Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Christine on September 02, 2016, 19:28
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Now is a good time to take stock of the successes and failures of this year and make plans to ensure that next year will be the best ever says the National Allotment Society.
I have been put right on what I did wrong to get a butternut squash failure. The answer lay in what I put in the tub. Told what to do next year (not in a tub for starters).
First year in my own greenhouse. Got the bell peppers just right but will use slightly bigger tubs next year. And all tomatoes will be grown in buckets though even those in growbag have done well. First year in charge of my own tomatoes which have done well. Have been told to grow more tigerella next year.
And the rest of you?
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Nice thread, the only failure I rdally had was my onions..the fungus due to the rain...going to try Santero next year, the other big disappointment was my Lark sweetcorn, absolutely magnificent but i. was too late with my plastic bottles and there must be some very overweight rats up our allotments..
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my plastic bottles
?????? what about plastic bottles ????? :unsure: what should I be doing???
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Nice thread, the only failure I rdally had was my onions..the fungus due to the rain...going to try Santero next year, the other big disappointment was my Lark sweetcorn, absolutely magnificent but i. was too late with my plastic bottles and there must be some very overweight rats up our allotments..
With regard to the Santero....for the last 5 years ive been struggling with Downy Mildew, so i sowed Santero seeds this year and not one iota of Downy Mildew. Hoorah :D
However, the red onion seeds, Red Karmen, if my memory serves, didnt get any Mildew either and AFAIK, theyre not supposed to be any more resistant to it??
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Re plastic bottles, cut the ends off and place them over the maturing sweetcorn, the 2 litre fizzy drink or water bottles..timing is crucial as you need to make sure pollination is complete but not ripe enough to attract the vermin. I must add it's not my idea, I got it from this forum, several threads have mentioned it.hope this helps
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The rain this afternoon encouraged me to look forward to next yes. All my gardening books out..sorted out my seed box and studied the seed companies websites...
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It has finally dawned on me that, on my own, I really cannot eat 6 spring cabbages, 12 summer cabbages, 6 red cabbages and 12 winter cabbages. :nowink: I like coleslaw all year round, but there's only so much I can eat cooked. seeds (https://help.apperian.com/s/en_GB-1988229788/4215/27aa6aff3fb0e9e5138a84da80ecdaa533a08846.54/_/images/icons/emoticons/check.png)
4 Calabrese and 12 swede is about right. seeds (https://help.apperian.com/s/en_GB-1988229788/4215/27aa6aff3fb0e9e5138a84da80ecdaa533a08846.54/_/images/icons/emoticons/check.png)
12 sweetcorn is OK cos my grandchildren don't mind eating those. Buy seeds
As many squash as there is space for, is OK for winter roasting and souping. seeds (https://help.apperian.com/s/en_GB-1988229788/4215/27aa6aff3fb0e9e5138a84da80ecdaa533a08846.54/_/images/icons/emoticons/check.png)
Leeks are about right as well. seeds (https://help.apperian.com/s/en_GB-1988229788/4215/27aa6aff3fb0e9e5138a84da80ecdaa533a08846.54/_/images/icons/emoticons/check.png)
Lettuce sowing? One day I'll get it right ::) seeds (https://help.apperian.com/s/en_GB-1988229788/4215/27aa6aff3fb0e9e5138a84da80ecdaa533a08846.54/_/images/icons/emoticons/check.png)
Tall peas, sugarsnaps and mangetout quantities were ok, but want to grow marrowfat peas next year. Buy m/f seeds
Runner beans about right. Buy seeds
French climbing beans - buy seeds try new variety.
Grow fewer potatoes, 1.5kg is too many! I'm still eating my way through the Anya 2nds, digging them as I need them. Bored with new potatoes at every meal! :(
Don't grow any courgettes, just eat the young Trombas as I have this year.
Grow fewer cherry toms, but more snackbite peppers. seeds (https://help.apperian.com/s/en_GB-1988229788/4215/27aa6aff3fb0e9e5138a84da80ecdaa533a08846.54/_/images/icons/emoticons/check.png)
Cucumbers about right seeds (https://help.apperian.com/s/en_GB-1988229788/4215/27aa6aff3fb0e9e5138a84da80ecdaa533a08846.54/_/images/icons/emoticons/check.png)
I plan on lifting the Joan J raspberries to clear the bed, mend the posts, then prune the climbing berries and tie them in again.
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-Generally a good year with sensible quantities. Copious rain has meant little watering required and excellent soft fruit.
But...
-Do not neglect hoeing or you will regret it!
-Do not neglect spraying paths or you will regret it!
says she having just got back from a few hours of weeding. :D
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What should I do?
Replace raspberries affected by cane blight.
Make new strawberry bed in more sunny position.
