was too grumpy and not in the mood. Hopefully some cooking will sort that out tonight.
I decided I would have a go at building the shed on my own but after several failed attempts realised that I really do need 2 people as it is impossible to hold the panels and screw them together at the same time. I was hoping it was going to be like flat pack furniture that always said 2 people but that I have always done single handedly but obviously not - so that's another 10-11 days I have to wait until I stand a chance of getting it made
I build my sheds on my own. What you need is what a builder calls "A dead Man". Its a length of timber with a cross piece at one end. With this you jam the end, smallest piece of the shed roughly on the base. Offer up a side then put one screw to hold them together. (Get a power screwdriver drill). Then offer the other end and one screw, finally the other side with a screw. Pull the box onto the base correctly but do not screw it down yet. Go round each corner and put the three screws per corner in properly, removing the earlier temporary screw.
Fit the roof panels, which if pent you have previously covered with felt. If its pitched then cover one half and fit the felt onto the second half leaving a 6" flap.
Go inside and screw the roof down, this will pull the shed true and square. Do a final position on the base and screw the walls to the base. If a pitched roof, the flap will need to be secured. Do not use clout nails, waste of time and will split the wood. Use staples to secure the felt. Much neater.
A Cold beer and admire new shed.
Tools required. Power driver, Hammer, stapler, 6 pack of beer.
Hubby has just finished digging the next area of dads plot, hes now about to rotavate it. We have bits to go in so we are trying to get them in before i go in. ::)
Just uploaded one the gallery as "My bargain greenhouse." Once approved will share.
Sounds like a wonderful bargain to me but you know the rules.................................
We need pictures :lol:
Go inside and screw the roof down, this will pull the shed true and square.Good stuff Bob. Being a builder myself, I would add one more thing.
Go inside and screw the roof down, this will pull the shed true and square.Good stuff Bob. Being a builder myself, I would add one more thing.
Many flat pack sheds have bases that have no diagonal bracing and transport can easily knock these base panels out of square. Consequently the innocent gardener may only find this out when fitting the roof, when the problem of the possible parallelogram as opposed to a square will become obvious, and a rebuild will be necessary.
Folk should have a decent sized true square to hand ( an uncut small sheet of ply or hardboard with a known square would do ). Check and adjust/knock the base to a true square, and temporarily fix a diagonal brace somewhere on the base to prevent any movement while erecting.
It is getting darker earlier BQ - we are descending into the shorter days :(
Picked lettuce.
Fed pregnant (again! >:() cat.
Picked lettuce.
Fed pregnant (again! >:() cat.
Oh not again Emma,I thought she was going to be 'done'
The green 'alley' leading to our plots is full of them. Lots of pele also have them on their plots so there isn't too much competition... I have found some blackberry growing in a suitable place on my plot although I inadvertently ended up chopping a lo too it back this year. Once I have finished weeding in it and removing the nettles etc i am going to train it along a wire fence at the edge of my plotThe walkway to our plots used to be full of brambles 'til some idiot householder chopped the whole lot down to ground level. >:( They didn't even take the branches away... just left them where they fell. >:( >:( >:(
Not allowed on the plot, hubby takes the keys with him now. >:(
I did however stitch up two debris netting covers. I am going to stand up the hill gazing through the fence at this rate. I didnt realise he had the keys till we wanted to go for a stroll
Men are sooooooooo mean :(
And sensible ::)Not allowed on the plot, hubby takes the keys with him now. >:(
I did however stitch up two debris netting covers. I am going to stand up the hill gazing through the fence at this rate. I didnt realise he had the keys till we wanted to go for a stroll
Men are sooooooooo mean :(
It is for your own good!.....
Very impressive greenhouse! I am assuming it was an eBay bargain?
QuoteVery impressive greenhouse! I am assuming it was an eBay bargain?
