The ups and downs and ins and outs of growing your own, 2018

CAFCGirl

Hi All,

Been MIA for a while now and feeling just rubbish on the allotmenting front. Ive had so many fails with germinating stuff, the seedlings I did manage to get have all been eaten. I spent yesterday jus tipping out seed trays where everything has just not even bothered. I'm on my 5th attempt at cucumbers, courgettes, corn and cabbages.

So feeling incredibly 'meh' about the whole experience.

Add to that I'm in a 'boundary dispute' which I didnt even know was as issue as my plot neighbour has never even spoken to me about anything let alone the border between our plots. He's had the council out. I attempted to talk to him once I found out there was an issue (from another plot holder) and he told me the border only goes up to the tap post, and not the black posts which the councils put in to denote plot boundaries. The tap post is about 1 ft inside the plot marker to his side, but basically that strip is an absolute mess because he's never cultivated it, and its not on my plot so I've never touched it. He got quite shirty with me because hes been given a non cultivation notice because of this strip (apparently!). I did point out that if hes been given the notice its because its on his plot. I emailed the council to get clarification of whose responsible for it and they were as much use as a chocolate teapot - despite replying they have actually answered the question AT ALL, talked about my address details and then signed off with 'Did you get your dispute resolved' ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Well no coz I asked you to resolve it!

So all in all, feeling utterly pants with the whole affair.

zafiro1984

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Hi All,

Been MIA for a while now and feeling just rubbish on the allotmenting front. Ive had so many fails with germinating stuff, the seedlings I did manage to get have all been eaten. I spent yesterday jus tipping out seed trays where everything has just not even bothered. I'm on my 5th attempt at cucumbers, courgettes, corn and cabbages.

So feeling incredibly 'meh' about the whole experience.

CAFGirl I know exactly where you are coming from. It was the same for me last year. I totally gave up when my health probs kicked in but to be honest I could have done more if I had wanted to but all the enthusiasm disappeared.
This year I have been well armed, slug bait, rodent bait and glyphosate. I know what I have done is frowned upon but there was so much to do as the plot was a complete mess and I was banned from lifting things heavier than a kettle until the beginning of this month. But I could wander up and down the plot spraying and baiting and I grew my seeds in the house on a windowsill to stop them being eaten. Even so I did sort out and throw away the leggy seedlings the other day. Don't give up, I love the taste of freshly picked veg and it does keep me away from the supermarkets.

Your 'lovely plot neighbour' - don't let him bully you, and as for the council it defies belief as it was obviously dealt with by someone who can't read.

Finefoot

A very kind friend who I met via IG has sent me some more seeds from America. PawPaw fruit anyone? Apparently tastes like bananas/custard. It seems quite indepth method for growing from seed. I shall remain optimistic though[/QUOTE]

How are they doing?

smeeinnit

It was all going so well.....

Until the slugs seemed to explode out of nowhere and demolished all my flower and salad leaves seedlings overnight :mad:

I stepped in a beer trap and got a wet and sticky foot :mad:

The local excavating cat dug up all my malvia plants I had lovingly grow from seed and planted out the day before :mad:

I deduced that the cat scarer located 3 feet from said plants does NOT WORK :mad:

I found a scarlet lily beetle on my lillies, then promptly dropped it never to find it again :mad:

My greenhouse is still NOT UP and I feel like abandoning all thoughts of growing anything else from seed and sulking in the shed :mad:

Aaaaaand breathe :rotfl:

So I have consoled myself with some plant retail therapy and bought some preplanted hanging baskets and bedding plants. Ooops.

Slug killer (nemaslug, no nasty chemicals or pellets), more beer traps and sheep wool pellets at the ready. I stabbed a few slugs too. Ah thats better!

Jazee

Sorry so many of you are having frustrating times with the growing. Mostly going well here. I have too many of just about everything so will be doing a plant sale.


I need to move my cucumbers out of the greenhouse as they are taking over now, same with the tomatoes. The beef tomatoes have reseeded themselves outside as I didn't clear their plot at the end of last summer, very strong looking plants too. Don't know why I bother with the seeds!


Only downside is ants, lots of ants.

tootallulah

Really unpleasant day today, hot and SO humid. I have planted out 20 annuals with about another 100 to go, my usual way of doing this is to plant 10-20 every day in the evening for a few weeks until they are all in over the month of May, but it was so cold early in the month I am running a bit late. I am also thinking of sowing some extra dahlias to go in in August. Tomatoes are going well and the cucumbers are looking good. The soft fruit all needs netting but I think I will wait until next week-end.

CAFCGirl

Finefoot wrote: »

A very kind friend who I met via IG has sent me some more seeds from America. PawPaw fruit anyone? Apparently tastes like bananas/custard. It seems quite indepth method for growing from seed. I shall remain optimistic though

How are they doing?[/QUOTE]

They're still in their packet

Dizzy_Ditzy

Hi everyone

It has been a while since I posted on here so thought I'd better pop in and say hello! Lovely to see some new names and to see how everyone's getting on, and I'm sorry to read of the various problems folks have had

What's new with me? I decided to put my name on the list for the plot next to the one we have with the chickens on as the bloke hasn't been there since July last year :mad: council inspection 3 weeks ago and he was given a "notice to improve" :mad: of course he still hasn't been there and knowing how slow our council is, they probably haven't served the notice yet. In the meanwhile, the plot is becoming very successful at growing bindweed and brambles and nowt else, inevitably leaving me with a bigger and bigger problem when the time comes.

I've still got the other plot but I'm doing the bare minimum on it at the mo. I'm only growing potatoes there, plus the contents of my fruit cage. I noticed the other day that my black currants are ripening already :rotfl:

Chicken plot is almost fully sown - got some sprouts to plant out tomorrow then it's all done. I came home with the first lot of gooseberries today :j

Suffolk_lass

Off to check out my blackcurrants and gooseberries (if I can find any in the self-sown poppies and perennial sweetpeas that have got in there) now you've said that.

My main objective is to clear some paths before everything seeds. I popped a rib cartilage yesterday though, trying to pull up a doc. Might have to resort to weedkiller or flame thrower when DH gets home from his weekend with his chums

tootallulah

Currants, gooseberries, raspberries are all looking great I have netted the currants today. I am eating through the freezer so that I will have enough space for them all in a few weeks time! Tomatoes are looking good indoors and outdoors, and my one cucumber that has survived is looking good too. I say all of this because last year whilst the soft fruit did OK I didn't do that well growing anything else, it was one catastrophe after another.

My flowers have also done well this year and I am still planting out a few annuals every day to use them all. I have a lot of bright red hollyhocks and nowhere to put them, am wondering whether to put them in a table on the drive to be given away? It seems a shame to compost them.