Try garlic water to fend off onion white rot in 4 beds. Plant alliums in new beds in new plot.
Finish clearing out the polytunnel and lay proper beds (had to use buckets as it was as new season came upon us before polytunnel finished this year).
Move thornless blackberry, gooseberries and blueberry so they have enough room.
Finish putting down weed suppressant fibre on the paths and top with woodchip.
Control seed buying problem (unlikely).
Don't sow many kohlrabi, I am the only one that likes them.
Other sowings much as this year.
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I grew far too many beans this year. Once we got through the vile June they romped away and produced and produced and produced some more. I have been giving loads away to my bridge club.
Don't know what went wrong with the broccoli and calabrese this year, but seemed to have little to no crop. I'm sure I planted out more than I have got at present.
I have tried a third time to grow Oka, I have a few small plants but I'm not optimistic they are going to produce much more than the three useless pea-sized tubers I got last year. If I get nothing from this year I'll drop them, pointless spending over £10 for a crop that repeatedly doesn't produce.
I have had a significant weed problem this year, which I put down to me being in hospital late Spring/half of summer last year, which gave the weeds enough time to grow, spread rhizomes all over the place, seed and dump their seeds all over my plot, ready to sprout this year. I have been hacking it all back for several months so hopefully next year will be better.
The kale has done well this year, apart from some of it bolting (high temperatures and very little rain in August are to blame I suspect).
I got far more potatoes this year which weren't wrecked by underground pests. I tried sprinkling slug pellets in with the potatoes when I planted them, and applied nematodes in spring, so will try these methods again next year.
I think I'll give up on the round green things (a courgette from Real Seeds). They don't grow very big and seem to struggle to produce much in the way of courgettes. I think my heavy clay soil is too poor for them (need more manure). I'll have a go with a few different types of squash next year.
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First early spuds were a disaster this year, the second earlies romped away.
Next year, it'll be just first earlies, but more of them, and no seconds, as we really don't use them in time!
Great year for onion sets too, and all soft fruit.
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I usually grow runners, french and pea bean on a 12 foot 'wall' of canes. When in full leaf there's a lot of 'hunting
in the jungle' to retrieve the beans themselves.
As an experiment, I tried a five cane, french bean tepee this year. Five plants only. You can see everything and the beans appear to grow straighter.
Next year I'm going for three tepees with only five canes on each. Also easier to protect the young plants from pigeons with a simple wrap-around fleece.
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Reducing plot as just don't need the space and lots of bed lie empty.
No main potatoes ever again. Just not worth the effort to get about 50% usable crop. Just going to grow Charlottes and some first earlies and just a couple of rows at that.
More succession planting.
Continue to grow snack peppers in pots as they were fantastic.
Don't bother with melon. I can buy them for under a £1, why go to all that bother for one small disappointment.
Try some new things.
Don't put a potato seed in a bed with runner beans.
Less cabbage.
Forget about cauliflowers, celery and turnip. Can't grow them, slugs eat them and don't like them (in that order)
Accept that I can not grow yard long beans.
One cucuamelon plant is more than enough.
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Tomatoes have been great, bigger than normal but less of them. Charlottes in large tubs have been amazing. Kestrel 2nd earlies have been good with no slug or wireworm damage. Maincrop Desiree are good with some large enough for baking, again no damage but a couple of plants got a touch of blight. Luckily I spotted it and cut the tops off a couple of weeks ago. Peas have been a disaster this year after three sowings. Late planted safari beans are romping away.
5/10. Must make more effort in soil prep.
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This year grew less potatoes so definitely same next year.
Peas and beans will start in pots next year as terrible crop this year because eaten by slugs.
Same with beetroot, pak choi and other seeds sown direct, all eaten by slugs so will start lots more things in pots.
Manure to get hold of this year to help soil as didn't get chance last year.
Will try and make some sort of brassica frame next year to cover all crop instead of my net tunnels which crops are bursting out of at the moment ;)
Keep on top of weeds!!!
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Nice thread, the only failure I rdally had was my onions..the fungus due to the rain...going to try Santero next year, the other big disappointment was my Lark sweetcorn, absolutely magnificent but i. was too late with my plastic bottles and there must be some very overweight rats up our allotments..
With regard to the Santero....for the last 5 years ive been struggling with Downy Mildew, so i sowed Santero seeds this year and not one iota of Downy Mildew. Hoorah :D
However, the red onion seeds, Red Karmen, if my memory serves, didnt get any Mildew either and AFAIK, theyre not supposed to be any more resistant to it??
I grew santaro this year alongside sturon and a red onion karmen. Sturon and karmen were attacked with downy mildew, lost all their tops and stopped growing. Santaro was growing between them showed no sign of disease and produced a magnificent crop. Most impressed.