Allotment stuff

karmalady you put me to shame. I’m afraid the housekeeping element of our allotment has been sorely neglected this year. Weeds are fairly rampant and the whole (rather large) plot needs a good tidy up and a proper plan put in place for next year’s growing season. Unfortunately this past year has been extremely busy (even more so than usual) running a business, being a carer for four people with diverse needs and grandparent duties have depleted my energy reserves. Reading your posts reminds me that I still need to harvest the last of my pears and collect the four butternut squashes (two are barely the size of apples!) that somehow survived being constantly dug up by an unknown creature.

I haven`t been to my allotment for two weeks so was dreading the weed potential. I am back now, having enjoyed time in the morning sun, the brightness first thing that makes for a good night`s sleep

No-one there as it was not even 9am. The allotment looks great, hardly a weed to be seen, all that pleasurable weeding week on week has paid a huge dividend. I cut a dutchman cabbage and some cavalo nero to bring home

My reluctance to go during the cold early mornings has made me put my thinking cap on. I have 4 1x1m veg beds at home plus a (less cultivated) clear patch of around 3 sq m. I am going to grow veg that can be used in winter by my house, eg swiss chard fordhook and cavalo nero, I like these veggies that can be cut as needed plus late season carrots. I think these are the basics as I need to keep some sort of rotation and these will occupy 3 beds, the 4th will have phacelia and hm compost and be covered as usual

The 3 sq m patch will have tight-headed red and green cabbage this year, won`t need to cover those as caterpillars don`t bother them too much. The following year those cabbages will need to be grown on the allotment but they will stand through winter

Keeping roots nice through winter is the thing, I have 2 big trugs full of dried used fine compost, that is a potential for storage. I`ll think on that

The winter green manure mix of rye and tares, on the allotment, in 3 beds, has sprouted and is growing fast, taller than I thought it would be by now. The alliums are all up and the leeks will stand for at least another month or two

The many sedums I put in have taken and I am looking forward to a weed-suppressing carpet from next year, that area is my `shrubby flowering patch`. My shed is standing firm and the inside is dry and smells of wood and not mould

I am going to make my last order later, I already received seeds from realseeds, this next one from simplyseed.

Hibernation time for me and other gardeners as well as for nature, working outdoors on soil does keep us in touch with the earth and its cycles

Btw, re the whitefly that attacks many leaves, veggiewash and 2 cold rinses works fine

CanadianGran

I'm fascinated by your system of allotment gardens in the UK. We don't seem to have such a thing here, or they are very limited, and the plots are very small, essentially a raised bed 8'x 16', with only annuals allowed.

More common is a community garden, run by a society with portions of food going to volunteers or the food bank. We do not have either in our town.

We have a Community Garden in this town, set up for the Nepali Ghurka community a few years ago. The way it runs is more in keeping with their culture.
We sometimes have to explain to the Nepali allotment holders that they cannot help themselves from other plots and that sharing is by individual choice.

I have a new variety of rhubarb Aely, called poultons pride. It has been showing strong growth and can be pulled all through summer, it does not go dormant. I have not seen anyone harvesting sweetcorn and even the field crops for animals looked poor here

I meant my one courgette at home

my one squash at home was poor this year, it was very productive last year. I am not bothering with tomatoes next year nor with the big squashes. It seems that beans were not so good for many people here either

Germination was not good enough so I have gone back to a supplier I used many years ago, in fact I have ordered seed today. Called realseeds.

I went to my plot yesterday and have planted all my alliums, the spare onion sets will go into a sq m bed I have at home, I have 4 such beds. I netted the alliums this year, just bird netting

My winter green manure seed is showing strong growth, rye plus tares, I can leave that until early spring and after chopping I have to wait a full month as they produce seed suppressant chemicals ie good for suppressing weeds all winter. I will follow in one bed with brassicas and another bed with a courgette and beans and the small bed will be winter leeks. Rye plus tares are good for opening the clay under the top layer of soil plus the weed suppression

I do like reading your stories and descriptions, keep them coming

I'm fascinated by your system of allotment gardens in the UK. We don't seem to have such a thing here, or they are very limited, and the plots are very small, essentially a raised bed 8'x 16', with only annuals allowed.

More common is a community garden, run by a society with portions of food going to volunteers or the food bank. We do not have either in our town.

