2023 - the good, the not so good but hopefully not ugly of growing your own!

carinjo

Harvested loads of tomatoes, a pumpkin and checked on harvesting potatoes.
But, it with great sadness, decided to give up the allotment. Not only for the cost in getting compost etc, but ms C's health is not the greatest and she unable to help anymore. 
And life is too short to fight marestail.

Farway

carinjo said:

Harvested loads of tomatoes, a pumpkin and checked on harvesting potatoes.
But, it with great sadness, decided to give up the allotment. Not only for the cost in getting compost etc, but ms C's health is not the greatest and she unable to help anymore. 
And life is too short to fight marestail.

Sorry to hear about Mrs C, and the allotment. I can sympathise with the allotment, but I was fighting constant vandalism, and it just was not worth my wasted time

carinjo

I've already contacted the local community allotment to donate tools and seeds. Olio and fb marketplace will be the next stop. Ms C said we shall have a go at square foot growing at home. Our garden is 3.5m x 5m. Partly taken up by shed and concrete slabs. She quite keen on raised boxes and hanging baskets, so will have a look at what will do best in our limited space. I would like to focus on unusual produce, not potatoes and onions etc. 
Where we live in hertfordshire we also have the opportunity to forage, so that is in the diary of things to do. 

kiss_me_now9

Sorry to hear you'll give up your allotment @carinjo. We've had a terrible year this year in the garden, partly due to the arrival of our little boy but equally just terrible for produce that normally does fairly well. We've had about 4 cucumbers from 3 plants, a handful of Cape Gooseberries and grown about 30 tomatoes on four plants, only one has changed from green and it's got blossom end rot so no eating that one. It looks like we might have a squash coming but two out of the four squash/courgette plants I put in didn't produce anything. 

Oh and one tiny strawberry, we got one tiny strawberry too. 

leftatthetrafficlights

Sorry to hear that Ms C's health isn't great @carinjo - giving up the allotment is going to be hard but as you said, there are more important things on life - sending my best wishes that Ms C's health improves and you enjoy your new projects of adapting your garden and foraging 😁 

The garden is definitely slowing down now - the sweetcorn is finished and the final courgettes are about to be cut, we'll be harvesting the runner beans that remain on the plants to store for the winter, the remaining spaghetti squash will be harvested and we'll be getting some more winter salad crops started.  Next weekend we'll be constructing the 'cold frame/polytunnel' on the raised bed and sowing more crops (carrots, beetroot, chinese cabbage etc) along with planting out the cauliflowers that we sowed a few weeks ago. The potatoes we planted out a few weeks ago are doing well and the chillis in the greenhouse are almost ready to pick.

We bought the garlic today to plant out in the next week or two (still more to buy but wanted to get some in case we can't find what we really want) and we also bought one of those plastic covered 'greenhouse' things as they were reduced - I'm planning on using it as additional staging for the greenhouse over the winter then using it for it's intended purpose next spring! 

This year has been a real mix in our garden too - the weather has been so unpredictable generally and the summer was poor but despite that we've still had some decent crops from some things and have enjoyed the process regardless!! 

Suffolk_lass

Sorry to hear you have given up your allotment @carinjo, and that Ms C's health is a little precarious. We tend to grow premium things that taste better or cost more in the shops, so a few autumn fruiting raspberry canes, that will fruit year after year, and some tall raised beds (4 planks high!) so that when you plant, refreshing compost, digging out weeds and picking is more straightforward. I don't suppose a compost heap is high on your list but we planted butternut squash in one of ours and then forgot about them until autumn, no watering or feeding, and they gave us half a dozen good fruits. 

We saw squashes grown over a tunnel of arches at Helmingham Hall a few years ago and we have emulated this on a much smaller scale using plumber's pipe and a pipe bender - you could maybe rig something with bean net to take advantage of the shed wall and roof - we cut down and removed the bean net but having bought pigeon-proof fruit cage netting and using that this year, I wish we had stuck with the bean net as the little curly cling-on stems are wound tight, sending fruits into silly tight spaces. 

I cannot say what is going on at ours as I have left others in charge while we are away.

KajiKita

Got a crumb of time this afternoon in the veggie patch and started clearing down the scrag ends of the runner beans. I found hanging treasure! ❤️🤩 I have enough seed to sow again next year for free! I shall add the cost of these seeds, if I were to buy them, to my produce tracker! I have some relatively bulky pods that are still green, so shall try drying them for a couple of weeks and see if they produce any more decent sized seeds. 

Note for next year: put half of the runner bean patch to runner beans eaten fresh and at least four stations for growing drying beans …. 😊



KK

Suffolk_lass

We do that, but move the roots around four locations in the classic rotation so that the nitrogen fix from the beans nourishes next year's potatoes, then their fine crumbly earth is perfect for straight roots on carrots and parsnips, with what is supposed to be brassicas next, usually kale and chard here. DH's copper arches (bent plumber's pipe) is the perfect frame, over the path to the next location, sweet peas and climbing squashes make sure these are all good.

My growing garlic has arrived and I need to move the strawberries to where the onions were (now weeded), so their location can be refreshed with new compost. We won't be growing winter veg this year as most of the rest of the veg garden is being rehashed so I can reach the middle of the beds more easily and the fruit cage (still in its wrapper) gets erected, and the fruit bushes moved. 

carinjo

After speaking with some allotmenteers, i contacted the council and asked about how i could use the allotment in a different way. They are happy for us to turn some parts into a garden area instead of vegetables growing. Managed to restart the tenancy agreement since the space have not yet been allocated to someone else. It warmed my heart how many rallied around us and offered to give a hand till things are a bit easier.
Ordered tulips from this weeks MSE weekly email offer to start us off. 
There a lot of clearing up to do now, but got a staycation coming up. Started pruning the blackberry bush and our allotment neighbour helped me to prune the plum tree right down to a human height.

Suffolk_lass

carinjo said:

After speaking with some allotmenteers, i contacted the council and asked about how i could use the allotment in a different way. They are happy for us to turn some parts into a garden area instead of vegetables growing. Managed to restart the tenancy agreement since the space have not yet been allocated to someone else. It warmed my heart how many rallied around us and offered to give a hand till things are a bit easier.
Ordered tulips from this weeks MSE weekly email offer to start us off. 
There a lot of clearing up to do now, but got a staycation coming up. Started pruning the blackberry bush and our allotment neighbour helped me to prune the plum tree right down to a human height.

In Germany the allotments you see driving through are "allotment garden clubs" (Schrebergarten if food is grown or kleingarten, or little garden is more of a social space "allotment"). In Bavaria, where DH worked, you would often see a little hut (think beach hut) with flowers, a path, table and chairs and a plot of vegetables or two. It is delightful, especially when people are sitting out, enjoying it. I might suggest it to my local councillor, now you have reminded me, as I am sure the mental health benefits would be fantastic, especially for those not up to the traditional allotment gardening