[John]

My main success this year has been growing two greenhouses!

Sweetcorn was great but onions were hit by the plague, squash in between the sweetcorn failed, 1 runner bean teepee is enough, 1 courgette plant is enough.

The weeds grew well

[Biscombe]

Here goes

No more tomotillos, I don't like them and they spread like mad!
No more yellow pear tomatoes, only got a handfull from 2 plants!
No more amaranth, over rated and bitter!! and does not taste like spinach!!
Cover all cruciferous veg and protect from the dreaded sweded midge!
War dance on as many Harlequin bugs as you can!!!

Roll on spring, can't wait to get going again!

[hermon]

dig weed dig weed dig weed!!! looking forward to everything gone so i can start again! to tie tomato plants up i lost so many to the ground and slugs, more tattys and to water them more, label what things are not to grow runner beans just climbing french beans. not to leave courgettes on the plant! plant more sweet corn as i did it to little too late. can't wait i love it!!  

[BigA]

My lesson - not learned but taught by my next door neighbour is to make as much compost as you can.   I was amazed at my success with potatoes which were planted in rich soil with lots of compost in it.   I just stuck a few spuds in the ground and did nothing for three or four months and somehow managed to get a decent crop of healthy looking spuds :!:

[Gwiz]

i learnt that my spine IS actually 42 years old, and previous back injurys haven`t gone away.....ouch, :shock:

[Heather_S]

-Daikon does not like to be planted before summer solstice; it's a winter radish not a summer one. Is now happily thriving this autumn
- Daikon also taught me about an annoying little pest call the flea beetle :evil:
- Potatoes should not come out of the ground as early as we were digging them up but they probably need more mulching/watering than we were giving them too. Also 55 seed spuds is wayyy more than necessary. I do actually prefer boilers over bakers/floury potatoes because it's less kitchenwork. Not going to plant Edzell Blues again because they're tiny, fiddly to peel (deep-eyed too), and absolutely need to be steamed or else they fall apart. Nicola potatoes came out great, hardly lost any slug damage, beautiful spuds that just need a tiny bit of a wash then into the boiling water.
- Cutting back/pruning apple trees does indeed result in fruiting but the bugs will eat the apples anyway
- Wasps eat apples while they're on the tree and can easily eat half an apple in this way.
- Rootrainers are a godsent for carrots and the rootrainered carrots are twice the size of the direct-sown carrots that have been out for twice as long. Going to buy more off of ebay for next year and do all the veg I can in them at home to plant out in the allotment later on.
- Herbs grow rather big even if they start off small. Plant them further apart than you think or else you'll have to dig them up and replant them further away from each other.
- Plant shallots in February but not later than that as the harvest ends up shoddy (I can say that word here, right? ) with supertiny shallots.
- Kale grows pretty well and seems to resist the dreaded flea beetle well.
- Plant the cabbages and broccoli further apart.
- Plant more parsnips and carrots - they do better than expected on what I thought was stoney soil.
- Plant more onions and grow own beetroot from seed
- Sow in successions. I get overexcited about starting that first batch then forget to sow any more.
- Graffitti cauliflowers are incredibly bright purple.
- Pea plants hate me. Once they do get peas they get eaten by pea moth. However purple podded peas make excellent mangetout.
- I made blackberry wine but I still need to bottle it  :oops:
- I made blackcurrant gin which tastes like ribena with no traces of alcohol taste  :shock:
- Phacelia grows much better than T&M's "green manure mix" on our soil.

[Novice]

1) Whatever you do, enjoy it....it must never become a chore.
2) Talk to as many fellow allotmenteers as you can. 1/3 chatting, 2/3 working.
3) Have beer / cooking sherry / Smartprice Whisky - to enjoy whilst you watch the sunset.
4) Careful with those courgettes...they produce millions if you're not.
5) Don't understimate flea beetles.
6) Have plenty of carrier bags with you at all times.
7)Anything you need to know can be found on these message boards ( including tips on how to waltz...thanks )

[noshed]

Do a bit of planning. Try not to stand in the middle of the plot with half a tray of plants wondering where to put them. And then just snuggle them in down the side of something else.
Having said that, dynamic crop rotation is my new invention. Who cares if it's all a bit anarchic.

