Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: New shoot on May 27, 2019, 08:47
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I'm not :lol: I have flowers and herbs growing on the plot as well as the veg. When I first took a plot at my site, men were the bulk of the plot holders . A few grew rows of cutting flowers interspersed with veg, but it was all very regimented. Now we have a lot more women plot holders, the potager style of mixing flowers into the mix is spreading and even some of the old boys join in :lol:
Some purist veg growers on my site think we are mad. I guess we have the luxury of growing for the pleasure of it, rather than being on a remit to produce as much as possible crop wise. I like the insect life buzzing round me, the colour, the way it makes the plot feel welcoming and sunny...
So where do you sit on this one - strictly veg and rows only please, or slight fuzzy round the edges with flowers ?
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Deffo fuzzy round the edges, here - although this year on the on the bigger plot - I also have room for a dedicated 'cutting' bed :) It's a bit slow growing though, with the cool spring we're having.
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What do you do under fruit trees? we put in 5 full sized ones as it's a big plot. Why things like phacelia and borage that are left to seed rather than weeds, a few lady's mantles found on another plot, crocus, one of the geranium family in clumps round the edge, nasturtiums, odd things to keep the bees happy. It's not really a veg growing area but has to be used for something. As the paths on the plot are grass, more grass seemed a bad idea.
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I have sown/planted a few beneficial flowers around my veg, like nasturtium, marigolds, calendula, chamomile and bergamot, with the added bonus that these are also edible. Around the family area I've planted honeysuckle, passionflower, jasmine and clematis to grow against the pallets. Im serious about the veg but also want some colour and wildlife too!
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we used to row quite a few flowers for cutting mainly sweet William and Aster but not quite so many these days a couple of rows of Dahlia some alstroemeria round the raised beds I like to see some colour on the allotments
hopefully fingers crossed we will be growing more flowers on the allotments for cutting next year going to set my sweet William and wallflower seed this month
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As of last year I have a flower border on the front of plot 40A, this has dahlias,chrysanthemums,gladioli, large & miniature narcissi, sedum,polyanthus,pansies & a few others. I leave lots of the self seeding English marigolds around for the bees etc.
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I grow lots and lots of flowers alongside the veggies and fruit. each bed has a section of one end planted with flowers, and there are several beds just for flowers too. I do have the luxury of space, but it lifts the spirits to see it all so colourful, and passers by often comment at how good it looks too.
The flowers feed insects too, hoverflies, solitary bees, lace wings, all sorts of beneficial creatures, and I try to choose those that help them out. Except for dahlias... I grow them as I love them, and this year several othe r plot holder nearby also have planted some. Thye fell out of fashion for a while so it is good to see their resurgence on our site
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When I bought my house 20 years ago the garden had been converted into a low maintenance area for the elderly owner, so nearly all of it had been paved over, and the beds filled with heathers and evergreen shrubs.
Since then it's evolved into a veg garden at the far end, with pond, lawn and flower borders nearer the house, although the veg area has somehow become a larger proportion of the whole as the years have gone by. ::)
I do have a few flowers at the very end of the garden near a patio area which gets the sun well into the evening, so oriental lilies, lavender and sweet peas make spending time there a fragrant experience, and helps attract bees too.
The veg area is therefore sandwiched between the flower growing areas, which does seem to help with pollination of the crops which need it - being a garden rather than an allotment I don't really have room for much in the way of companion planting amongst the veg, although I might pop in a few French marigolds from the greenhouse if I can ever get the damn things to germinate this year!
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Last year was our first on the allotment and our little plot had only been in existence for one season prior to us getting it. We put up three arches. Two for flowers and one for peas, the beds all got painted different shades of green and there were pockets and pots of flowers everywhere to encourage the pollinators. I have 2 kids now aged 5 and 9 so we also had windmills of various sizes and colours to decorate the plot until the plants grew.We didn't really care what anyone else thought because I was doing whatever I could to encourage the kids. We won best plot on the site!
This year there are several other plots with arches and clematis and a rash of windmills throughout the site providing a display until the plants get going.
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I have a few flowers round the edge. But for the most part it is veg focused. I am minimum wage and really struggle to have the money to eat anything other than cheap pasta out of a box. My little 1/4 plot with it's cheap poorly germinating seeds is my hope that I may finally be able to afford some real food.
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Hobovore just to say that cheap seeds do not have to be poor germinators.
I have found Wilkinson’s seeds to near 100% germination this year, also Country seeds, if you can find them. My country seeds marigolds had 100% germination for the third year running from the same pack, for 99p!
Hopefully you will get some lovely veggies to go with your pasta.
Elaine
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@Elaine: I'll second that about Wilko's seeds, whilst you don't get a huge choice in variety, you do get decent germination.
I've dipped into the odd flower on the plot this year, mainly in the areas too shaded for veg growing.