No. One of the other plot owners is a joiner and had built his own "monster" greehouse/shed(about 15' by 8') and needed this one out of the way. So three of us lifted it up and walked it across to mine (minus the glazing). I spent a happy afternoon levelling, glazing and putting the toms into place from the little plastic greenhouse they were living in. I reckon a bargain - eBay prices seem much higher and you have to dismantle and collect.
edit to add quote to clarify
:) They do but Mummy and Daddy are not gardeners :(:) Have got 2 grandsons aged 8 and 5 staying for a couple of days so we had some help to harvest 10lbs potatoes, 6lbs of oversize beetroot and dug up 25 fallen over onions. We fed tomatoes, pumpkins and tomatoes. Had a break for tea, squash and cake. I don't think they want to go home :D
Lovely. Have they a garden at home?
Oh Bob, the list of plants that have met their end in that garden is endless. :( Having said that, Mummy has got 2 lovely pots of petunias. :lol:
Lovely. Have they a garden at home?
:) They do but Mummy and Daddy are not gardeners :(
Give them a couple of plants, ask their M&D to give them a sunny square to plant them.
Picke the first french bean :ohmy:Good innit! :D
Not much on the plot today, as what we thought was a dead rodent in the garage, turned out to be a defrosted freezer that we think has probably been off for 5 weeks or so! Oh my god the stench was just terrible :-(
Cleaning that was top priority of the day!
Not much on the plot today, as what we thought was a dead rodent in the garage, turned out to be a defrosted freezer that we think has probably been off for 5 weeks or so! Oh my god the stench was just terrible :-(
Cleaning that was top priority of the day!
:ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:
That must have been gruesome :( I think a relaxing end to the day is exactly what you need :) Fresh picked veg for dinner can't do any harm either :)
Picked the last of the rhubarb for the year to make rhubarb and rosemary jelly. Swearing at it at the moment as it doesn't seem to be setting :/Bizarre? I'd have thought rhubarb was riddled in pectin being so sharp ???
digging is a piece of cake these days, now the plot has been been regularly weeded, hoed, and tended over the years, with little compaction to speak of anymore. It takes no time at all.
French Tarragon is the best but russian is hardier :)
Just to let you know, Aunt Sally has set up a competition...
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=108968.msg1227862#msg1227862
Just to let you know, Aunt Sally has set up a competition...
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=108968.msg1227862#msg1227862
I spotted that too BobE... more by chance than anything - well worth bringing to peoples attention. After all, while they arerelaxingbusy on the plot they might just as well take a few photos and stick in an entry or two. ;)
Hubby and the girls have gone to dig spuds up.
I am just about to set the jam maker at home
Hubby and the girls have gone to dig spuds up.
I am just about to set the jam maker at home
Gently does it m'dear :D
Potato jam :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :wacko:
Shhhhh! I did the same to 1 of 3.
Today I finally did it, I butchered 5 productive courgette plants and put them on the compost :( it had to be. How I'll cope with just the 6 left I just don't know :tongue2: (don't judge me- last year I didn't get any so got a bit carried away...).
Oh the guilt.!!
:) In between the usual chores, weeding, watering tidying etc. I was often called in to help the Plotfather ........who was busy erecting my ebay greenhouse. At long last. Managed all the sides and hopefully will finish tomorrow!!!!! :D :D :D Oh! and what do I spy on the foreground!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: He!he! :lol:very Nice FP :D
Continued to build the new raised area at the back of the plot, then harvested a cabbage, some runner beans and too many courgettes. I haven't plucked up the courage to butcher them yet. Three of the five need to go. :ohmy:quick, go and do it now.........we won't look! :lol:
Popped up after 2 weeks away to survey the amount of weeding I have and I was not disappointed!!!!!
Straight after my night shift - up the lottie and watered a bit - especially the celeriac as it's doing so well I don't want it to bolt!No use trying to Glyphosate over the winter they have to be actively growing ! You will be wasting money ;)
Also picked more leaves off the celeriac and they are definitely getting bigger! :lol:
Picked a load of beans and courgettes and 2 giant courgette-looking-supposedly-spaghetti squash :blink:
Fed the french beans too - going a bit yellow so gave them some sulphate of ammonia for chlorosis (leaf yellowing)
Then after a little snooze - went back up:
Dug up all the Vales Sovereigns - some holey ones, some scabby ones but a good crop overall and a couple of good sizers for baking!
Trimmed the red cabbages, PSB and Tuscan kale of older, tougher yellowing leaves and fed them some high nitrogen feed.
