New allotments Autumn 2010 Chat

loucroft

That would be good, ducks too. And a sheep

PeteW

dogstarheaven wrote: »

it's actually a Spaghetti Summer Summer Squash as i discovered on an Open Day at some allotments i went to yesterday...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spaghetti_Squash_700.jpg

These should be a fairly bright yellow by the time they're ready to pick. Chop in half, scoop out seeds, rub with oil, salt and pepper and stick on a baking tray in the oven for about 50 minutes. Then scrape the flesh out with a fork and it'll come out like spaghetti

foxybabe

Sooo jealous of all you lucky people with allotments. I am trying to get one at the moment but aren't having much luck. One site has about 19(20 including me) people on the list with some of them waiting since 2008!!!! There are some others near us and some are obviously not being used but are all allocated to people. grrr so frustrating when you can see they haven't been touched for years. They aren't council owned so I don't think they get monitored that much, as long as they are paid for they don't chase it up. I have got in touch with the people who deal with them and they are going to look to see if they're are any non payers. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

wendyphant

Morning all can i pick your brains. What can I put in now.

My lottie is looking bare as we have harvested loads out of it. Am sick of coourgettes/marrows and have made 12 kg of chutney everyone is having that for christmas lol We have a new freezer full of runner beans and broad beans and beetroot & chocolate muffins and carrotts

I have 2 cardboard boxes full of potatoes - how long will they keep and any ideas of how to keep them til christmas

My apple tree has given a glut this year but has some kind of rot on them and have been told to cut the tree as far back as possible

angelavdavis

wendyphant wrote: »

Morning all can i pick your brains. What can I put in now.

I have 2 cardboard boxes full of potatoes - how long will they keep and any ideas of how to keep them til christmas

Spinach, chard, garlic, shallot/onion setts, cabbages, spring onions, lettuce and winter radishes. You can also plant broad beans to overwinter under cloches. You need to keep potatoes in a cool (but frost free) place in darkness to stop them sprouting. Make sure they dry out fully before you pack them away to stop them rotting. I must admit, I can usually keep my potatoes for 3-4 months - I am not sure if that is good or not but its usually enough time for us.

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We have had loads of rain here so my round courgettes were the size of footballs when we picked them on Sunday! I think I will use them to serve up soup in!

The rain has battered the "straight" courgette plants which are looking quite flattened. I suspect these will probably be for the compost heap soon as they have slowed their production right down, the round courgettes are now taking over and there are some winter squashes now producing. I want to plant some onion & garlic in that bed once its clear.

Our new arch that we put up about 4 weeks ago was in two piece on the ground when we arrived - the wind had uprooted it and sadly this meant the runner beans and cucumber that were climbing up it were also destroyed. Luckily, the new shed still has a roof on it!

The runner beans are still plentiful, as are the aubergines and chillis in the greenhouse. My tomatoes in the greenhouse are still showing no sign of blight - despite everyone else having it on their outdoor tomatoes on their plots.

I have a slight predicament in that my winter veg are actually producing now! So, we harvested three caulis, one cabbage and some calabrese that weren't expected to be producing until spring next year! I have luckily planted another bunch which hopefully will see us through winter, but I have planted some french beans in the greenhouse which have sprouted already as my backup.

Just put a load of lettuce, spinach and pak choi plants into one of the beds, having cleared some of the chard plants away. They were producing fine, but the family are sick of the stuff and I have a freezer full. I have kept one rhubarb chard and a swiss chard to overwinter.

I also have a glut of 40 heads of celery! I have never grown it before and didn't think the plants would take. I was at a bit of a loss what to do with it all, but have decided to tray freeze onion, carrots and celery for stews over winter. It won't matter if it gets soggy on defrosting.

The freezer is full of chopped turnip, runner beans, stewed apple, sliced char-grilled courgettes (for moussaka), ratatouille, stewed rhubarb, mint, sage, parsley, chives, blackberries, mange tout, chard, spinach, cauliflower and I have so much garlic, Dracula is sure to keep away this winter! I must admit, I am really chuffed! Anyone elses freezer starting to fill up ready for winter?

dogstarheaven

foxybabe wrote: »

Sooo jealous of all you lucky people with allotments. I am trying to get one at the moment but aren't having much luck. One site has about 19(20 including me) people on the list with some of them waiting since 2008!!!! There are some others near us and some are obviously not being used but are all allocated to people. grrr so frustrating when you can see they haven't been touched for years. They aren't council owned so I don't think they get monitored that much, as long as they are paid for they don't chase it up. I have got in touch with the people who deal with them and they are going to look to see if they're are any non payers. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

have you used landshare.net before? there's usually some ppl in your area who will gladly accept help with their land for you to share. i've asked a couple of ppl and they've accepted me, but all of a sudden, got a call from the allotment office to say i was at the top of the waiting list... don't despair.. are you currently growing in containers..

foxybabe

dogstarheaven wrote: »

have you used landshare.net before? there's usually some ppl in your area who will gladly accept help with their land for you to share. i've asked a couple of ppl and they've accepted me, but all of a sudden, got a call from the allotment office to say i was at the top of the waiting list... don't despair.. are you currently growing in containers..

I'll check out that website later, thanks for that. I have tried growing in containers before but didn't have much success. I am going to have another go though if I don't have any luck.

dogstarheaven

you can always ask on here for any advice on container growing. prior to Feb. this yr. I grew my salads, herbs, courgettes and beans in big pots for yrs and yrs.. (you need the biggest pots really, tho' depending on the type of veg/plant)..

loucroft

We've ordered some hungarian rye and some beans to plant overwinter that add nutrients to the soil, I wonder if it will work - potatoes and toms very unsuccessful this year, and carrots, so can't wait to start planting next year!

kerrirobberts

I've just started on an allotment, never done any gardening before. I've just ordered some red onions sets and garlic to hopefully go in this weekend.