Allotment News - Page 62 - Clubhouse

mrs. hog - mousey

20/04/2012 at 17:48

peas at work yesteray and peas at home today, along with carrots and turnips. They are the odd varieties that i got for christmas. Very colourful carrots and very white turnips. Should be interesting.

roy silver

21/04/2012 at 12:41

Have racked more soil over the pots to protect from the frost.

Iron Squishy

25/04/2012 at 15:12

Hello all

Glad it's April showers, everything is getting a nice drink and making it grow...... downside is, so are the weeds!

Sweet Pea question from my friend.... when can she plant them? She lives in Birmingham.

Happychap, envious of your raised beds, but we'll have them one day. Got the stuff to do them, we just need to get them done!

My F-i-L is growing some baby rhubarb for me, can't wait until it's done. I've just been into our local farm shop and it seems to be a ridiculous price!

fat buddha

25/04/2012 at 15:28

if she's planting sweet peas from seeds, they can more or less go in now.

if they are already growing in pots indoors, they need to go out to harden off and then plant up

end of April/early May is a good time to get most plants into the soil as the risk of frost has mainly passed but with the cold weather at the mo you need to be careful planting out tender seedlings. my toms have been outside hardening off but they's in shelter again now with the heavy rain and cool winds as I can see they're getting affected by it

Happychap

25/04/2012 at 15:38

I managed to get half the soil into the beds yesterday in a dry patch between the deluges. So got some more beets, cabbages and sprouts in.

Squish, I can send Toucs up to you if you like? But be warned. His 'C' is CSE woodwork was a fluke I think...

Poacher

25/04/2012 at 18:31

Waterlogged. Strawbs and garlic look happy but don't dare plant anything until/unless the weather improves.

There was an interesting bit on Gardeners World the other day about growing on hotbeds - some fella was harvesting spuds, salads etc in March as all his beds were on top of 12-24 inchs piles of fresh manure. Must have been literally tons of the stuff - if one could get hold of it and move it, it looks like a stellar way to grow. Anyone tried hotbeds?

fat buddha

27/04/2012 at 09:45

would love to try hotbeds but don't have a) the space, b) access to that amount of manure, and c) the time to devote to it.

the Victorians were into it big time - many of the big estate gardens had hotbeds, often under purpose made glasshouses. but then they had the money and staff to do the graft. their gold standard was to grow a ripe pineapple - and many succeeded.

Poacher

05/05/2012 at 18:54

Yes the manure-shifting aspect was glossed over....it was very fresh manure too.

Lots of planting today, including Hamburg parsley - anyone tried/succeeded with this odd veg?

Helen Liz

06/05/2012 at 08:15

My spuds finally went in the ground yesterday - after sitting on the windowsill for weeks!

Slightly concerned that the carrot & parsnip seeds that went in a month ago are showing signs of doing bugger all. Ho hum. Finally got the grow bags, and will get the greenhouse populated.

And the newly planted plum tree has budded, so at least it seems to have survived planting (always a risk with me around)

Happychap

06/05/2012 at 09:40

Parsnips have known for having a slow germination esp when its cold. No sign of mine yet either. It doesn't help that they've been under water for two weeks, even in the raised beds

Off out into the garden today to survey the damage caused by the weather.

Happychap

06/05/2012 at 22:32

All the beds are now full of soil and the greenhouse is full to bursting. Marigolds and courgettes look amazing but the brassicas are looking very sorry for themselves. Planted some more in the seed bed but might have to go looking for sprouts elsewhere.

Shirley Haynes 2

14/05/2012 at 22:23

Everyone on my allotment are having problems with their parsnips, myself included. Yet last year no problems at all. Quite curious?

mrs. hog - mousey

15/05/2012 at 12:17

I appear to have a very large cat loo. I have access to rather a lot of horse manure from the stables just along the way a bit. Tons of the steamy stuff. I think my cats would quite like a hot bed for their bums.

My peas have done nowt this year, I presume they just got water logged. I have more so will plant a second batch tomorrow. More sand vicar?

Happychap

15/05/2012 at 12:28

My parsnips have all popped their heads up now (yey)

I gave up on the cabbages and went and got some from the garden centre. Sweet peas and courgettes are now in the garden. The spring lettuces and stuff have been rubbish Tomatoes are going well though...

mrs. hog - mousey

15/05/2012 at 12:38

Oh that reminds me, I wonder where my tomatoe plants are. I was promised some.

Love my toms.

Helen Liz

26/05/2012 at 12:14

Things are looking good in the garden department.I have the toms in, cucumber & lettuces in the greenhouse, and the parsnips have decided to make an apperance. carrots dissapinting, but very pleased with the spuds - not grown spuds before.

However, I have a slightly worrying development in the compost bin. Something is growing. Sticking it's head out of the air vent things is what might be a tomato or possibly a potato plant (not entirely sure, if I'm honest, they look similar) What to do? I'm tempted to leave them hope they're spuds & just have some unexpected spuds at some point - but is that the right thing to do? the bin's full, so I was just going to leave it to do it's thing, so it's not like it's going to get in the way.

Poacher

26/05/2012 at 19:34

No idea what to do about the triffid in the compost, but the rest of your veg sound excellent. Tomato foliage is a bit more delicate than spud leafage isn't it?

Odd thing observed today - the peas and mange tout planted on the same day are not keeping time - mange tout are miles and miles ahead, is this normal or the fault of the pesky mice who seem to like peas so much?

Helen Liz

26/05/2012 at 21:43

*looks nervously at the compost heap, wondering when the triffid will start walking down the road*

Thanks for that thought, it's going to come back to haunt me...

Poacher

31/05/2012 at 08:08

At least your triffid doesn't sound like comfrey, that would be really hard to get rid of.
Apart from netting, does anyone know an effective to keep those pesky wood pigeons away? They've already eaten the sprouts destined for next Christmas. Grrr.

Happychap

31/05/2012 at 08:24

Netting is probably best poacher. Or bits of old plastic bottles around them until they are established ?