[Annie]

I`d have to say commence slug defence and warfare earlier not after they`ve razed you carrots to the ground and scoffed the marigolds.Sucession sew nastertions they did a great job with caterpilars and blackfly but were inevitably finished off by them.Ignore my hubby when he says we don`t need to mulch the potatoes.Grow more sweet peppers and some different chillis and put a little heated propagater on my letter to Santa.
  Also need more child protection measures,grew my first good crops of peas this year but only managed to pick enough for one meal!Now I`m policing the broccolli..

[Alec Powell]

As the winter is coming, now is the time to reflect on the past year, it could be a good idea to pass to everyone any lessons learned, so they could prevent falling into the same trap or benefit from your experiences.

Same advice every year to anyone who is interested. Just enjoy it :!:
You'll have the sad times when things fail and the high moments when things succeed.Talk to people, (as much as I love this forum maybe 'old Harry on the next plot could teach you a thing or two :!: )
Get the ejoyment out of giving surplus produce away to people who will appreciate it.
Don't get too ambitious to start with and above all keep an eye on the authorities who would love to have your plot for a bit of development.
Stay happy :!:
Alec

[Annie]

I will try to be more appreciative of the extra protein in broccolli(have just had Sunday lunch and I thought I had found all the caterpillars,it`s not that I mind 1,its the half found and knowing...)

[Zak the Rabbit]

Think before you dig -

Plan what you are going to do, and stick to your plan -

Graph paper is excellent for planning and helps work out spacings -
(just drawn out next years spud patch, with all the dimensions)

Plant sweetcorn in blocks AS INSTRUCTED not how i decide -
(otherwise you get part cobs)

Brassicas need loads of space -
(cor they're bloomin' HUGE)

Invest in mesh tunnels -

Dont grow it if you wont eat it -

Make sure you trade and barter, try your works canteen, i did! -

Enlist children to do jobs, my son is a prolific 'catipily' hunter -

Keep the grass mown otherwise the wife has a go at me -

and as said before, take it easy, little and often, and ENJOY IT !!!


Martin

[BillinPA]

Think before you dig -

Plan what you are going to do, and stick to your plan -

Graph paper is excellent for planning and helps work out spacings -
(just drawn out next years spud patch, with all the dimensions)

Plant sweetcorn in blocks AS INSTRUCTED not how i decide -
(otherwise you get part cobs)

Brassicas need loads of space -
(cor they're bloomin' HUGE)

Invest in mesh tunnels -

Dont grow it if you wont eat it -

Make sure you trade and barter, try your works canteen, i did! -

Enlist children to do jobs, my son is a prolific 'catipily' hunter -

Keep the grass mown otherwise the wife has a go at me -

and as said before, take it easy, little and often, and ENJOY IT !!!


Martin

Martin says it all   Plan and stick to it

Pass on the "Last Minute Sale" seed packets, If they're not on the plan - where the blazzes are ya going to put them

AND Yes, there is such a thing as too many Tomato plants.  I started 17 Varieties to "test" at my location, planted at least 2 of each :roll:   One can only make so much sauce, salsa, etc............. Even the neighbors and relatives are hiding from me :cry:

But alas, it was fun

[GrannieAnnie]

Ha, beat you Bill, I had 117 tomato plants this year, started off with 200 but gave some away!  But I haven't wasted any!  and I've still got one or two friends, because I live so far away from them, hardly any of them got any tomatoes!!!!! lol  

Luckily, the dog still loves them!!!!

[MumoftTwo]

If the small people follow you around and pull up the labels from the ends of your nicely sown rows, put them back!  It's no good thinking "Oh, I'll remember what went where", you won't