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

zafiro1984

Just reading the post above made me realise I haven't got my autumn planting onions and shallots sorted - oops must order online today.
I'm not going to plant garlic this autumn as I had such a big crop over the summer I had to freeze some as we're not big garlic eaters.

Dizzy Ditzy you seem very well organised, i wish I could say the same for me.

Everything is slowing down, the tomatoes have all but finished, the peppers are still producing and I think I picked the last cucumber at the weekend.
Leeks are doing really well, as are the potatoes, I intend to dig them up but life gets in the way so I may leave them in the ground for a while longer. My uncle used to leave his in the ground over the winter and just dig them up when needed but then again he lived in Cornwall.

I'm keep looking at the medlars, there must be over a hundred on the tree. I think it is probably time to pick them. This is the first year there has been a decent crop and I'll have to search around for ideas on how to use them - I'm looking forward to the challenge.

If and when I have time I'll put some effort into putting muck/compost on the beds and covering them over for the winter. I did this a few years ago and in the Spring the beds were wonderful and so easy to get going so I must put some time into doing t again this year.

zafiro1984

Onion sets have arrived, I haven't bothered with shallots this year. The onions are going to go into a tunnel where the toms used to be.
Still got a few green toms and the odd pepper.
Kale is looking as if it wants picking
Still digging up pots - Caralus is a fabulous variety for roasting and making chips. Don't bother to use them for mash, if you take your eyes off them whilst boiling they turn to sludge.

Suffolk_lass

Everything finished here except leeks and weeds now. Quite hard at this time of year with leaf-mould allergy!

unrecordings

I'm on chemo again at the moment, so barely left the house for over a week. Got out a couple of days ago to pick the remaining tomatoes - they all look good enough to ripen over the next couple of weeks. Got a small raised bed of Arran Victory (potatoes) that I'm going to dig up in the last of the mild weather this weekend

tootallulah

Bulbs and some perennials arrive from Parkers today - 12 yellow delphiniums, new variety, - all dead, sent them a photo and had profuse apologies, a refund and a promise of new plants. Very good customer service after a poor experience. Hoping to get all the perennials out tomorrow.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Who said autumn / winter was the quiet time for allotmenting??

At work there are a ton of leaves that need a new home so I need to sort that out. I have a few pallets from work which are boarded so they are getting rehomed too

We had a bonfire at the weekend so now that has cleared some space, I need to get the areas around it dug before I can dig the ashy space over and then mix the ash across the three sections and manuring.

While we were burning that part of the plot, there was a load of dried dead sticks from previous plants so they went on the fire and now i have another new bed that needs sorting out. There is already so much difference from where it was five months ago :j

Garlic is all planted out now. Winter onions are in and starting to come up. Raspberries are on order and should be delivered before the end of the month so as soon as they arrive, they'll be going in. The rest of the plot will be manured and left to do its thing over the winter months

I am also planning on doing some vertical growing using pallets, so strawberries and possibly courgettes are doing up either against the shed or against the fence that runs along the edge of my plot. I will make the most of all available space

Dizzy_Ditzy

My new raspberry canes arrived today I've gone for glen ample and glen proser so now to wait for it to stop raining for an hour at the weekend so I can get them in :rotfl:

BlazeRavenwolf

I didn't manage to get any veg in this year except for some winter cabbages that the site secutary gave me as he had too many seedlings, but just been clearing the plot of weeds mainly and digging a few beds too

I have as of today taken on another neglected plot (glutton for punishment me lol), but this one has a lovely potting shed that just needs some new roofing felt, but the plot is over run with nettles and docks mainly

But for £5 for the remaining 5 months until the new rents are due I couldn't refuse, lol

I hope everyone has had a productive year and been happy and healthy too

Dizzy_Ditzy

Dizzy_Ditzy wrote: »

My new raspberry canes arrived today I've gone for glen ample and glen proser so now to wait for it to stop raining for an hour at the weekend so I can get them in :rotfl:

There was a long enough gap in the rain to get the raspberries in :j so they've been in for a week. One was snapped completely from the root so I sent a pic and message to T&M and got a reply, on a Sunday! They sent a replacement within a couple of days so I'll try and get that in today

All my garlic and onions have come up nicely

Not really much else we can do on the plots for the moment although we are there daily to deal with the chickens. We are planning on moving next year and the girls will be coming with us so we need to start working out their new home

Living_proof

Has anyone had any success with Okra/Ladies Fingers? I am in Humberside and have a greenhouse and a polytunnel and am hoping to grow a reasonable crop next year. Last year was such a terrific season, but I wonder how much success could I expect in an average summer, planting inside>