[rowlandwells]

 what is a proper vegetable grower?

 i would like to run this by you for your comments as  professional or armature gardener what ever you consider your self as 

as most of us base our allotments on the growing season how would you plan your allotment if you had to supply your good lady with a supply of veg of the allotment or garden throughout the twelve months of the year and into spring of the following year before the next growing season started again  [no freezers]

this can include stored veg and preservatives if desired i know this to be done but not by me with i have to say a wide variety of vegetables for the table :happy:

 you could call it back to bas sics or sorting the men from the boys do you think you could achieve this 

i look forward to your replies 

[mumofstig]

If you only mean the basics - the wartime allotment plan was supposed to feed a family of 4 all year round.
http://www.earthlypursuits.com/AllotGuide/DigforVictory1/DigForVictory1_2-3.htm

It doesn't provide a lot of variety there's not enough room for any more than the basics.
I wouldn't fancy the boring diet - but it can be done - our fathers and grandfathers did it because they had to 

[vegypete]

hi ya IMHO 75%of allotment holders do so for lesure and a bit of fresh veg at the end of it and not forgetting the sociable bit, most only have time at weekends if it rains on one then they are over grown with weeds the next, you need a 10 pole plot to grow most of the stuff to keep a family all year and atleast a couple of hours per day, its the speed that weeds grow that disapoint most thats my 2penerth worth.........pete

[mumofstig]

In the 'old days' allotment plots were mostly worked on on Sundays because people worked the other 6 days.

When they were there they worked hard though, not much time for chatting

[Salmo]

In the 'old days' allotment plots were mostly worked on on Sundays because people worked the other 6 days.

When they were there they worked hard though, not much time for chatting

They did a bit every day, certainly in the Summer. Up at dawn to do do a bit of hoeing before work. A hour after tea. Remember that most people lived near to their workplace and did not waste half their day travelling like we all seem to.

[Growster...]

As Angelavdavis says on another post somewhere here, working an allotment is a 'lifestyle choice', which I reckon fits with Mrs G and me very well.

We're lucky in that I'm supposed to be retired, but we can get down to the patch on about four or five days a week for an hour or so, and that does us both a bit of good!

It has to be fairly boring green stuff, plus some roots to overwinter, so you can keep fresh or stored veg on the table, plus of course some pickled stuff etc. We were surprised at how Swiss Chard becomes so attractive in the depths of winter. Even this morning, I've worked out that we will be eating this year's crop of parsnips in about 2014 at this rate, although just sowing 36 back in February seems pretty sparse when they're so little to start with, and some will go to seed/slugs/nothing...

Reading the book on the kitchen gardens at Heligan, you can see that there is an enormous amount of skill and care explained on what really makes a garden grow well, and it's worth a read if you can find a copy! We're nowhere near as precise, wouldn't want to anyway, but there again, our 'lifestyle choice' is to be able to get down there and even just wander around for a few minutes, wondering what to do next...

Funnily enough, as said here, Sundays used to be the day to get down there and do most of the work. On our plots, there are usually only about two others there if that...

[Madame Cholet]

I'm aiming to do a similar thing due to a small freezer. Ive just planted wizzard beans for may and june and juno peas will go in feb indoors.

I work my lotty 1 to 2 days a week.

see my recent thread 20th sept
Topic: anyone eat fresh all year tips please

[compostqueen]

A very good book which sets out typical plot examples for various scenarios, and goes into growing in winter, in detail is Joy Larkcom's book Grow Your Own Vegetables. It's in the library but I'd buy a copy if I were you 

I aim to have veg available for the kitchen all year round. Eating seasonally becomes second nature if you try and live off the plot. You will have to supplement your allotment offerings though in winter when tomatoes etc are not available but you can keep that to a minimum and base your meals around what's on the plot

I grow winter lettuces and chicories, spinach, oriental leaves and such as it's good to be able to have fresh green leaves of some description during the winter months

[Trillium]

I consider myself a proper veg grower in that I grow and eat primarily organic foods, which are either hard to find or too pricey, so I grow my own. My family lives on what I grow and supplement only when I run out which can happen as my growing spaces aren't as large as I'd like. These go into the cold cellar, bottles, freezer or dehydrator.

