Hobbit Allotment!

[horticultural_hobbit]

Just thinking, Aunty Two_Sheds. Saw bits of cardboard, and thought it might be useful. I know I can use it instead of the newspaper.

In other news, the floo-ers plugged in last week; all the pansies have been eaten. Leaving only the plug of soil behind. Am very very annoyed.

Looked at my half cooked leaf mold

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

and then did this
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

and have half a plan

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

The raised beds were looking at me rather mournfully, and the plan is to eventually fill em with compost anyway. This may help a bit.

[Two_Sheds]

Why would you be wanting to double up?


I wouldn't, because too many layers of carbon just won't rot down. Best to layer browns with greens really

[horticultural_hobbit]

would it be a help or a hindrance to put cardboard onto the already present newspaper?

[snohare]

Oh, plenty you can be doing Hobbit !
I was sowing kale, turnips and kohl rabi just last week; also skirret (early for September, but it takes a month of damp to germinate and it's old seed, so I want to do repeated sowings), and I did a pot each of pak choi and tat soi as well. I could've done mizuna and other chinese veg, but didn't bother as yet.
These are all pretty optimistic for this time of year at my latitude - we had frost on the grass here the other morning - but for you, I would imagine, you would hopefully have another six weeks before the temperature drops too low for fast growth, and by that time you should have decent sized plants steadily growing away at an extra 3% per week. But many/most of the chinese veg of course are ideal for growing after midsummer, that stops them from bolting.
Stick 'em in the wendy house by all means, that is the perfect way to go. I have found that growing turnips in modules has been very iffy for me this year, all my success has come from direct sowings; but I know Two Sheds does it that way, with great success I believe, so I reckon my problem has been that my modules have had naff compost and too much damp and cold. (Sitting outside in propagators which aren't designed for outdoors, so rainwater leaks in.)
Oh, and if I can ever find the seeds, and get back to the lottie (I've been busy with ESA stuff), I will put some Aquadulcie Claudia in. Terrible decision to make though - my runner beans are just beginning to go gangbusters, flowers but no beans yet etc, how long should I live in hope before I haul 'em out and replace with AC's ?

[horticultural_hobbit]

Okay, could you lovelies provide me with some perspective?

I am one and a half beds away from having my entire half plot newspaper mulched. I hope to have this done by half term; roughly eight weeks away. I am whiling away time, before I sow my onions, garlic and shallots. So my query is as follows. What else can I sow, plant, so as to not to just stand there and stare at the newspaper?


I would like to have another go at cabbage and winter greens. I know there are or were savoy cabbage seeds in my seed box, probably some kale too. What I hypothesis is modularising in the wendy house and then when they are big enough, plug into the newspaper mulch. There is of course, aqua dulce broadies; still an acquired taste. Spinach as well. Though I'm not sure how to plug and play with that: and can I do that with turnips, swedes.

:: catches breath, as she's rabbiting ::

I don't have any window sills, no garage any more.

I am going to have floo'ers. Pansies, polyanthus's, tulips and daffs. There's something therapeutic about dibbing those in. There will also be roses.

What can I do now and how?

[snohare]

Why, I never expected you to sell organs to fund the lottie - it's impossible to know when you might need to have both renal filters - ye jist kidney ! But of course you need tulips as well...
I'll not make any jokes about dog roses...
I know what you mean about the little dance. I do the same thing when I see my broadies podding up, or rasps coming to fruition.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Something like that, yes. There were a mystery plant thing as per an order of something. Have a tentative plan, yes, tentative as these tend to go whoopsy. Borders will be red, white and blue as it is still Jubilee year. That and I like the word jubilee as a synonym for the happiness and joy the plot could bring. I am anticipating lots of pansies, mostly of those colours, for the borders. There are also roses plans, to dog leg on the one side. I did a small funny dance with the sight of the blue rose. And no, i didn't sll any kidneys for them. I try not to part with them. And tulips, I like my tulips, so lots of those.

[snohare]

Och well Hoblet, it's in the nature of greenhouses to kill things if you turn your back on them for five minutes, and in the nature of seedlings to die likewise. Put the two together in any location more than a few yards away from your door and you are lucky if all you get is some scorched leaves !
What are your plans for them ? Mix'n'match with some other species/colours in a border ?

[horticultural_hobbit]

Tad annoyed with myself. Have killed half a tray of bellis belle, yes, floo'ers, uncle sno, in the 4TB. Was half open, but most have gone a bit crispy. others were droopy; so stood the tray in some water. Have perked up, but I'm not happy...

[snohare]

No great hurry Hobbit, it may be as well to wait until winter comes on anyway, that will give any that will pop their clogs due to their untimely transplantation, to do just that.

Polyanthus ? Wassat ? ! Dinna ken aboot floo'ers My only suggestion can be, harden them off gradually just as you would any other plant that has been grown in hothouses in Jersey...but green and wet sounds healthy to me.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Very kind offer, uncle sno, I shall have a think ^_^

Postman has just left me the first batch winter pansies and polyanthus. Should be okay to be planted through the newspaper, shouldn't they? Temporarily sat in the wendy house in dad's garden. Looked all right, green and a bit wet.

[snohare]

I'm sooo tempted to make jokes about teachers and caning...
Funnily enough, I just got a load of fine healthy, and above all, free rasp runners off Freegle - PM me if you want some Hobbit, I certainly have more than I need. ('Twas a case of take them all or not at all, then find homes.) Variety is unknown, but disease resistant with a long cropping season.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Tried that site earlier, but it didn't work. Yeah, I have the tendency to do things before I should they are all sat on the window sill, in the hope they do.

Now I'm window shopping-and shouldn't-raspberry canes, as I managed to kill the ones I had.

[rustylady]

Looked up Falstaff apples and found this link Apple - Falstaff - tasting notes, where to buy fruit and trees Seems it is a late ripening apple so again you may have picked a bit early. Keep them indoors a week or so and they may sweeten up a bit. I don't have any trained fruit trees (I live in a rented cottage which has in the back garden a HUGE apple tree - variety unknown but produces large cooking apples - and a Victoria plum tree)

[horticultural_hobbit]

I'm not sure about how productive these cordon trees are. They did take a while to take off. They are also in pots. There was a frost several times too; I only wrapped them up in fleece the once. The concorde pear has nothing. Leaves, but nothing. Yet that was later still in getting leaves. So I'm glad despite the small number of fruit.

Apple was proper salty tasting...