Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

covenanter

Shaz,
You certainly don't need any groundcover in your garden. I've seen your pics. and the garden looks superb. I wish that mine looked so neat and tidy. :beer:

shaz_mum_of__2

Aww thanks just spent an hour weeding the pots of strawberries in the greenhouse(big white strawbs on them)

And trying to rig up a support for the red asparagus beans (they need heat) need some help from a man who can so on hold til tomorrow

got the broccoli plants in ......finally


The courgettes i planted out don't look too healthy i think it might just have been too cold ...........i have spares but playing the waiting game for now to see if they perk up

The celery need to go out soon so i must harden them off as does corn, pumkins and squashes gonna do my own version of the three sisters with the ying yang beans.

still got loads of tomatoes and peppers to get rid of fingers crossed for the car boot sale!

Planted a few flower pots up today got some reduced for sale to a good home at bandq few weeks ago and finally planted them out done 2 big square tubs and a trug type planter total cost £4

The hanging baskets are looking good but still too cold wet and windy to risk kicking them out the shed just yet...lol

I reckon a couple more weeks we will be eating our spuds the flower buds are starting to open ..yay

I must remember to water them more

I need to find somewhere to plant the amaranth too and find a recipe for pak choi before the house disappears under a green umbrella of leaves....lol

Have a nice bank holiday in your plots

Shaz

lottiegirl

This week I brought a couple of demi johns in Wilkinson they cost £5.49 each!!!

Frugaldom

Hi lottiefans

I managed to get the last of my potatoes in yesterday and spotted the first flowers on the peas. One of the courgettes is still surviving in the square foot garden and there are another couple still in the greenhouse. There are also 3 of my butternut squash seeds germinated.

Shaz, you are so far ahead of us! My strawberries are just flowering here and the berry bushes are starting to get tiny berries. I normally go by the hawthorn blooming before considering what's safest to put out and the hedgerow started flowering this week, so I've planted up the first of the salad baskets outside with lettuce and tomatoes. The onions took a bit of a blow when the chickens managed to get over the fence and in among them, merrily digging their way around the raised bed! Luckily, part of it is still under glass and I'm considering replacing the glass lid for a bit longer despite the onion greenery being a foot high. At this rate, my biggest expense will be wire netting, so I'm hoping the egg sales will help compensate for start-up costs.

It's been a miserable day her today after yesterday's mini-heatwave, but the sun is shining now, so I'll go and do a quick garden patrol and egg check, as I'm still one short. Fingers crossed for a scorcher of a day tomorrow as I have more fencing to do - one of the hens has decided it's fun to visit next door's garden! (:whistle: hello neighbour :wave:)

Hope everyone is enjoying bank holiday weekend.

spirit

Moring all :hello:

Yesterday was really warm down south. I've eaten my first strawberry from out of the poly. Everything in there is growing great-guns (well apart from the cucumbers which are really slow). I've never grown cape gooseberries before so look forward to trying them when ready.

Weeding, weeding and more weeding. The parsnips were disappointing, I didn't know what seedling snips looked like til recently, then discovered I'd been cultivating a lovely row of weeds :eek: I'm very disappointed with that as I love parnips, are they that difficult to germinate/grow?

Well I've had the plot 8 weeks now and am making friends up there all the time. Had coffee and a natter (rest from weeding) with one of the site reps yesterday. I'd not really considered before that lottie politics existed before :rotfl:I shall be keeping well out of that!

The onions are growing well, the new potatoes I'd given up on and was about to plant something else, has started to spring into life. The raspberries didn't like last weekends strong winds - even though i'd fleeced over them. Pak choi is coming on nicely as is the lettuce/salad greens. Peas are romping away at last but no sign of the french beans. Put the runners in during the week and some are winding round the sticks already. the sweetcorn isn't doing so well. they hated the wind too and I'd make mini tunnels for them with 2ltr milk bottles with the bottoms cut off. I'll give them a bit more time I guess.

Beetroot seedlings are doing well must sow some more today. I've got some nice swede seedlings coming up, I sowed 2 rows at different times, so will sow some more today.

