Allotment News

Well I suppose most of the contents of vacuum cleaner is organic matter,sounds very plausible.

I also use toilet roll centres for growing plugs that require a decent root length.

Makes sense.  Now I know what to do with my old cotton pants!

I love this thread - I think I must bore so many people I know silly with talking about both running and gardening, so it's good to find a thread for running gardeners/gardening runners!

Wow!  I will never waste anything again!

We're already at the stage of only putting our rubbish bin out once every three weeks or so (we'd put it out less often than that, but what with the smell an' all...)

Can you use nail clippings as well?

Bit gross I know, but they're made from much the same stuff as hair...

Mrs G wrote (see)

Last night one of the 'older-gentleman' at the allotments asked if I had aany old tight he could have!!!!!!!!! My imagination went into overdrive but apparently he cuts them into strip and uses them to tie things up. 

The Joy Larkcom Grow Your Own Vegetables book recommends storing onions in old tights/stockings!

fat buddha wrote (see)

yes - nail clippings are fine

the only things that wormeries don't like are meat/fatty foods/lots of fruit (makes it too acidic)/onion peelings.........green material provided it isn't too woody or fibrous as they're really designed kitchen waste obviously rather than general garden clippings, plus cardboard and paper provided it's shredded well to start with.....

compost heaps are more accomodating although don't put stuff on there that are likely to attract rats (meat etc)

 tights are also used for supporting things like marrows/cucumbers/gourds etc rather than having them drag on the ground as you can stick them into the tight leg!

So much wisdom from this thread!  My grandad would have approved.

Always wish I could do something with waste from meat etc - I'm obsessed with not filling up our rubbish bin!  But maybe I could just donate meat scraps to next door's cat (although he's already overweight...)

Ooops - I'm supposed to be working right now.  Bye for now!

Best thread on here.

God I must be getting old,sad or both

following it avidly, I am just gleaming information and have nothing to add,

keep it coming

what should I be planting now? 

I am sure you have plenty of valid input PM.

I looking for a bit of tomato advice this morning.

I have 10 very healthy vine in my poly tunnel that are groaning with fruits,struggling slightly to ripen but getting there slowly.

I also have about 40 plants out side that are again covered in very green toms & with all the wet weather I am concerned that I might lose the crop,some have already started rotting on the vines.

Do I call it quits & pull the plants,hang them & let whats on the vine ripen in my shed & do I hold off & hope they survive & we actually get a summer at some point soon???

Spoke with the land lady of my local last night & the beer from the slops trays is now coming my way for my slug traps,beats buying the cheapest brew @ Morrison's just for this purpose.

May be worth enquiring at your local if this is a slug trap method your already using or are considering.

Re: tomatoes

Joy Larkcom recommends removing supports from outdoor tomatoes towards the end of summer, carefully bending the stems down and covering the plants with cloches to help the fruits to ripen whilst the plants are still in the ground.  Should also work during summer if it's as crap as this one!

I'm in exactly the same boat with my toms so will have to do the same soon.  No rotting as yet, but lots of lovely, good-sized green fruit...

Nice tip for slug traps!  Quite a few pubs round my area...

Fantastic, a thread full of gardening runners!

I've never managed brassicas yet as something always eats them before I do.  This year I thought I'd give it one more go, so I put in a row of sprouts and one of spring cabbages, which were fine until they sprouts got too big for the netting.  Now they're sitting in the open and surprise surprise I've found a load of caterpillar eggs underneath the leaves.  According to somene on the Grow Your Own forum, this is the next best thing to picking them off and hurling them over the fence:

Garlic & chilli spray - basically chop up 2 garlic bulbs and chillies, boil in 2 litres of water for about 20 minutes, add some chilli powder if you haven't any chillies, strain the liquid, then use about 1 tablespoonful to the watering can and water the plants as usual. I put the diluted solution into a spray bottle so I can squirt on the underside of the leaves. You need to give the leaves a good soaking on a dry day so the liquid dries on the leaves

Good one, Hashette!  Think I need to try that on my sprouts...

Spent a good while squishing some nasty little yellow eggs before covering the plants with fleece, but it won't be too long before they're too big for the fleece 'tents' I've created for them.

This has to be my favourite thread right now!

Who'd have thunk it? Five years ago I could never have seen myself either running or gardening!  Much happier these days though as a result of both!

Good advice, FB - completely forgot to mention most of this , but I have been doing a lot of it!

I've been feeding my toms regularly, pinching out side shoots, removing lower leaves and any brown bits.   My plants are still healthy right now, like I said, no rotting as yet..

I'm up in Sheffield, which tends to be a bit behind the South in terms of seasons so I guess that's why things are slow...

Re: not putting blight-infected tom plants in compost - the same goes for potato plants.

Thanks all.

Pinched most side shoots out,as they are in pots I have even been moving the pots around to make sure they catch the maximum of the little morning & evening sun that we have had.

I have been feeding them with an organic pellet.

I think I will leave them at least another week & just keep removing the rotting fruits.

Sorry more advice please.

This is my 1st year as a gardener & to say it's been a learning curve would been an understatement.

My 1st bath of sprout plugs that I planted out a couple of months ago all got eaten.

I have since grown more seedlings of sprouts,turnips & swedes in my ploy tunnel which are going very nicely,have I missed the boat for planting them out?