Grow your own dinner 2014

savemoney

Cant wait for my sweetcorn ready its almost ready now . I have had spuds, runner beans, onions, leaks, shallots, garlic, red cabbage, huge cauliflowers twice size of ones in shop. Broad beans, peas, tons of big courgettes, marrow. Failures, carrots and spring onions this was due to the bed being covered in weeds due to neglected allotment and it overgrown the tiny seedlings gave up weeding them in end

I also got young fruit trees apples and cherry and fruit bushes but very little fruits as the bushes as new this year and trees are only just planted this year too.

zafiro1984

Beans and more beans from just 24 climbing French and 12 runner ones. The freezer is having the French ones for later use, already got 3 large bags full.
Just had an email to say blueberry bushes are on their way. I got them from Marshalls on their 'buy 3 for 2' and their 20% off weekend :j

Mumof2_2

Hope you don't mind if I join you - we got an allotment yesterday :j! It does need some work doing on it as the woman who had it had to give it up due to ill health and not being able to cope so got some weed clearance to do but nothing too horrific. I am an absolute novice to this so hope you don't mind me asking questions as I am a blank canvass for this whole allotment lark!

Dizzy_Ditzy

Mumof2 wrote: »

Hope you don't mind if I join you - we got an allotment yesterday :j! It does need some work doing on it as the woman who had it had to give it up due to ill health and not being able to cope so got some weed clearance to do but nothing too horrific. I am an absolute novice to this so hope you don't mind me asking questions as I am a blank canvass for this whole allotment lark!

You'll be able to get some cabbages in, broad bean time is coming up soon, kale, broccoli, calabrese, winter onions, garlic and even Christmas potatoes

I use B&Q as a guide- what plug plants they've got at the time. Because I got my plot so late in the season, I've used plug plants but have done very well out of them. I'm bringing home cabbages, sweetcorn and peas at the moment, all from plug plants. I've just harvested the last of the beetroot too

Next year I'll be prepared enough and have enough time to do it all from seed, but this year I just needed a little helping hand :cool:

Jazee

Hello everyone, I've got my greenhouse so today will be spent sorting it out. Will probably move the strawberry plants (new from runners) in there for the winter and maybe some of the herbs. So excited to be planning again.

Still getting lots of cucumbers. Carrots and leeks and spring onions looking good. Got apples and blackberries from a fellow gardener this week to add to the marrow and plums from another last week.

Mumof2_2

Great, many thanks Queen of cheap! I think there's nothing wrong in giving yourself a head start by buying plug plants rather than growing from seed; see what you've been able to bring home already!

Jazee my husband has just finished the greenhouse at home too; growing lots of chillies (he did them for a work competition - none of us eat them!) and the tomatoes are doing well; they taste so different to shop ones don't they.

We've got 3 chickens and use Aubiose (hemp) as their bedding. We have been putting the poo into compost bins and I wondered if we should put that into the ground too when we turn it over or is it best to leave it alone? Luckily there's not slugs in the ground cos it hasn't been used for hundreds of years and the allotments are only a year old so don't have to worry about them yet. J has a wormery (his pride and joy ) and that is proving to be very good at helping plants grow .... as evidenced by the surplus of chillies we now have lol.

zafiro1984

Mumof2 wrote: »

We've got 3 chickens and use Aubiose (hemp) as their bedding. We have been putting the poo into compost bins and I wondered if we should put that into the ground too when we turn it over or is it best to leave it alone? .

Mumof2:- Chicken poo is very high in nitrogen so it's best composted. The hemp is good as a bedding and that rots down easily. I also use it for bedding. Try and let the chickens roam over your empty beds, even if you have to move their run. they are fantastic at eating all the grubs, snail and slug eggs, I have had no snails or slugs at all this year by doing this. I'm not sure if 3 chickens is enough though (I have 285 lol). At the moment they are doing a similar job in the fruit cage before I start planting.

Marshalls have their new autumn 2015 catalogue to view online, if anyone is interested.

http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/zmags-pgid293

Jazee

Mumof2 - I think my cucumbers taste better than the shop ones, different texture, less watery and last longer too.

Its pretty much poured with rain here all day. I didn't get the strawberries and herbs sorted, but I did bring the last of the courgettes and peppers into the greenhouse and planted some lettuce.

Fingers crossed I have some success.

Mumof2_2

We went to the allotment and did some weeding for an hour or so this evening; it was lovely up there. The earth seems pretty good but we have found a few stones so getting rid of them. I'm going to try to get there during the week when my husband is away in Paris and might even drag my parents up for a bit!

Next weekend the plan is to do some more weeding and check out the plants at B&Q plus, of course, get some paint for the shed!!

zafiro1984

Where has everyone gone, it's not winter yet?

Rain here today, beans are giving up the ghost, sweetcorn is swelling and the leeks are getting fatter.

Looked at the new 'potato patch' realised how big it is and I think I may develop a pseudo bad back and hope OH offers to help - some hope