Carrots went the same way as the snips, given up on those

I've got about 1 metre square of digging left to do then that's the whole plot dug. Once that's done i'll sort out the old compost heap which is near the shed. then the mass of brambles will get cut back. That area can't be cultivated, it's very rooty round there from the massive tree at the back of the adjoining garden. I would like to put an extension type thing on the side of the shed. Just some timbers for a slanting roof to cover perhaps with plastic sheeting, open at the front but with sides on (are you with me so far) and a bench so i can do potting up etc outside.

Today though my plans are to wash the car, go down the lottie, sow more seeds as above, complete the digging, more weeding, sort the old compost heap and cut the brambles.

It looks like being another hot day, hope it's the same where you all are. :beer:

Laura_D_3

Morning all,

What lush weather we're having. Think I may have got mild sun stroke yesterday will have to make sure I drink more today :beer:

Spirit, rest assured lottie politics most definately exist its kinda scary its all the big chiefs and old timers though so I'll just sit on the side lines and watch :rotfl:

Still nothing going on in the mini rice field apart from lots of water after all of this rain, not sure if i should get rid of some but then i might get rid of some of the seed and i think i'm going to need all the seeds in there that i can get :eek: I'm still the butt of the jokes with the family and friends regarding this project - its always concerning when you're introduced as 'this is the one i was telling you about with the rice in the paddling pool':rolleyes: Oh well i'd rather be different than follow the crowd.

Does anyone have any hints and tips regarding netting, I'm getting myself all tied up in it and the pipes i put in the ground to drape it over fell down and squisshed the cauliflowers Also where can i get cheap pegs from 10p each seems expensive but i can't find them any cheaper anywhere.... Or could I make them?

Right off down the lottiement to spent the day in the sun and building myself a mini raised bed for the squash that the lovely is going to bring down for me :T Then need to get a border round my compost bins and get some comfrey going. I'll try to remeber to take some piccys as its definately starting to look better, if i ignore the lack of peas which are shooting.

Have fun xxx

oliveoyl

Laura_D wrote: »

Does anyone have any hints and tips regarding netting, I'm getting myself all tied up in it and the pipes i put in the ground to drape it over fell down and squisshed the cauliflowers

What sort of pipe are you using... is it too flexible (like hose pipe)? I've got 2 beds netted off, one has 4 arches made of thick piping, I used thinner rods pushed into the ground, then pushed the pipe down on to the bit left sticking out of the ground, and I've attached canes along the top (used duct tape to secure to the pipe and join canes together because one wasn't long enough). The other bed is similar, but I didn't have enough pipe for 4 arches so it's only got one at each end and the 2 rows of canes joining them together, and to stop the netting drooping, I've put a few canes into the ground in the middle of the bed, put pop bottles on the top (to stop the canes from going through the netting), and drapped the netting over it all.

Laura_D_3

Thanks Oliveoyl the pipes were hose pipes and blatantly too long so i've now resorted to the following contraption make out of an old gazebo frame:

I've also demolished the old rotten compost bin and made a raised area for my butternut squash (kindly donated by the fabulous Phil) and the compost bins out of my backgarden have moved there as well:

All the photos have been updated:
http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt304/ljd8jow7/?albumview=slideshow

Right off out to the greenhouse for a couple of hours bye bye x

oliveoyl

Loving the gazebo idea! Be good for a fruit cage as well at it's full height... probably need making a bit more stable for that though.

I went camping a couple of years ago during high winds... woke up one morning with a slightly mangled gazebo on the top of my tent! Had I known then I would have kept it lol.

shaz_mum_of__2

Laura love the gazebo idea Mrs M of patio appotment fame has used one as a brassica tent too

Not done much really just hardening off toms,peppers,sweetcorn,sqaushes ,aubergines and pumkins and cucumbers ready to go outside next week (fingers crossed )

I have planted out some tumbling toms round the edge of the pepper bed as it is raised and i can trail them over the side

Got my flower tubs and asstd hanging baskets out now

I have planted the red noodle yard long beans in a big box in the greenhouse too.

Hmm done more than i thought ;0)

Spirit sounds productive there...i have 2 red strawberries and this year i am not giving them to the birds

Nyk well done getting the BN squash germinated my second lot has't germinated...........i officially give up ....i do have 8 acorn squash plants though and some crown prince pumpkins







Have a great day and as laura says drink plenty if its warm

Shaz