Dug up the old calabrese and dug that area of John's brassica house over - might have to put some glyphosate down in here over winter as there is loads of bindweed in this soil.
Then it rained on me!
Managed to keep going at the start but too heavy in the end. ::)
Straight after my night shift - up the lottie and watered a bit - especially the celeriac as it's doing so well I don't want it to bolt!No use trying to Glyphosate over the winter they have to be actively growing ! You will be wasting money ;)
Also picked more leaves off the celeriac and they are definitely getting bigger! :lol:
Picked a load of beans and courgettes and 2 giant courgette-looking-supposedly-spaghetti squash :blink:
Fed the french beans too - going a bit yellow so gave them some sulphate of ammonia for chlorosis (leaf yellowing)
Then after a little snooze - went back up:
Dug up all the Vales Sovereigns - some holey ones, some scabby ones but a good crop overall and a couple of good sizers for baking!
Trimmed the red cabbages, PSB and Tuscan kale of older, tougher yellowing leaves and fed them some high nitrogen feed.
Dug up the old calabrese and dug that area of John's brassica house over - might have to put some glyphosate down in here over winter as there is loads of bindweed in this soil.
Then it rained on me!
Managed to keep going at the start but too heavy in the end. ::)
A good day yesterday , picked runners and dwarf beans which are now in the freezer.Beetroot , onions , tomatoes and blackberries all ready for chutneys etc today. But what to do with 6 very large ' Patty Pans ' Will give it some thought later but any ideas would be appreciated.What's the best way to freeze runner beans, I'm going to the allotment later to tidy the green house and pick some runners.
Managed to cover meself in fizzy chicken poo - note to self, DO NOT, under any circumstances, shake the bottle!! It smells worse than comfrey. And, for a while, so did I.
Attacked the weeds, picked 2 courgettes and tried my first ever home grown sweetcorn!! Yum Yum :D
Well I only lasted 20-30 mins down there :( tools left scattered everywhere and I can't even remember if I shut the shed door. I had planned to harvest lots of ripe cherry Toms and some beetroot. Will have to go and do some one handed tidying of equipment and harvesting tomorrow. Everything else I had planned to do will just have to wait a while sadlyOuch what Happened?
I was digging out yet more pink fir potatos till 6pm,im glad i went home for some tea and a shower when i did as i would of missed the most glowing red sunset here in derbyshire,the sky was amazing :)Same in somerset :)
wish me luckGood luck - and have fun!
Watered while doing a rain dance, no sign of the promised showers yet...So the rain we've had almost all day is your fault. Please improve your targetting :tongue2:
Allotment show today - 3 firsts and a third! yay!Very well done :D
Allotment show today - 3 firsts and a third! yay!Very well done :D
Grats :DAllotment show today - 3 firsts and a third! yay!Very well done :D
Brilliant! Congrats :)
Oooh what variety are they Anne?Red Epicure :)
Oooh what variety are they Anne?Red Epicure :)
I looked up grex ::) wiki says"horticultural hybrids of orchids"??? What's a bean doing in there?
I wondered if they might be, i'm building a Red/Black 'Grex', I have Red Epicure in there :)
Did some hoeing for about as long as I could bear. Harvested a 'jumbo pink banana' winter squash and some rasps. Put up wire and posts in order to support some berry plants that went in last year - a sylvan blackberry, a thornless loganberry and a thornless 'youngberry' all of which have speeded up after a slow start this spring and were growing along the ground. Pruned some gooseberrys that also went in last year and used short bamboo canes to train this years growth ie to try to persuade them into a better shape. Hand weeded the asparagus bed I planted this spring.
Weeded, weeded and weeded again. Cleared Tomatoes, Corn & Kale. Collected more dried runner beans. Tried to avoid getting sunburnt.Avoid getting sunburnt we haven't seen it :ohmy:
Spent the morning converting plum tomatoes into tomato sauce.The free crop of fartychokes will be good next year though :D
This afternoon Dug up my wind damaged Jerusalem artichoke - decent but small crop!
