Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: New shoot on January 02, 2020, 09:07
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I'm not making gardening New Year resolutions as that smacks of thou shall not and too many rules. Last year was not easy and the autumn has been a wash out for everyone, so lets start the New Year on a positive note :D
What am I shooting for this year?
Get the winter cabbages sorted for one. I grew fantastic ones all summer and into the autumn, but the winter ones are rubbish.
Don't have too many seedlings going at once. This might be a tall order for me to stick to, but it does work better to work through week by week and only sow more when some have been planted out. Otherwise it just gets into a crowded mess in the greenhouse and coldframe and nothing gets looked after as well as it should be.
Make time for that bit of just general tidy up on every plot visit. Life is so much easier when stuff like the canes are all stored in one place and you can actually find things ::)
How about you? :)
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In a way to do much the same as you...
Rather than have loads of one variety or another - aim for a smaller crop of different things; it makes sense now that my family take less of the harvest....
Also then, if something fails there should be other veg to use instead - fingers crossed.
It just seemed much easier to plan when each bed had the same thing in it, but I simply don't need a whole bed of leeks any more ::)
I think there will be more room for flowers :)
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I'm aiming to keep it simple this year and be more prepared for any weather shifts. I paid the price for that cold snap in May last year as nearly all my heat lovers had a check in growth.
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I think there will be more room for flowers :)
There you go. Crisis over the new Sarah Raven catalogue arriving solved :D
I have already bought 2 new dahlias as I had a free P&P code to use by the end of the year. They couldn't supply something so sent me it as an apology. It would have been rude not to .... :blush: It does mean a couple I grew at home last year will have to find space on the plot :lol:
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I'm much the same as the rest little and often keep things tidy well sort of not go at it like a bull in a china shop
tend to grow to many seeds and end up with less and less space in the greenhouse get told of for growing to much got told there changing the garden produce show from pumpkins to butternut squash because we keep winning so butternut squash A that's going to be a challenge can't wait :lol:
just made one resolution war on slugs :mad: apart from that i think everything mite stay the same as last year well it will be for me unless the boss want's to change anything i hope not ;)
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To remove the contaminated soil in the bottom plot bottom bed, double dig in manure to the entire bottom plot and everything planted before March. Plant the new fruit plants as we go then start enriching the top plot for veg.
Other than that same as everyone else, try harder. Weeding and couch grass. I have trouble keeping up with them. We're going to try glowing onions from seed this year.
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What is your plot contaminated with? I’m currently digging old car parts out of part of the garden where I was hoping to extend the veg bed into.
I also grow too many seedlings for the space I have, with no real plan of what’s going where, so I don’t put the soil prep in that I should. I put things in pots and then can’t keep up with watering!
The 4 large beds I have - 2 with fruit bushes, raspberries and strawberries - 2 currently empty are going no dig this year as the couch grass is almost at bay I’m just going to top dress them with some compost.
Plans for a big garden transformation in 2021/2022 once my new hedges bulk out a bit so everything’s staying low key for now.
I was disappointed at the entries in my local village show this year, the first time I went as a spectator since moving to the area, so I’m planning to grow a few things for that hopefully it will give the 2 people who entered most categories a scare :) dahlias, herb bunch and something unusual maybe.
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Mine is very simple.....
I want to once again just enjoy being there!
Life is complicated enough. ;)
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I'm dreaming of playing catch up as with a replacement knee end of October I am behind with the winter work. However I will take a year as good as last but with better peas and more courgettes - I mean who can make a mess of growing courgettes two years in a row.
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Don't have too many seedlings going at once. This might be a tall order for me to stick to...
Oh my gawd. My first year was very much all about that. Virgin enthusiasm can be a very wonderful thing. I have learned a lot, on my own, which I think is the best place to start. Doing and noting from mistakes. I enjoyed it so much. But then, from your position, one could assume you never really learn these little flaws in our own nature when passion becomes one of the driving forces, haha. I'll probably be the same this year. :)
just made one resolution war on slugs :mad:
Okay, I have never done the whole New Years Resolution thing before, but that right there is reason enough to break the trend. I'll raise my hand in solidarity. Huzzah!
