Allotmenteering Can Kill You (After a Super Week)

The hot sunny weather has been incredible again this week, allowing me to complete a variety of things down the plot, from seed sowing, to watering due to the lack of rain. It's been a balancing act keeping the seedlings both in the ground & various trays & pots correctly watered. Moving them in & out of sheds & cold frames so they could benefit from direct sunlight & back in again at the end of the day. Monday saw more Runner Beans sown into pots & trays. The last of my cloches were removed from Lettuce on my main plot but kept handy ready to combat any late frosts, which don't look likely, at the moment.

Plant Collars & Sprays Ready in Main Plot Shed

On Monday 1 row of Beetroot & 1 more row of Lettuce were sown in my 2nd plot. This completed the sowing & planting, except for Sweetcorn & Runner Beans, which are still germinating at present. It's just a case now of keeping any weeds down & watering & feeding when required. Due to the dry warm weather weeds are few & far between for a change. I can now concentrate on "filling up" my main plot at leisure, which is what gardening is all about.

Tuesday (another hot sunny day) was spent maintaining my Howard Rotavator. I had managed to obtain a similar model, minus the engine, for spares. I replaced the worn out tines, replaced the throttle cable & 2 or 3 other bits & pieces were replaced & repaired, no easy task on the grass path alongside my shed, especially when you drop a bolt or washer into the grass!! Good thing I had a magnet in my toolbox. By tea time I had stripped the spare machine down & obtained many useful spares.

Rhubarb Over Half a Butt Tall

Wednesday I decided to re-organize my water butts, which were badly sighted around the shed on my main plot. I emptied a large plastic water tank which was behind my shed, of the various items such as plant pots, netting, plastic bottles etc being stored in it, bunged up & sealed several pipe holes in its sides and emptied the water from 2 of my butts into it. After I had reinforced the wooden supports holding 1 of the butts I re-positioned the butt on top of the plastic tank at one end, supported by 2 steel bed frames, placed across the tank. The other 3 butts were placed close to the plastic tank at ground level. I can now use a flexible plastic pipe as an overflow, from the butt which is fed with water from my shed guttering, diverting it to whichever butt or tank that needs replenishing. The other advantage with the plastic tank is that I can "dunk" watering cans straight into it, rather than waiting for them to be filled via the taps on the butts. All I need now is an inverter to operate my submersible pump to supply water into the tank from the drainage ditch nearby. (Next project)??

Water Butts Sorted

My 2nd Plot

On Thursday it was time to have a clear out of all the clutter I had accumulated and not used, which was stored or lying about my plots. By midday I had loaded up my car with enough scrap metal, from old tools to chain link fencing, (and even the famous half-shaft from a milk float), to make a trip to the local scrap yard worthwhile. I was well pleased with over £20 for the lot. Buy more seeds I thought, not this time, I just had to join a queue for some petrol.
 I returned to the plot after lunch and rotavated one of my neighbours plots for her, as she was struggling to dig over her recently obtained, overgrown plot. My Howard made short work of the hard soil, the newly fitted tines worked a treat. I love it when a plan comes together.

 After the rotavating was done I erected the supports for my Runner Beans. It won't be long before the plants are ready to be planted out.
 Time for home well nearly, then came the unplanned bit. As I reversed my car from the plot a nasty scraping noise resounded from underneath it. Stopping the car I jumped out & looked underneath. The half full petrol can I had left behind the car (out of the sun) was jammed under the cars' exhaust, car still running. If the exhaust had been hot I reckon it could have been B-B-Q time. I quickly switched off the ignition and had to jack the car up to extricate the petrol can. Accidents don't just happen, there's always a cause. This one was memory loss?

Angle Shade Moth on 1 of My Pots

Plan of my Main Plot (2012)


There's always tomorrow!! (just). 


  

Thursdays Top 10 Tryouts (Or Show us Yer Tips)!! 3

1. Now is the time of year to mulch & feed your fruit trees/bushes to promote healthy growth.

2.  If you have any plants suffering from Downy Mildew try the following remedy - mix 1 part milk with 9 parts water and spray the stems and tops of leaves with the solution. Reapply after rain. 

