Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

jtb2412

Morning everyone xx

Re: spuds - we've earthed ours up totally ever since they've been in and had no problems (apart from the frost getting a few leaves that had grown up out of the dirt :rolleyes:). I did the same for the ones that are in the growbags at home and they seem to be ok - I think it's individual choice really although I'm no expert ! I know 2 people that have had potatoes (1st earlies) already :eek: - I'm tempted to have a firkle myself but being restrained, for the time being .

NYK I think we've swapped weather - raining, cold and windy down here in the South and that's the forecast for the rest of the week :mad:. Weekend doesn't look too good either so it might be a good time to go shopping and get some storecupboard supplies and do a bit of batch cooking in readiness for the better weather and not having much time to cook when we put more hours in down the lotty . Am keeping up with your frugal pages though and envious that you find the time to do everything - do you ever sleep? lol :rotfl:

I'm at a bit of a stalemate here, not much else to plant out or sow yet, just waiting for everything to grow really. I could I suppose, sow some more lettuce etc but i've already got 40-odd cos lettuces nearing maturity, as well as the cut and come again salad so I think I need to hold back for a bit .

Anyway, I'm at work so better do something constructive (just glad it's not hugely sunny otherwise i'll be depressed that I'm stuck indoors when I could be outdoors gardening :rotfl:).

Have a great week everyone ......... more pics please !!!

spirit

I fully sympathise with you jtb2412, it's horrid weather down south. Hasn't it been windy of late too. twice i've been down to the lottie and found my mini-tunnel/cloche with the polythene half blow off.

I'd made mini-mini cloches for my sweetcorn from 2 litre milk bottles and they'd blown all over the place too. Grrrrrrrr

I ordered some debris netting via e-bay and it arrived on Monday but it's been too windy- and now wet, to go down there to put it over my plants :wall:

shaz_mum_of__2

piitling down here so no gardening today ...........hoping for a nice weekend though

My beans are through i am so excited must have been all the rain

My butterfly netting has arrived too so ned to finish the short brassica frames too(i hate the look of the fleece which i put on temporarily

Might try planting some of the other stuff out next wekend after the exams are finished

Just got the bed where the tomatoes are going to weed again its full of couch/twitch grass it is a blinkin nightmare loads of unripe strawberries on the plantsand the raspberries too just need a bit of sun

Shaz

Frugaldom

Hi guys, it's pouring rain here too, so nothing more done other than having to put some mesh around some raspberry canes to stop the ducklings polishing them off completely! I got the swede/turnip bed completed earlier in the week and the cage fitted over it, so just need to plant out the Marian Swede as soon as they are of a decent size. Managed to squeeze 15 snowball turnips in down one side but it's only a metre square, so not much space.

JTB, I do sleep sometimes I usually try to get up about 6ish, have a cuippa and get the livestock sorted out, then get a few hours work at the computer done before elevenses. It means I can get all the post away in the morning and then reserve the afternoon for house/garden stuff. It just means I need to finish off work in the evenings - the joys of self-employment However, when the weather is miserable, I always feel like I'm achieving nothing! I reckon I must spend at least an hour every single day just sweeping and raking to stop mess building up from hens & ducklings, then at least an hour in the morning and an hour at night cleaning, feeding & watering livestock.

Looking to see where else I can fit in some more root veg - the carrot seedlings have true leaves on them now and will need thinning, but I haven't anywhere planned for them to go yet, as the ground here is so rocky that it's best raised, which means top soil + more compost + sand = expensive. Does anyone know if I could mix in some beach sand or would that be salty and kill the plants?

I need to make my garden project self-funding and I need to make it a successful food growing project. My long-awaited quest for a self-sufficientish lifestyle starts here and the way the economy is going, I'll be needing all the help I can get just to eat, never mind heat a house in winter. Can't wait untiol new neighbour gets moved in as she's an out and out frugalite with the same sefl-sufficientish ambition as me. At least we'll can barter over the fence.

TismE_3

Morning all, you guys are doing great!
Been a while since ive posted here ......

I did watch a programme last night about chinese people, there was a small section on paddy fields, it looked a lot like grass to me when they where planting it out, what they did was flood the field and the let it all evaporate, this makes the plants think there is a drought, and thats when they produce their seeds ( rice ). i for one didnt realise this, i thought rice sat in the wet all the time, it will be interesting to see how you get on =0)

My own allotment journey has come pretty much to a stand still over the last few weeks, its just been one thing after another here.

I have managed to get down there proberly once per week, all i can say is OMG dont weeds grow fast !!

For those who dont know i took on an extremely overgrown plot in march and worked very hard to get it cleared, it was so overgrown we found a 12 foot by 8 foot green house hidden..it was all very exciting!!
Since then.....

We have managed to dig two beds about 8 by 6 each, but its been hard going, the soil is rock solid, weave tatties and onions in, but thats about it.

The brambles are slowly being dug out by the root as they reappear, and suddenly we've got a million stinging nettles!!

It is hard work, but this is made alot harder by the fact we just haven't been down enough, not because we cant be bothered, just because how things have happened over the last month.
My other half has got 5 days off work soon so hopefully we can have a good few days down there then, and then i should be able to get down there at least 3 times a week myself to keep on top of things.
I have to keep telling myself that i cant do it all at once, and to consentrate on clearing a patch at a time.

SS if that sounded negetive, it wasn't meant to be lol, just want to share the highs and lows.......Happy digging !
Tisme x

TismE_3

does anyone know anything about a crop you grow , which basically is grown to supress weeds, once your ready to use the patch for proper growing of veg or whatever you can just dig it over??.............i think i read about these somewhere, or was i dreaming !? lol
its extremely fast growing but has hardly any roots, covers the ground really well, but its dead easy to pull/ dig out/over.......sounds like a dream to me !

covenanter

TismE,
You need to Google 'green manure'. There are different types for different times of year and different soils, depending whether you want it to add nutrients or just act as ground-cover. Once you've decided what you need they can be bought from most garden centres or on-line. HTH.

shaz_mum_of__2

The green manures i have heard of are usually sown in autumn and dug in in spring before they flower

Old carpet or wet cardboard is supposed to be good for killing weeds as it deprives them of light but it takes a while

Shaz

covenanter

Ryegrasses can be sown in Autumn and left to overwinter, then dug in completely in Spring, field radish and mustard mixes can be sown in early Autumn and dug in during late Autumn/Winter, but green manures can be sown at other times too. Buckwheat, fenugreek, lupins, clovers and peas can all be sown as a green manure in spring or summer. In fact, the legumes are best sown in warm weather and accumulate nitrogen in their roots which you leave in the soil to feed it (just cut the tops off when you want to sow your chosen crops). Buckwheat and fenugreek grow large and are used for smothering weeds, although they take moisture from the soil.
Try the RHS site for general advice or seed companies on-line sites for specific advice. HTH.

shaz_mum_of__2

Managed a bit of tidying out in the garden last night preparing plants for the boot sale on saturday i have about 150 plants (tomatoes pepper and strawberries ) i am selling for 50p each or 12 for a fiver the plan is that this will be next years seed and compost budget?

I have more plants but figure thats too optomistic i also picked up a few strips of half price trailing plants at b and q last week and i may make a couple of pots/baskets up to take too as well as some potted irise i grew especially - 7 pots from pack of poundland bulbs and charging a quid each £££

Taking a dozen demi johns too but not sure what to charge any ideas?

Thanks for the info covenanter useful to know although i dont think i will be needing help with groundcover .............i have too many plants already the weeds dont stand a chance..lol

need to update blog but will wait for the sun


Shaz