I have had an allotment (apart from one year when the old ones closed before the replacements were ready) since I was in my late teens. The natural soil here is sand and stones with a base of shale and startlingly yellow clay, probably laid down by the run off when the last ice age melted. The "new" allotments (30 years old now) were scrubland. Without a lot of work and organic matter added they grow vicious nettles and couch grass but little else. Very acidic too.

Well done for persevering through such difficult weather and the terrible quality of seeds that seem to be around since Covid increased demand. A lot of the new would-be allotmenteers here first complain that the Council hasn't pre-dug the ground for them and then give up altogether within a few months.

This year has been so confusing both for gardeners and the plants. My rhubarb failed and went dormant 3 months only, then put on a complete new flush of growth in August. Sweet Corn wouldn't germinate but the 3rd sowing, resulting in 6 weedy plants has given 2 cobs a plant instead of th eusual one, but too late to fully set. The dry heat kept snails under control and for once my Purple Sprouting broccoli and Curly Kale haven't been wiped out by the molluscs. Most surprising, my tomatoes have been spectacular, when I thought they would shrivel and die. I think I might also get a crop of leeks, although the onions refused to grow at all.

Squashes (including courgettes) also did reasonably well after a very slow start and some losses.
I was delighted to see my first frog and slow worm for many years.

The work is hard, but the taste of the first (and sometimes only) strawberry seems to make it all worth while!

I am all set and ready to go plant these alliums, I will be counting them and keeping a note for next year and onwards, I want to get the spacing right for once so I am biding my time until we get fine weather again as I will have to spend a long time kneeling

Onion sets will go in at 1" depth this time, all those years of pushing them in, no wonder they always popped up as the roots grew

I will have half the sets left over and as I have 4 x 1sq m beds at home, I am going to put the rest into 1 bed

The squash are now all in my garage, not sure if they were all fully cured, I trimmed the stalks down a bit and some were a little bit green. I am going to start using them in a day or so

I did sort my seeds a few weeks ago and will get my act together about my order for next year. I had an excellent metal seed box from temu, as nice as any expensive box

I like to get a green manure crop in after the alliums, I have always had good results from autumn planted and can get them out of the ground by july end. That then gives them time to dry naturally outside before storing

My aim is always to make my soil better, it needs to be a living environment, sustainable without adding animal manure. That will happen with the help of my comfrey bocking 14. If you want to know more, Lawrence d Hills wrote a research book and that was the source for my enthusiasm. That plus the results

My new planting tools have arrived, such a nice wooden kit, I can keep them in a mesh bag in my shed.

The allium results will be interesting, a new 2.5 x 1.25 bed, lots of weeds and couch grass, killed off with cardboard and hand weeding. I put phacelia seeds down and they did not grow quickly, I chopped the small plants in and put a layer of comfrey leaves down instead, covered in weed fabric and only for a few weeks. It looked pretty good the other day when I took the top off, just an occasional phacelia plant popping up, very distinctive so I can keep chopping when they appear

The soil is fairly friable, at least in the top few inches, clay below. I put springy lengths of metal hoops in, they were a pricey initial outlay but are proving to be very versatile. It took me a long time to source them, I first saw them used by Charles Dowding and lusted after them

sharanya.co.uk/

I tested the mesh, first bought over 10 years ago, just bird mesh but it is quite stretchy and will go over the hoops, at least until I get growth

I do rotate my crops, most of them. definitely the alliums and brassicas and roots. The green manure will count as a rotation. Alliums can easily get white rot and then the ground cannot be used again for alliums for something like 20 years, so I am cautious

Our Autumn planting onion and shalllots have just arrived this afternoon. DH has taken them away, but one lot were Shakespeare, another two Red and Golden.
We had success with Spring planted ones, so fingers crossed for the Autumn/ winter ones.

Brilliant achievement!

Are you I n the south or north? I have moved north and am getting used to the difference in climate.

I have tried planting onions and garlic in the autumn for two years now and both times that have just rotted away over the winter. The plot is very exposed to easterly wind. It’s bitter up there in the winter. I decided to hold back until Spring.

But I’ve never tried radar onions. Do you think they might work?

my allium bulbs and sets have just arrived, very good quality and better than expected. I have been splitting the garlic, softneck provence wight, very big cloves, this one will store well.

