The even newer good, bad and ugly of growing your own in 2021!

droopsnoot

In a recent weeding session I found what looks like a wild strawberry plant with a couple of very small strawberries on it. Must remember not to tread on it next time I go to the water butt. Three of my pepper planets have peppers on them now, but only one per plant. As they grow out of the central "trunk" of the plant that might not be surprising.

carinjo

droopsnoot said:

In a recent weeding session I found what looks like a wild strawberry plant with a couple of very small strawberries on it. 

Oh snap! Let us know what you do with them, i found a few next to runnerbean frame.
I am finally bowing to life/work/allotment balance and using weedkiller on the main paths. I am simply unable to keep up witht the maintenance. A fellow allotmenteer will be showing me how to safely apply next week. Won't do anything for the marestail, but at least take some of the stress away i hope

carinjo

Yesterday had a quiet morning weeding the brassica bed, they all looking good except for 1 row of cabbages being munched on. 
Very excited, my first crown prince pumpkin forming, the size of an apricot. 
Second sowing of lettuce and beetroot mostly all germinated, no sign of the spring onions yet. 
About 50% of the tomatoes started forming fruit, looks like mainly the cherry tomatoes that have no fruit yet.
The plum tree leaves are covered with tiny white things. Assume it is some sort of aphid. No idea how going to deal with it as the tree is huge! A problem for another day. 

Suffolk_lass

carinjo said:

Yesterday had a quiet morning weeding the brassica bed, they all looking good except for 1 row of cabbages being munched on. 
Very excited, my first crown prince pumpkin forming, the size of an apricot. Me too - very exciting
Second sowing of lettuce and beetroot mostly all germinated, no sign of the spring onions yet. 
About 50% of the tomatoes started forming fruit, looks like mainly the cherry tomatoes that have no fruit yet.
The plum tree leaves are covered with tiny white things. Assume it is some sort of aphid. No idea how going to deal with it as the tree is huge! A problem for another day. 

The bugs on the plum tree are likely to be mealy plum aphids as this is their time (the leaf curl ones are typically April-May). There is quite a bit of good info on bugs and diseases for plum trees on the RHS website. Here is a link. Personally, we just do a wash in winter if the conditions are right and work round them in summer, but the honeydew does seem to attract wasps. Our main concern is not getting bacterial canker or that is the whole tree. We managed to stop that spreading from our lovely apricot to the nearby plum by chopping it down quickly, some years ago

Caitykinss

General update as I’ve not posted in a while. I started a new job last week so the garden has taken a slight backseat. 

Harvested my first potatoes on Sunday and they were delicious. Some still really small but others a really good size so I’m just going to have to dig around for the bigger ones by hand for now. 

Had a go at harvesting my carrots, and they were a bit small (although sweet and tasty) so another couple of weeks there. 

Tomatoes are steaming ahead and I have plenty on most of my plants, so really pleased with them. My peppers on the other hand are looking a little worse for wear with slug damage in the zippy. Quite a few flowers on them but they’re very slow. I gave my mum two plants to put in her conservatory, and hers all have 3 or 4 peppers on them, so think they’ll all be going to my mum next year. On the flip side though, my aubergines are way ahead of hers. All are flowering and I think the first fruit is about to poke out. 

Kale looking ok, although nibbled by something. Pak Choi bolted, so I’ll sow another row at the weekend. My chard has also started bolting, so I’m going to harvest it quick and get some more on. Beetroot has finally germinated, and my fennel is looking great. 

I planted out my runner beans and french beans last weekend and french beans look good - they haven’t been eaten by anything! Runner beans have started climbing, but the tip of all of them looks like it’s snapped off/been eaten. Not sure what’s been at them at all, or if they’re still growing. I have some more in the zippy just in case. 

Also harvesting strawberries by the glut, so there’s a positive! 

carinjo

Congrats on the new job @Caitykinss!
The tiny pumpkin and marrow got munched and is no more 
Harvested more chard and broadbeans, raspberries, red gooseberries. Courgette, lettuce and a cabbage. 
Ms C has to fly to portugal this weekend so expecting extra time on allotment getting away from a quiet house.

Fosterdog

Bit of a mixed week here my lettuce is infested with greenfly, my newly sown carrots have an ant nest underneath so they are being dug up, I dug up a few of my first early spuds and they were tiny (but tasty), bindweed is starting to take over and I can't get it under control, I'm on the verge of going chemical but that will affect everything I'm growing.

On the plus side I have some nice tomatoes on the few plants that survived the storms, my peppers are flowering and the first pepper showing, my first two rows of carrots have finally started to do better, as have my runner beans, they are way behind where they usually are at this time of year but better late than never. I'm harvesting the first of the peas, getting daily strawberries, and more raspberries than I know what to do with. My marrow are coming along nicely, they had a rough start and I thought I lost them but the one is about 4" long and looking good with a few more on the way.

Also flower wise my anemones are in full swing and looking beautiful, my Livingston daisies are just starting to bloom, and my freesias will be blooming in the next week or two.

MysteryMe

My tomatoes seem late this year. The cherry toms are formed and green but some way from ripening, not seen much of the salad and beef toms.  Still getting decent strawberries and I am beating the birds and slugs to them.  I've used strulch around the plants and it seems to work 

Suffolk_lass

Fosterdog said:

Bit of a mixed week here my lettuce is infested with greenfly, my newly sown carrots have an ant nest underneath so they are being dug up, I dug up a few of my first early spuds and they were tiny (but tasty), bindweed is starting to take over and I can't get it under control, I'm on the verge of going chemical but that will affect everything I'm growing.

On the plus side I have some nice tomatoes on the few plants that survived the storms, my peppers are flowering and the first pepper showing, my first two rows of carrots have finally started to do better, as have my runner beans, they are way behind where they usually are at this time of year but better late than never. I'm harvesting the first of the peas, getting daily strawberries, and more raspberries than I know what to do with. My marrow are coming along nicely, they had a rough start and I thought I lost them but the one is about 4" long and looking good with a few more on the way.

Also flower wise my anemones are in full swing and looking beautiful, my Livingston daisies are just starting to bloom, and my freesias will be blooming in the next week or two.

@Fosterdog lovely courgettes!

Re chemical control, you could make up a strong solution of roundup (glyphosate) in a jam jar and paint it on the bindweed with a paintbrush (or use the more expensive less strong roundup gel) - if you do it in the evening when pollinators have stopped flying you minimise the likelihood of them being impacted (by contact) and the topical application can really help reduce it. We used to use Grazon for nettles, bindweed and brambles but have stopped because the bees love the brambles and I now control it after it has flowered, and Grazon contained something we are no longer allowed to buy. Our garden was once part of a chicken farm so nettles are everywhere. We have designated paces where they are allowed now as there is one butterfly or moth that relies on them. Very Gardeners' World (if you saw it last night that will make sense!) 

LessImpecunious

Suffolk_lass said:

Re chemical control, you could make up a strong solution of roundup (glyphosate) in a jam jar and paint it on the bindweed with a paintbrush (or use the more expensive less strong roundup gel) - if you do it in the evening when pollinators have stopped flying you minimise the likelihood of them being impacted (by contact) and the topical application can really help reduce it.

Surely physical control (regularly pulling up and/or slicing the roots below the ground as deep as possible) would be less trouble than painting every plant? Not sure as I've never used weedkillers - how much of the plant do you have to paint ? - e.g., can you cut back to just above the soil and then just dab on the cut tip, or do you need to cover a large area? And is it effective after only one application?