cwmmawr Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Any allotment or home growers out there getting ready for the growing season ? Got my early potatoes going in this week and have onions shallots and peas coming on in greenhouse for later planting outside anyone growing anything different this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Over winter onions are coming along nicely. Tates are chitting. Got a raised bed to get built and some ground to dig over ready for carrots and parsnips. Got some mange touts as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwmmawr Posted March 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 My overwinter onions have good top growth but I'm not sure about them after such a wet winter in South wales. Got sharpes express for earlies and king Edwards main crop they did well last year for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I've got some charlottes , maris pipers and king edwards, more than enough spuds for me and the girlfriend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Tomato seeds are in, cleared the patch, and that's it at the moment! More this weekend. Cheers Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 1st visit to allotment tomorrow so working on the paths and then I will cut down my autumn raspberries I have brought some onions to get in and spuds should be going in easter weekend Going to be building raised beds etc this season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 ive got 4" of water all over mine still Got 50m of ground drains to get in over the weekend end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Emptied the compost bin, and dug it into the veg patch. Its a start. Cheers Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlander Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Got me tates chittng and cucumber seeds on the go but thats it at the mo been too wet to do anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted March 22, 2016 Report Share Posted March 22, 2016 Rain again on Thursday! Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted March 22, 2016 Report Share Posted March 22, 2016 Some carrots, parsnip, broccoli and asparagus are in now, along with the over wintered onions and garlic. Just the tates and peas left to go in for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwmmawr Posted May 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2016 How is everyone getting along? Waiting for the earlies to finish , Tomatoes in greenhouse safely and the peas have just started to flower so I am happy enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted May 18, 2016 Report Share Posted May 18, 2016 Well everything planted, and everything has started to pop through the soil, we are in with a chance! Cheers Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingEgg Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 Broad beans already 4 ft up, runners comong along, tomatoes in and looking good.. Few other bits in and coming on well. The weather seems a bit more settled over the last few days which helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 Beetroot not looking to good everything else appears to be doing well. Eating first lettuce. Cheers Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbit_stu Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 My first attempt at growing veg... It seems I've fed the slugs well and achieved very little else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 My first attempt at growing veg... It seems I've fed the slugs well and achieved very little else! Got to get rid of the slugs. If you can find some old carpet tiles/samples, lay them pile-side-down around the garden and water well (or do it on a damp evening). In the morning, the slugs will have congregated under the carpet, and you can collect t them up and exterminate them as you wish. Chickens love them, apparently. LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbit_stu Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Thanks LS. Me and the boy have been picking them out where we can, and it does look like we have got on top of it a bit so fingers crossed. I will keep an eye out for the carpet tiles though, sounds like a great idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Nice one Lord Seagreave did not know that. Planted the last lot of lettuce last night, cheated a bit and gave all the plants some liquid feed. Cheers Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolk dumpling Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 Bit of a dodgy start for my peas and beans - think it was mice who removed 80% of seeds but bought plants cheap at big garden market and all doing well now particularly runners which have got a wriggle on. I moved the few peas and broad beans from my 'attacked' rows and put them I a small area away from main ground and they look superb - these will be for the wife/grandkids to eat raw. Spuds looking very good - 3 types all unused before just for scrapers for the pot. Artichokes looking spectacular - not grown these before but the spectacular foliage in my biggish garden also a bonus. Need to look up recipes for these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted May 29, 2016 Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 Potatoes are all through and set up in drills now, beans look to have had a good percentage germinate. White turnips, beetroot ok, carrots under fleece and doing good courgettes now in beds and cabbage thriving under netted protection. Carted in sacks and sacks of sharp river sand and it seems to be helping break down the unyeilding clay soil. Much of the entire allotment site is under water for much of the winter due to poor drainage. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted May 30, 2016 Report Share Posted May 30, 2016 Even heavy clay can be quickly improved by a thick mulching at the end of the growing season. In my first year, the topsoil in the garden was very thin, over a heavy cold clay. The one saving grace of the long period of neglect was that there were hundreds of dandelion roots like carrots, which had gone done a foot or more into the subsoil - making it a bit easier to dig. In October, this was roughly double-dug (and as many dandelions removed as possible) and covered with 3"-4" of straw (with the positions of the broad bean seeds marked out clearly, so I knew where to look!). Digging over the beds the following spring, the number of earthworms was very impressive, and the soil, whilst still a bit pale, was considerably more friable. Once the vegetables were established I began regularly top-dressing with a good inch of well-rotted manure. The following October, the whole garden (with the exception of some super leaf beets that were still producing) was thoroughly forked, and the beds laid out for the following year. The difference in just one year was remarkable, for just a couple of weekends of serious graft. You can buy in earthworms if you think you need them, but in my experience a nick thick blanket of straw and a bit of patience was all that was needed to bring them in! LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwmmawr Posted September 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 How is everyone getting on hasn't been to bad for me some nice harvests but did get blight on tomatoes but luckily had a good crop before it hit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbit_stu Posted September 3, 2016 Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 My best results have come from a blackberry bush at the end of the garden which I gave no attention at all too! Typical. As its our first year we've enjoyed mixed results, but managed to pickle a few jars of beetroot and have sugar snap peas coming out our ears for a few weeks. My question though, what happens now?? Do you just cover it over until next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted September 3, 2016 Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) You can still squeeze in some quick-cropping turnips and radishes. You might even get some more beets in (there are a number of varieties that give you almost as much top as bottom, and it's all edible). Start thinking about next year. If you've identified a sunny spot with a but of shelter, you might make a note to put sweet corn over there next year. If you want big pumpkins, you need to start getting food into the soil where they are going to be now. Once you've finished your catch crops, thoroughly dig over a god-sized patch for winter-sowing some broad beans. I had excellent results with 'Wizard' field beans (good to eat, rather than just Green manure). Some of the longpod varieties will also stand winter sowing. I wouldn't put them in until November at the earliest. Small plants are hardier than big ones. If there are any patches that are going to remain empty until next spring, give them a good going-over and then lay down a really thick mulch (well-rotted manure, or even just some straw). By breaking up the soil and mulching, the worms will do the rest of the work for you! suckers! Lastly, was there anything that didn't ripen sufficiently this year, that could have used a longer growing season, or just a head start? If you made a note of your sowing dates, maybe put a note in your 2017 calendar to start them under glass a bit earlier, or spend the winter making some cold frames. The ones I made meant I got my first peas in the ground and growing well before the last frosts, and the plants and the yields were terrific. Happy gardening! LS Edited September 3, 2016 by lord_seagrave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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