[mickbrov]

lilac its the jet stream not the gulf stream, gulf is for sea ,and jet for atmosphere.sorry to be a nerd lol.

[mickbrov]

thanks yorkie but i tested the ground every where along the raised beds and only 1-2 ph the peas are massive coz there is no ph lol  just compost and a touch of manure .

ive read in jh ,s book that adding lime to manure isnt good so im thinking of getting some top soil and starting over. thoughts ?

[LilacSandy]

lilac its the jet stream not the gulf stream, gulf is for sea ,and jet for atmosphere.sorry to be a nerd lol.

Don't care what stream as long as the blank thing moves soon 

[Auntiemogs]

thanks yorkie but i tested the ground every where along the raised beds and only 1-2 ph the peas are massive coz there is no ph lol  just compost and a touch of manure .

ive read in jh ,s book that adding lime to manure isnt good so im thinking of getting some top soil and starting over. thoughts ?

It would be a shame to waste what you already have Mick (especially since compost is so expensive).
I think the only problem with lime and manure is that they shouldn't be added at the same time. 
Why not throw some manure on this autumn and let the worms do all the hard work and then lime in the spring?
I'm sure there's a bit on soil correction on the site somewhere...

[Yorkie]

http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/allotments/soil-ph

and

http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/fertiliser/garden-lime

Whilst not disbelieving that your results showed a pH of 1-2, mickbrov, I really do have my doubts as to whether they are showing an accurate result.

pH of 5 is considered really quite acidic for soil.

[OpenSourceAgriculture]

Upthetump, It's a little bit cooler and wetter in the Rhondda Valley than my part of South Wales, but I too have been quite shocked at how badly the beetroot is doing this year.   Potatoes, peas, and cabbages are doing well, but the beets have been set back so many times, and suffering a bit of leaf disease/leaf miner.   Mix of Boltardy/Detroit.  Beets were a star performer last year.   They don't seem to be very good at recovering from the bad start (the whole of April and first 3 weeks of May).

There is this nice idea that we should grow the vegetables that cost more at the supermarket, but if these things cannot grow where we are in a particular year, then the idea fails.    So I gave up on that idea.   I am much happier growing what will grow well here every year, never mind that I can buy it at Tesco for pennies when it is Reduced to Clear. 

[ilan]

I think thats the point Its a hobby Its doubtful you will save a lot of money if you take all the costs , time ect into account . We will have to get used to this very unpredictable weather as climate change starts to kick in . The time is now to start planning for next year perhaps more blight resistant potatoes, accept that many crops are just a gamble and invest in creating a more controlable environment to grow in

[Salmo]

thanks yorkie but i tested the ground every where along the raised beds and only 1-2 ph the peas are massive coz there is no ph lol  just compost and a touch of manure .

ive read in jh ,s book that adding lime to manure isnt good so im thinking of getting some top soil and starting over. thoughts ?

I agree with Yorkie. A soil pH of of 1-2 is probably an inaccurate figure. With that pH you would probably find that your boots melted. I have seen figures of pH 4 but that was on a pure peat subsoil several feet down on an ancient fen.

Peaty soils and soils with high organic matter are often difficult to measure as the organic matter masks what is really happening. What are you using to measure?

[mickbrov]

salmo i use a solar tester .and ive checked then wiped dry and clean ive checked all the soil and all the pots in the greenhouse are showing the same but they are just manure and compost
 i will say this tho ive used very well rotted down manure almost looks like sawdust  so if i just scrape off the top ,then can i add lime?

[mickbrov]

i must say that my peas were a great succsess i grew peas de prevance and started them all in pots in january in the green house thing  ,they are frost hardy. so any way when they started trying to find something to cling to i built a frame and planted them out . they have almost finished now .but there are still loads of peas left just waiting for them to fill out.

i also read that peas make there own nitrogen so i didnt need to add anything to my soil/compost/and well rotted manure.

[Yorkie]

Is your solar pH tester designed for soil?

There is no way that your peas will be thriving if your pH is 1-2.

[mumofstig]

If  you are relying on one like this
solar ph tester

please don't - they really are useless!

[kermit]

I'm just back from Iona (inner Hebrides) - proper summer there. Two amazing allotments on the island looked like they were going great guns, they're happy with the jet stream where it is thank u very much!

Our summer has been pretty bad here in central Scotland too, but then it always is. Raised beds work for me. Big raised beds. Sure beans, courgettes, toms etc struggling as they always do with lack of sun and heat, but if u know it's going to be a wet climate u can work around it. The problem comes when it's so erratic like what u englanders are getting. Nightmare. That's the problem with climate change as I see it, the unpredictable, rapid, huge swings in climate.

[JayG]

I considered buying a "probe" type of pH meter but was put off by numerous negative reviews about their accuracy - most of them seemed to be worryingly inconsistent (probably depending on the wetness of the sample), many were just plain wrong all the time full-stop. 

Even sphagnum peat bogs only have a pH of about 3.5 so a reading of 1-2 must be wildly inaccurate.

Chemical pH test kits are pretty cheap and much more accurate, albeit a lot more faff!

[angelavdavis]

Is is just that the gulf stream is stuck at the moment making our weather weird.  Last year I grew a great set of muscles draging water up and down the lotty and some days it was too hot to work.  

I know what you mean Sandy, this wet weather is playing havoc with my bingo wings this year  

I just believe in working with nature as much as possible.  Use mulches to slow down weed growth, remove grass paths if you struggle to keep on top of cutting.  Put up wind protection on an exposed site, cover plants with cloches or net, use raised beds f your soil is cold clay to provide more drainage and allow the soil to warm up faster.  Put a pond in the end of your plot that floods in winter rather than cursing every year when it drowns your plants (I realise this year people have faced exceptional problems - but I mean a plot that has issues every winter).  

You also have to learn lessons from your experiences.  When my plants showed signs of poor pollination, I installed HM bug hotels and planted flowers to encourage the pollinators.  When my pak choi got ravaged by pigeons, I netted them the next time.  When I had to pull up a load of my brassicas when cabbage white infested them, I invested in some environmesh and built cloches, etc.  When I lost all my early courgettes one year because I planted them out too early, I had to sow some more - so now I grow mine on into the largest pots I can and plant them out when I am really sure the frost has passed.

And, sadly, you also have to admit when you simply can't grow certain things on your plot.  Many fellow plot-holders don't grow onions because of the white rot issue, some don't grow potatoes any more because of blight.  I grow salads at home mainly and not at the plot to avoid flea beetle.

I still grow onions, despite my plot suffering with white rot because I like to try different approaches to lessen its impact - but I then don't cry into my watering can when I have to throw affected ones out.

Sometimes, I think some gardeners are guilty of thinking they can work against nature - you are on a road to nowhere on this one.  Of course, there are also years when nothing seems to work and has others have said, you just resign yourself to it being one of those years and then you reach for the seed catalogue for inspiration for next year!