Cleared some ex onion/potato beds and put weed control fabric down. Dug in rotted manure first. Collected some more Desiree spuds - great crop. Picked more plum tomatoes. Enjoyed the sunshine and chatted to the neighbours.
here's hoping we like them!!Spent the morning converting plum tomatoes into tomato sauce.The free crop of fartychokes will be good next year though :D
This afternoon Dug up my wind damaged Jerusalem artichoke - decent but small crop!
Cleared some ex onion/potato beds and put weed control fabric down. Dug in rotted manure first. Collected some more Desiree spuds - great crop. Picked more plum tomatoes. Enjoyed the sunshine and chatted to the neighbours.
They do make a nice soup :)here's hoping we like them!!Spent the morning converting plum tomatoes into tomato sauce.The free crop of fartychokes will be good next year though :D
This afternoon Dug up my wind damaged Jerusalem artichoke - decent but small crop!
Cleared some ex onion/potato beds and put weed control fabric down. Dug in rotted manure first. Collected some more Desiree spuds - great crop. Picked more plum tomatoes. Enjoyed the sunshine and chatted to the neighbours.
Dug up some spuds. They've been amazing this year. Today's largest one was 990g, easily the biggest potato I've ever grown
Dug up some spuds. They've been amazing this year. Today's largest one was 990g, easily the biggest potato I've ever grown
Do you water them? I have had the worst year! Slow and small. Beginning to think I need to give them more attention when it's dry.
Picked 2lbs of elderberries.
Picked Bobby Butternut, here's a family photo. Billy on the right, one parent in front. Not sure what or who was the other parent :)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nx9AiwwNGhE/UkW3spW4lVI/AAAAAAAAE_Y/DNELCN8Ghwg/s640/IMG_1875.JPG?gl=GB)
Bought a new washing up bowl today so punched a few holes in the bottom of the old one and sowed some cut and come again lettuces and leaves ;)
Bought a new washing up bowl today so punched a few holes in the bottom of the old one and sowed some cut and come again lettuces and leaves ;)
Hope you don't end up with a great big slug in it, I grew some not long ago had one cutting fro it the next time I looked it was half munch away couldn't find anything that day >:( next day it was almost all gone, that was it I wont be doing that again. :(
It has been so frustrating being told not to do anything (Under Dotors Orders) but with the weather as it is, it makes me feel so much better that I could not do anything anyway!Are you poorly Nige? Sorry to hear so if that's the case :(
Nothing done at the plot for me either :mad: A whole day of wall to wall rain!! :nowink: So decided to get my fix and had a tidy up in the greenhouse, there's something very rewarding about the rain thrashing on the glass and still being able to get on!!!(two fingers up to the weather :tongue2:) Enjoying myself so much thought I may as well get the garlic going in pots as beds not ready yet so I potted up 80 cloves. Maybe not a bad day after all me thinks :)
Weeded the leeks. Harvested some more kale - and resolved not to cook it too long. Y'day evening it was lovely bright green in the steamer one minute, and then a few mins later it had turned into a murky mess. R says it's a winter veg and need lots of cooking. I guess it's time to take the runners down, even though there are still some beans there.
My second year apple trees (a Bramley and a Jas Grieve) have both produced a few little apples, which aren't yet coming away so I'm waiting. Each tree has a main stem and 3 or 4 side branches. They look like the trees that very small children draw - stick trees.
Decided to take the advice received on this site and lifted half of the weed control fabric from one bed and dug over the revealed ground. Lots of couch roots and some desperate dandelions still hanging in after 6 months in the dark. Filled a big dog food sack with the weed remains. Felt great - when I can finish the other half I'll then have 5 more beds to uncover and work on. Hopefully next year my main crop won't be couch grass and weed fabric.
Dug over the first bed, by the path where the parish weed police do their patrolling, and covered it over with weed control fabric. Filled a 15kg dog food bag with couch roots, and more to come. 5 more beds to dig out and recover now.
It looks like my cabbages (Hispi and Durham early) are thriving - the inside leaves of several are curving in to form the pointy shape. I've fixed netting over them, using hoops of blue plastic water piping, to keep the pigeons off, but somehow they seem still to be getting a bit eaten. I suppose this is some hostile insect or grub?