For me, only my second year but, if I'm honest, my first true year for trying to grow things I can eat, it's going to mostly be about having a go at growing various chili plants, learning how to best preserve different crops (sharing is great, but there was still waste last year), doing micro greens on a cyclical level (only dabbled last year), tying out self grown fertilizer; and buying a chiminea so I can spend more time in the garden relaxing, appreciating, reading, and drinking! :)
The very best of luck to everyone going forward. I'm already indebted to the inhabitants of this forum for their collective personal knowledge, experiences and ideas.
Regards
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Having bought a house last June, the plot took 2nd priority over urgent home refurbishments and decorating and despite getting a good amount of veg off, it went to pot a bit. Also many plots on our site flooded badly, mine was ok but when I dug up the Christmas dinner veg, found water pooling up to 5 inches below the surface. Add to this the fact that we're expecting our 3rd child in May... a major rethink required.
We've decided to cut the veg growing space by half and only grow what we ate a lot of last year, the other half will be fruit trees and bushes. The idea is we make it much lower maintenance and make an effort to do less but better, unlike last year where we had nearly 70 varieties of veg and flowers growing. We're going to leave more space between rows and 'pillow up' the beds to ensure water levels are kept as low as possible.
Many people in our position would have given up the plot and taken a break, but theres just something magical about the whole thing and our boys, now 4 and 6 still love it down there...
Wishing everyone the very best of luck this year, hope we all have a bumper year!
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What is your plot contaminated with? I’m currently digging old car parts out of part of the garden where I was hoping to extend the veg bed into.
I also grow too many seedlings for the space I have, with no real plan of what’s going where, so I don’t put the soil prep in that I should. I put things in pots and then can’t keep up with watering!
Fuel or oil. It was where the diggers, dumper or whatever was parked. What we are worried about is accumulation. Where does whatever's in there sit in the plant? Leaves, roots, fruit?
We grew potatoes in there and the potatoes were fine if only an inch across and more sparse than the rest of the crop. But the leaves were awful, in comparison to an awful crop (dodgy seed potatoes). Husband ate a few and said they were fine. But if we grow fruit and make jam then will the toxins be in the fruit in higher and harmful concentrations? Also the Husband is a lot bigger than the kids. One of whom is a fruit and jam fiend and more likely to be of a size to be affected adversely.
We do the same with seedlings. :(
My dream and ambition is that the thieving sod who was into our plot and stole a pile of stuff gets caught.
We just found this morning that they've taken tools, our mushroom logs, tried to get in our shed and got into one of the other sheds and stole the Rotavator. We missed them by hours as you can see the marks as fresh as can be where it dug up the grass road coming out from our plot into the allotments. Not out... ;).
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My husband is a superb cook. I want him to look as excited at what I grow as he did last year :D
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As this will be my first full year of growing on the plot, I just want to learn, grow and have fun!
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As this will be my first full year of growing on the plot, I just want to learn, grow and have fun!
Last year was my 1st full year, what an adventure! All the best, hope your plans all come to fruition (literally!).
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As this will be my first full year of growing on the plot, I just want to learn, grow and have fun!
Get your horse manure starting to rot now for next year.
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More peas, less squash. A tidier allotment. Try to find a good peat free compost that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
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Much the same here in North Derbyshire as has been mentioned.
Hoping to produce enough veg not to have to buy any.
One goal is to grow all the veg for that special meal next December.
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One goal is to grow all the veg for that special meal next December.
Oh that is a good one :) I actually managed that last year, even if I was scrabbling around a bit for greens. I was so proud to serve it all up and announce it was home produced :D
That is on my list now for this year again.
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We've just had the top plot taken off us and given the one next door. Which is in better condition.. Erm?
If they don't cultivate it this year they get it taken off them finally and we get it back. They've ignored it since 2015 so I wonder if they'll get motivated.
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To try and keep organised & on top of things so it doesn't become a chore on top of work etc etc.
I dream of having tomatoes this year last year they didn't rippen and eventually lost the whole crop to blight for the 2nd year running.
One dream has come true into I'm ordering my greenhouse tomorrow yay!!
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After several years where growing was very much a secondary thing. Now that life is a little easier I'd like to just enjoy being there. If I can have a little more continuity that would be good. I'd like to take care of my crops a little more to ensure better harvests. Mostly I'm looking forward to a warm spring evening looking back at a week tended plot with a glass in hand
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I've started! Shallot, Red Onion, Leek and Chilli seeds sown! Now I'm going to have to wait til Feb for the next lot of sowing bah... ;)
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While heeling plants in (growmore's in the post) we found potatoes. So we'll start chitting them at some point soon.