3. Although Tomatoes will flourish in most soil types, they will fare better in soil which has had well decomposed organic material added to it. Also add Tomato feed during the growing season.

4. When Planting Beans DO NOT plant close to any of the following, as they may have adverse growing effects: Chives, Fennel, Garlic, Leeks.

5. Got the space, but don't want the extra work, try planting a few perennials such as: Globe Artichokes, Asparagus, Jerusalem Artichokes, Welsh Onions, Radicchio (Biennial).

6.  When planting out your Brassicas add a small cube cut from a Rhubarb stalk to the bottom of the planting hole, this is said to protect against club root.

7.  If your Brassicas are being attacked by Caterpillars sprinkle flour over them, leave it overnight and rinse the flour & dead Caterpillars off, the following day.

8.  If the soil around your plants is dry to your touch, 3 to 4 inches below its surface, then generally speaking your plants need watering.

9.  Plant Basil close to your Tomatoes to protect them from, Whitefly, Aphids & Mites.

10.  Click HERE to get yourself a free gardening journal. Its a PDF file in a blank monthly calendar format, to print off, with monthly tips. I like this one because of its simplicity. It may be too simple if your an expert gardener.

 

Waiting for Oca

Last week the weather looked liked it would give us a glorious warm & sunny March. How things have changed in 48 hours. Shrouded in mist & fog for the last 2 days with the temperatures well down on last week, a visit to the plot yesterday was curtailed.
After sowing a few Runner beans & Sweetcorn seeds into modules & pots inside my shed, the cold, dampness in the air, wouldn't allow my fingers (and toes) to warm up so I left for home about 1-30pm. Several of my fellow plot holders were in attendance during the late morning, doing various tasks on their plots but most of them left early too.

Cabbages & Peas in Cold Frame (8th March)

For the last couple of weeks, up until yesterday, I have been busy sowing various seeds both outside & into various containers in my sheds & greenhouse. The lettuce I sowed outside a couple of weeks ago have already made an appearance. I sowed 50% under cloches & 50% in the open. Both rows germinated on the same day so in future, unless the weather is seriously cold, I will dispense with 1 more task, that of laying down covers to warm the soil over Winter.

Rhubarb Doing Well 1 Tray of Lettuce & 1 Tray of Cabbages Hardening Off (8th March)

All the Peas I have sown both under cover & in the open are doing well as are the Parsnips. My Rhubarb plants are looking in very good shape. I enjoyed a nice Rhubarb crumble at the weekend with 4 stems from 1 of the plants. 28 out of 30 Cucumber seeds sown into pots in my greenhouse are coming on well as are the first batch of Runner beans and Tomatoes. Several trays of Cabbages are well on their way but no luck with the Brussels Sprouts that germinated a couple of weeks ago. Although I have not had any damping off yet, it seems that the sprouts don't like being sown in good compost, so last Sunday I sowed another 2 rows directly into soil in my Brassicas bed.

More Peas & Cabbage in Cold Frame Runner Beans in Pots (8th March)

Most of my fruit bushes are budding at the moment and the Strawberry plants have a good amount of new growth on them. The Onions don't seem to mind either the colder temperatures or the changes in temperature and seem to be developing merrily away. No sign of any Carrots popping through yet though, except for the few that were sown last October.

Goji Berry Plants "Greening Up" (8th March)

Yesterday, against my better judgement I ordered some more Carrot & Lettuce seeds and also some,
(new to me), Oca.
Oca is from South America (The Andes) and is similar to Potatoes with a hint of Lemon taste. The tubers can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled, fried, steamed or mashed. As they are late developing (harvest from November to December) and don't suffer from diseases associated with Potatoes, if I have any problems with my spud crop then the Oca will hopefully be a welcome addition.

Gotta go now & water some seedlings in the greenhouse. Wishing you good germination & warm weekends to come.

There's always tomorrow.