I was going to plant just 8 in one row in my allium bed but the remaining cloves are too good to just eat. They are not good companions to asparagus so the spares are not going in there but will be very good companions to my rhubarb, keeping various pests away from the rhubarb. I will need to mark where I put them though, need to find some short visible sticks

I got radar onions, which do very well in a harsh winter, far too many for me. I also got jermor shallots, which I have grown several times previously. I am going to put all the jermor in, there are 20. Plan has changed a bit, priority is jermor followed by garlic and last are the onions

I will now work backwards from jermor, which need 15 cm apart. All the alliums could do with 30cm between rows. Garlic also 15cm apart and onions 8-10 cm apart

I will go to the plot on the next nice day. I have a treat coming from amazon today, a special planting ruler, string line and another dibber. I could guestimate but get better results if I am consistent, especially with the hole depth.

Gosh, it’s such good fun isn’t it🎉

I’ve got three lovely big bins made from packing cases and pallets so I can do a three year “rotting” plan.

I just hope I live long enough to put it to good use😬

Lathyrus, the manure advice may well help someone else Horse owners and farmers are looking to reduce their manure load and may not be scrupulous

I agree, please don`t be fobbed off with horse manure under 3 years old. You will get many weed seeds and acidity from horse wee

Yes, but thank you.

I’m always happy to talk about manure or any other allotment stuff😬

Lathyrus3

I’m having a load of manure delivery very today *karmalady.

So looking forward to it!❤️🤣

I respectfully suggest that fresh manure should be rotted down before adding to the soil or left on the vacant plot to rot down.
Sorry if you already know this.

I’m having a load of manure delivery very today *karmalady.

So looking forward to it!❤️🤣

That's a massive transformation, you must feel really proud. Well done!

I am glad of the rain last night and today, I am hoping that the autumn manure mix germinates. I won`t need to chop and cover those beds for winter

My organic veg order is very much reduced and I am appreciating the savings now. Already substantial with appreciated fresh organic veg available on my plot, I will have enough until late spring.

If you are dithering, get your name on a list anyway. I only waited 5 months but others seem to have to wait 2+ years. Lots are going to want an allotment, there are definite money-savings to be made as well as all the other benefits including the mental health aspect, exercise etc. I was 76 when I got my very neglected overgrown half plot

Prepping for winter now. I have 6 small water butts, dual purpose as they will help keep my shed upright. Now half empty, a ball floating in each one. I have dislocated and plugged the feeder hoses and later will put the insulation covers on the taps

I have sown green manure, winter mix, onto 3 beds, chopped and covered two beds of phacelia. Waiting for one big bed of phacelia to grow bigger before chopping that

A bed is ready for my autumn alliums, I have hoops ready to cover, to stop any critter from digging

Weeds are very under control, I have been relentless, hoe and hori hori mainly with the likes of bindweed dug out. The cardboard did a great job of suppression

60 ground cover sedum planted and 40 narcissi amongst those, in the old fruit cage area. Wiegelia, clump forming bamboo and lots of bocking 14 comfrey around the 4 edges. Dogwood down the centre

A big full bed of strawberry plants, all from 6 original plants plus rooted runners

I did a big second cut of my bocking 14 and all compost bins are benefitting, I am expecting good compost by next autumn

I now have veg for winter, brassicas and chard fordhook and leeks. Asparagus and rhubarb looking good and 14 excellent squash brought home just about cured for long storage

I never thought I would get much this year but I am so pleased, I have topped the paths with landscape bark, another 2 bags last week. I can see maybe 2-3 bags per year but hang the expense, so nice to walk on

Shed is tidy, tools sharpened and visible dried mud on the big tools has been washed away, remnant from all that initial digging into clay

It has been so worth it, the initial aches were awful as was the expense but all that is over. I now have somewhere lovely to go to on my bike and enjoy the grounding process of weeding by hand

Slug nematodes are arriving this week and I will get them watered in later this week. First session was in april and they are worth the effort. Its a gamble as to when to get them as the ground needs to be damp and warm enough

Only one session for me next year but I certainly saw the benefit this year. The effect seems to last for a couple of years

Wonderful, at last my phacelia green manure is growing well. It took a long time to sprout this year. I have a lot of basic green manure seeds but have taken the easy route this year, only sown phacelia. Wrt mustard, field beans, rye etc I need to get my rotation plan roughly sorted first. I have no idea what bugs, viruses etc are lurking in the soil, which is my priority just now. Phacelia is neutral and can be grown in any rotation, easy to chop down too