Otherwise, kale, leeks and tail end of spinach all doing well, as is the purple sprouting under its rather rickety cage of bamboos connected with plastic corner gizmos, the whole thing really kept up by netting stretched over it and pegged down like guy ropes. Hope it survives the famous storm. I wonder if my remains of runner beans on their poles will still be standing by Monday. Perhaps I should take em down tomorrow.
Rosey ringed parakeets are quite usual near Mitcham common (there is a 2000 bird roost there) and they are quite loud!
I wish it would stop raining so i could get out there! Chopped some kindling before the showers yesterday to wet to do anything else!Ditto Aled. The bbc forecast is hopeless. It shows overcast but no rain but the weather map clearly shows rain. Desperately need to finish raised beds that I started and also compost courgette plants that have all but stopped producing fruits.
Cheers
Aled
Well it was dry yesterday for a change, so i pulled the beetroot, was pleasantly surprised at how much i had! The compost dalek is full, but i need a few more days of dry weather before i can dig and compost the veg patch properly but there is more rain on the way all week! Need to buy 4 planks of wood to put around the veg patch to make it look neater. This gardening lark is quite time consumming!Wait and see what happens next season.......it will have taken over your life! :ohmy:
Cheers
Aled
Oh no not another obsession to go with fishing.... :blink:.That's about the size of it! :)
Cheers
Aled
Put up new shed that OH built from scratch!! ::) ::)Checked on new shed and guttering after downpour last night. Tiny bit of water inside one corner of the shed (which to be honest OH expected he now tells me) but other than that, it's still standing. Water issue is because we ran out of time to seal the floor to the side walls. Easy to fix (apparently).
Prepared the ground yesterday by finishing laying slab base and concreting around the slabs so they don't move. Today put the shed up and also have water butt connected to guttering, internal solar driven light (because I opted for a shed with no windows) and surrounding ground ready to lay paths to new raised beds.
Got home just as the sun was going down, feeling absolutely shattered and remembered half bottle of red wine from last night. Oh yes, the new shed is going to get launched.
I need taller netting arrangements for the PSB. They have reached the top!
Dug up the last of the spuds today from my red, white and blue planting.
Took the tops off weeks ago to avoid blight contamination of the tubers
then somebody gave me another 6x8 greenhouse to add on to my other free 6x8 greenhouse,
Weeding, digging over, prepared a bean trech and realised that after my furst 9 months on the plot there is sooooooooooo much more left to do. Looking forward to my first full year coming up when I am prepared and have more time :)Same for me. The first season was always a bit of a rush with everything, digging, weeding, planting and generally experimenting. Next year will be soo much easier. Already I've dug over almost all of last year's beds and if I keep going there will 50%+ more growing space in 2014.
Yesterday did a bit more slab laying before the rain came on and today collecting a truck load of manure for fellow plot holders as an Christmas thank you. They commiserate when things go wrong and congratulate you when things go well. They often look quizzically at my 'erotic' vegetables (I think he meant 'exotic') and make a well earned cup of coffee just when it is needed.i got the rest of mine in from lead the good life today too, supposed to be 12 per pack i got 8 different varieties some of the packs had 25,some 18,some 15, what a deal for £2.15 per pack. darren
If I've got time, I've got strawberry runners to put in that I got on special offer from 'lead the good life'.
I ordered the single ones so only got a few extra so should have gone for the 12 packs!Yesterday did a bit more slab laying before the rain came on and today collecting a truck load of manure for fellow plot holders as an Christmas thank you. They commiserate when things go wrong and congratulate you when things go well. They often look quizzically at my 'erotic' vegetables (I think he meant 'exotic') and make a well earned cup of coffee just when it is needed.i got the rest of mine in from lead the good life today too, supposed to be 12 per pack i got 8 different varieties some of the packs had 25,some 18,some 15, what a deal for £2.15 per pack. darren
If I've got time, I've got strawberry runners to put in that I got on special offer from 'lead the good life'.
Hubby is on the plot with florence ;) amazing but true. They have cleared the cabbages on dads plot and Are now putting in broad beans
Isnt it too late for broad beans, i dont have the heart to burst the bubble, florence wanted to plant so they are. :closedeyes: