Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: DD. on September 25, 2018, 20:45
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Apologies if I've missed it, but can't see that anyone else has posted it.
Thought it was a bit nippy this morning, but didn't think it was quite that cold until I went to the plot and found that the cucurbits had bought it. All of them blackened.
Daughter who lives in a village a few miles away tells me she had to scrape her windscreen. Looks a bit warmer next few nights, but a bit late for the squash!
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Yes, seems a bit earlier than the past few years. In our garden at home all was fine, even the dahlias are still blooming away. But when I went to the allotment about a mile away, in late afternoon today, a very sad sight - all tender things turned to black mush - dahlias, tomatoes, peppers, squashes, beans. In hind-sight, i should have protected them - but tricky, 2 days after a wet and windy weekend.
Despite the blackening of the leaves, maybe the fruits are ok? I took a lot of the tomatoes, peppers and squashes home, hoping they'll be usable....
Well, the year goes round. We're just off on holiday for 8 days, but when we return it will be plot clearance time.
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The cucurbits are the only delicate things I have on the plot. The rest are in the more sheltered garden at home and all are doing well. So much so, that they are doing better at this time of year than I can remember, despite the summer. They recovered well and I've can't really remember a glut of runner beans at this time of year. Usually they have shot it when I get back from summer hols as no one had picked them. This time there were none to pick and we've benefited later on.
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We are still pretty warm here, last night was the coldest it's been, lowest temp was 7.5 in the greenhouse on the plot but currently as I type (10pm) the weather station in the garden is reporting 14.
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It's been down between 3 and 4C, in the greenhouse, for the last couple of nights :ohmy:
I brought home all my squashes yesterday afternoon as I saw that some of the dahlia flowers had been frosted.
About a month earlier than usual for here. So, although summer itself was hot, the growing season started late and finished early. So I can't count it as a good growing year :(
I've started forking over the empty beds, just 2 left with crops in - leeks and swede in one, and a few plants each of kale, Brussels and calabrese plus 6 winter cabbage in the 2nd.
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My French beans and courgettes are breathing their last now the temps are dropping so it looks like it might be time to clear some space. A good thing really as we planted our new plot up with really low soil height so finally we can add the soil from the mountain at the back and bring it all up to ground level ready for manuring. Feeling very autumnal here on the South Coast!
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Currently on the IOW and night time temps down to 4 or 5C as the skies are so clear.
Brought most of the squashes under cover before I left, so hopefully they are OK. Wondering about cucumbers in the polytunnel? We shall see.....
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Like Aidy we've not had any yet but I think we were near it the other morning.
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It was also very cold here in Northumberland this morning. I was going to ask everyone if I should cut the pumpkins now and leave them in the polytunnel to ripen - they are still green although the smaller ones have a hint of orange :)
Having just read this thread I am now tempted to bring them all home after work!
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Saw this thread and thought 'wow, a frost, that's early!' And then went outside yesterday morning and it was very chilly. Went across to the neighbouring field and frost was on the ground. Luckily not in my garden... Now I understand microclimates and frost pockets a bit better!
Like everyone else I am going to be forecast watching and vigilant from now on.
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I have late Carlingford potatoes in the ground for Christmas, will the frost ruin them?
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Probably, can you cover them with a polythene sheet or fleece, so they can grow for a bit longer?
If the foliage gets killed off completely you may still have tiny tubers in the ground, depends how long they've been growing for, though.
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Probably, can you cover them with a polythene sheet or fleece, so they can grow for a bit longer?
If the foliage gets killed off completely you may still have tiny tubers in the ground, depends how long they've been growing for, though.
I planted them on the 12th August, but they're growing well, earthed up already and they're well over a foot tall.
I thought about fleecing but it doesn't look like it would make that much difference being thin 'fabric'. Also they're in an odd shaped block since some didn't germinate so I'm not sure how practical it would be.
Worth a go though, it would be a shame to lose them. It was only after planting I learned they should have gone into bags to drag indoors in the event of a frost... (".)