Veg to plant in April and things to do.

Jesthar

wallbash wrote: »

Depends on the variety, we grow Autumn Bliss , no staking required.

Mine are Glen Clova and Glen Ample, and they definitely need staking - they went in last year, I only had temporary supports in for them, and they ended up looking rather drunken!

Had a pretty productive weekend, slapped wood preservative on all the bits of the shed I can reach (previous owners thought putting the back of the shed right up agaisnt the fence was a superb idea idea for some reason ), and got two of my raspberry posts dug in - hope they stay put!

Also cut the flower spikes off my rhubarb, pulled the flower heads of a load of dandelions, and have put some carrot seeds on a wet sponge scouring pad to see if they chit (tweezers at the ready!).

Will hopefully be getting some good well rotted horse manure from the stables where my friends horse is kept soon!

~Jes

Furny

Yes I had a quite a good productive weekend too.
I got my coldframe built & set up & a small two tier greenhouse (untill my proper one comes next month!).
Sowed some Marigolds on friday in a heated prop & some are up today already!. Planted out my seeds of different variety spuds which ended up been 6 bags (think we'll be ok over summer for spuds!).
Just need to pot on Sunflowers & plant out shallotts & check dates for other veg & flowers sowing.
Chillis,peppers,strawberrys,toms & onions coming on great.:)

Kantankrus_Mare

Had a lovely few hours at the allotment this afternoon with my fifteen year old daughter.

She sorted the shed out while I got some serious weeding done.

Was weeding the area where I put asparagus several years ago and I have one lone asparagus spear poking through!! This will be the first year I can pick as much as grows so hoping many more will pop up over next few weeks.

Was sooo excited whist I was sorting the greenhouse out......to spot flowers on my big pot of strawbeeries that I have had in there since last summer. :T

I have grown strawberries with great success for the last four years in the open and was wondering if I grew some in greenhouse I would get an earlier crop to extend the season. Seems its worked and ones in open ground beds only just getting green leaves on.

Will be interesting to see when I can pick first strawberry and will be doing loads more inder cover next year. I love strawberries.:D

cootambear

Kantankrus_Mare wrote: »

Had a lovely few hours at the allotment this afternoon with my fifteen year old daughter.

She sorted the shed out while I got some serious weeding done.

Was weeding the area where I put asparagus several years ago and I have one lone asparagus spear poking through!! This will be the first year I can pick as much as grows so hoping many more will pop up over next few weeks.

Was sooo excited whist I was sorting the greenhouse out......to spot flowers on my big pot of strawbeeries that I have had in there since last summer. :T

I have grown strawberries with great success for the last four years in the open and was wondering if I grew some in greenhouse I would get an earlier crop to extend the season. Seems its worked and ones in open ground beds only just getting green leaves on.

Will be interesting to see when I can pick first strawberry and will be doing loads more inder cover next year. I love strawberries.:D

yes they would start to crop two weeks earlier.

to extend the season you need to have a mix of june bearing and day neutral varieties.

day neutrals will crop until first frost.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3002190

[Deleted User]

I`m chomping at the bit, just getting sorted then I`ll be off to the allotment as soon as it warms up a bit. I have broad beans to stake, dried cow manure to fork in, some top dressing with bfb, onion sets to check as they seem to go dancing in the night and some end up upside down or in heaps of 5 or so. The manure looks great and is very compact and safe from aminopyralid. I see plot owners barrowing fresh horse manure to their plots and I can`t help thinking `good luck to them`. Then hands and knees weeding as it is much too damp to make hoeing worthwhile

Early potatoes need a bit of earthing up and I am going to start removing and stripping brocolli plants as my cara potatoes need to get in. I`ll also be checking parsnip and carrot germination and I`ll take seed packets with me to so I can fill gaps.

scotsaver

kittie wrote: »

I`m chomping at the bit, just getting sorted then I`ll be off to the allotment as soon as it warms up a bit. I have broad beans to stake, dried cow manure to fork in, some top dressing with bfb, onion sets to check as they seem to go dancing in the night and some end up upside down or in heaps of 5 or so. The manure looks great and is very compact and safe from aminopyralid. I see plot owners barrowing fresh horse manure to their plots and I can`t help thinking `good luck to them`. Then hands and knees weeding as it is much too damp to make hoeing worthwhile

Early potatoes need a bit of earthing up and I am going to start removing and stripping brocolli plants as my cara potatoes need to get in. I`ll also be checking parsnip and carrot germination and I`ll take seed packets with me to so I can fill gaps.

kittie - sounds like the perfect day to me - can't get up to my Allotment until Wednesday, forecast is 20 degrees so can't wait. Want to get my Spuds in, bought more than last year so will probably take a while and then I can sit in the sun and enjoy the view.;)

ginvzt

Not much progress this weekend. Planted out some kohl rabi plants (probably nearing 50!) into raised bed, then another 30 into big planter. And still have loads left - this was one of the Adi/Lidl starter packs.

Then planted tomatoes into bigger pots, and buried them all the way to the first leaves. Planted out spinach, dill and parsley into raised bed too. Only had one artichoke growing ok, os have sown more, and put on the fishtank to germinate.

My garlic/onions/shallots seem to be coming up ok. So now just need to wait for the carrots, beetroot and radishes in the bed to show up.

Then this morning as I don't feel like working, planted out my Red Duke chitted potatoes in the small raised bed that will be accommodating the pumpkin/squash later on (the potatoes should be harvested in June, according to the package - should be good timing for the pumpkin/squash to plant out?).

Still would like to sow some peas, and runner beans, but have to hold myself back from going out in the garden, as I really have to work!

Raspberry_Swirl

janibrown wrote: »

If I was you I would invest in some ducktape its brill stuff really strong and waterproof I have used it and it does the job a treat does not look really pretty but works and will save you a few pounds too it really does work, not sure if it comes in more colours but I have used the black and silver and no difference between the two, just make sure where you stick it is clean give it a wash with soapy water and dry it off or let it dry on its own. Good luck let me know how you get on

The cover isn't just plastic, it's got a mesh-style pattern all over it so impossible to stick the holes together again as it's rotted away all over
Got my dad to have a look and even he's agreed it's a new one required! Thanks for the advice!

mountainviews

Any wrote: »

Right, I am chitting my carrots via the paper towel method. Any ideas how long before they show any signs of life?

Just read this message, I planted a row a carrot seeds last week in my garden and I have never heard of chitting carrots? hope mine survive not being chitted

[Deleted User]

I had a nice couple of hours at the allotment and now dh has gone up as I am expecting a parcel and one of us should be in. All went to plan this am and I think the brocolli sprouts have finished so he has gone to take them out and start a new compost pile. My dh was never interested in gardening, not one bit but he is succumbing to the `bug` and likes pottering up there in the calm peace and quiet.

I sat and re-visited my planting and rotation plan this morning and have come to the conclusion that Joy Larkcom is right and purple sprouting is just worth 2 stars as a `value for space`veg. It has hogged the ground for such a long time. I am going to be trying to get the long stayers into the same bed next year as it is a bit frustrating to wait for some veg to be cleared

April is a bizarre month this year, we would normally be getting gentle rain and just a little wind but we look set to get more heavy rain and strong winds in the next few days.

I am holding off planting my maincrop runner and french beans for a couple of weeks. There is no point any earlier but we will be getting the structures in place soon, before the heavy clay bakes hard