Because my growing season is different from the UK (I have frozen solid snow-covered soil about 4 months and hard frost-too cold weather for another 3 months) I have to grow everything during summer and I'm out there almost every day barring excessive heat or rain.

As for crops, I grow most of what we like to eat which includes apples, peaches, currants, 2 types of raspberries, honeyberries, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, gooseberries and rhubarb for fruit. Potatoes, beans, peas, toms, chard, celery, garlic, cukes, courgettes, squash, beets, carrots, sweet peppers, celeriac, and beans and herbs for drying.

Although 2 of our kids have moved out, they often return for meals so I'm not off the quantity hook just yet 

[rowlandwells]

 well well" CALL call your selves  gardeners or allotmenteers as is commonly known these days 
  interesting reading your comments on this topic

  what seems apparent is that all enjoy veg growing its very true what ever you do on your plot it must  not become a chore gardening is for pleasure

of course we must not distract from my original topic my father in law going back some years now was a very good gardener and known by many for his ability to grow many good crops and to provide some sort of vegetable for the best part of the twelve months and into spring for the table

i wish i blessed with the gift he had for good vegetable growing  ime not good but its true our modern lifestyle does limit time we can spend on the Lottie

but lets not forget the purpose of the Lottie to provide vegetables for the table and for most it  was an essential part of family life years ago especially for the less well off to provide good grub on the table 

but times change and now the Lottie is becoming  more of social side of life still enjoyed by some as a family thing  but i think the emphasis today is more for pleasure gardening

and thank god for the  freezer its made veg and seasonal fruit storage more covenient but  i don't except that traditional veg is boring that's down to the cook 

time spent on the Lottie is time consuming and i wish i had more time to spend on the allotment because allotment therapy is a good thing   

[Growster...]

I consider myself a proper veg grower in that I grow and eat primarily organic foods, which are either hard to find or too pricey, so I grow my own. My family lives on what I grow and supplement only when I run out which can happen as my growing spaces aren't as large as I'd like. These go into the cold cellar, bottles, freezer or dehydrator.

Because my growing season is different from the UK (I have frozen solid snow-covered soil about 4 months and hard frost-too cold weather for another 3 months) I have to grow everything during summer and I'm out there almost every day barring excessive heat or rain.

As for crops, I grow most of what we like to eat which includes apples, peaches, currants, 2 types of raspberries, honeyberries, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, gooseberries and rhubarb for fruit. Potatoes, beans, peas, toms, chard, celery, garlic, cukes, courgettes, squash, beets, carrots, sweet peppers, celeriac, and beans and herbs for drying.

Although 2 of our kids have moved out, they often return for meals so I'm not off the quantity hook just yet 

I rate your gardening series as a real challenge, Trills!

The seasonality is getting through here too, and while we have no compunction about freezing veg, we do like to see the beds full with something or other during the winter.

At the moment we have about 20% empty beds (out of 50), and as some of the occupied ones are leeks, PSB, parsnips, celeriac, etc, we expect them to be working all winter.

But to have the shortened season you have, is really something to ponder!

[Madame Cholet]

I go with Compost Queen Joy Larkholm is rightly known as the queen of the vegetable garden. i picked my copy from amazon for very little.

I'm hoping to get all my veg except mushrooms and carbs, growing some artichokes and oca though, from my 10 pole plot within a couple of years with a small freezer and a dehydrator . There are only two of us but as a veggie I eat veg for one adult and 2 kids.

Once I'v achieved this I'm hoping to have a good crop of fresh fruit too to eat and dry but this will take longer for my trees and bushes to get a decent crop and hazel nuts too , then work on protein more beans for drying, that will be a challenge. my orchard is 5 pole hoping to get another 5 too if i'm allowed.

i'm not adverse to a bit of foraging too some goot walnuts nearby.

[compostqueen]

I'm a forager too and I can find edibles close to my house.  I can just nip out round the street to pick two types of rosemary, not forgetting blackberries, apples and horseradish. There are plenty of hazels and willows too 

[Madame Cholet]

I'm a forager too and I can find edibles close to my house.  I can just nip out round the street to pick two types of rosemary, not forgetting blackberries, apples and horseradish. There are plenty of hazels and willows too 

what do you use the willow for headaches?

[compostqueen]

Willow can be used to make fencing panels, fedges, twigloo's etc

The bark can be peeled out and it's tough and can be used a bit like string