Hobbit Allotment!

[horticultural_hobbit]

Well, she's had a look off the photos, and gave a big 'ahh'.

How long should the garlic be dried for in the Wendy house? Think I will dig it all up over the next few weeks

[snohare]

Industrial strength ? No-one told me there was a stronger version...the man in the shop said everyone was buying Garlic Lite...
Well done, quine...don't forget, you can have all sorts of seedlings on windowsills etc in pots, growing away for the next four weeks - the growing season doesn't stop when summer does y'know !
I am the last person to talk to for advice on how to be tidy. I fully expect to spend four whole hours just cutting grass by hand and weeding tomorrow...

[Two_Sheds]

I shall be able to take proper stock. That means weeding and digging. Only, the more I think of it; the notion of no dig gardening resonates.

You have to get the perennial weeds out first though, before you can begin "no dig". Then you can cover all the bare soil with straw, like Supersprout did.

Ah, the committee: I have the same blinkered eyes peering at my plot (my niece described it today as "wild"). I don't do straight lines or bare earth, so it does look untidy to the untrained eye. I intend to make some explanatory signs this summer hols, because I know I'm muttered about behind my back.

[Two_Sheds]

Yes, but does it pass Ma's quality control tests?

[horticultural_hobbit]

I got garlic! Big purple stuff, that looks like it has split. Photographic evidence can be found on the hobbit page on book face thingy.

It looks industrial strength real life type and everything.

[horticultural_hobbit]

It all does feel as though England have yet again crashed out on penalties. I'm sure I've tried to do too much and not thought about it properly. The raised beds, aren't particularly raised. Height of 15cm I think, with each a metre squared. There are four in total, with the one being 33cm high. Dad has some
Scrap wood somewhere, from which I want to construct a fifth. All I need is to know where his hammer and nails are.

At the moment, it is hard to get down there for long periods of time. I went down there yesterday for a precious 45 minutes.

I think once I get to the summer holidays -which are only four weeks away-I shall be able to take proper stock. That means weeding and digging. Only, the more I think of it; the notion of no dig gardening resonates. How can I pursue that, without the lotment committee not passing judgement on the untidiness? I know they do, one of the members told me as such.

I am rather looking forwards to putting in some winter pansies and more tulips. This years crop of tulips really made me smile; and ended up as cut flowers on our dining table. It was a simple pleasure really.

There is also some green manuring to be done. There is some clover, fenugreek and grazing rye sat in dad's shed. With the fenugreek, at least Ma can out that into Indian dinners and stuff chappatis with it.

That is going to be hard. And putting in more over wintering garlic etc with broadies. They haven't done too badly, and are fairly useful.

I can't grow carrots or parsnips. Tried and failed twice. Cabbages are a wait and see. Ma want her palak, so must figure out that next season.

Just has to be done in the most practical and plausible way.

[Feral007]

Well I know what you mean about the tomatoes, my plants took so long to grow last summer that only the Tom Thumb ones got ripe at all. And only a couple at a time.

Tis stinking growing weather this year no matter where you are. And you've been so busy with everything else! It's amazing you got what you did done.

Snohare, that's awful that you can't get down to the garden unless you're there for 8 hours! Would want to be a very good day when I'd want to spend 8 hours in the garden without a cuppa now and then and a meal in the middle (and no one seems to have enough for a salad this summer!)

[snohare]

Wall to wall weeds. Flowering squashes, but not many fruits.

"not many fruits" "not many fruits" Oh, the envy ! It hurts. You've got fruiting squashes ! You should see my marrow and courgette plants...I kid you not, the leaves are smaller than my fingernails. They did have bigger leaves, but those withered away because it has taken me weeks to get decent mpc to pot them into.
And you've seen your weeds ! I haven't been to the allotment since May. Every day I have had free it's either been chucking down rain - which means eight hours in town with nowhere to shelter, and usually not even money to go somewhere for a cuppa - or I've not been fit to get out of bed early enough for my lift, never mind do any gardening. So here I sit in tormented longing, wondering if the slugs and caterpillars have eaten the brassicas, has the Blight got my tatties, how are the strawberries (slugged, I'll bet), and have my carrots and salsify and hamburg parsley and scorzonera come up and have the carrot flies won again this year ? (Although it's a Pyrrhic victory if I decide a little protein supplement with my carrots is in order...)
Well done on getting your raised beds built at least. That's an infrastructure investment that will pay off in years to come, particularly in other years like this. (Extra height = improved drainage = improved growth. The more there is, the more there is.)
Don't be so quick to write off your tomatoes. Yes, they need nursing, but like a politician, they only need one brief window of opportunity to burst into glory and stun everyone with their splendour...okay, maybe a politician wasn't a good analogy, but you know what I mean ! My tomatoes are mainly about six inches high and have yellowish leaves; but the stems are fat and beefy, the foliage thick and plentiful and not withering, I reckon the roots are doing well and given heat and sun as well as water they will romp away. Like your allotment, there is not much visible progress, but the groundwork for taking advantage of future chances is there. You may yet be chuffed at how well your broadies survive and thrive without your constant help...

[horticultural_hobbit]

Feeling a bit yucky.

Wall to wall weeds. Flowering squashes, but not many fruits.

Garlic shallots and onions not quite ready yet. Broadies under there some where.
Purple shiraz mange toute in their Purple glory. Empty raised beds yet to be filled as I haven't had a window to get compost yet. They are lined with newspaper. Tomatos that effectively a write off;
Looking very traumatised. Green manures waiting in the wings. The next big window I have is the summer holidays that are four weeks away. Will dig over patches then and sow the green manures.

Feel very demoralised due to the lack nice weather. So far, I was more successful when I didn't have a plot; with the exception of the onion etc.

[horticultural_hobbit]

True about the Greenary, Aunty likes it as garnish in Indian dinners
As well as used to make the base of a curry like the rest of the onion.

[snohare]

In the morning, when you wake, could you suggest when my various overwintering onions, garlic and shallot should be harvested.

I seem to remember seeing another thread - in the New Shoots section I think it was - that had the same query. From what I remember of that, the answer is, "once the leaves begin to go brown and die back"; but garlic at least can be harvested earlier, and of course onions can be harvested for the greenery too. (I've never tried them myself, don't know if that's just hypothetical.)
That ends this post, the dog just farted under the desk so I think I will go outside !

[horticultural_hobbit]

Evening my sweets, nearly good night actually.

In the morning, when you wake, could you suggest when my various overwintering onions, garlic and shallot should be harvested.

Nothing as of yet has Raffia type foliage. I'm jus harvesting as when with regards to onions. Ma ordered me down there and I came home with five nicely sized shenshyu. I was rather impressed with how big they are. Just very very wet. Which brings mento the Garlic. Think I've dismissed one naively as rotten -yes, silly girl, I know. Pulled one up today, as the foliage had gone down. It's split! But is sodden.

The fact that one off the shenshyu looked like a sainsburys sized onion did make smile inside. Have Yet to lift a red one yet though. I have electric and red baron I think.

[horticultural_hobbit]

I know what you mean about the crunchy stuff. Like the crunchy peas in Bombay mix.

Well, were only frozen for a few hours. Have just had them with dinner. Went down well!

Today, I took a pair of shears to the lotment; cut down the grass and left it as mulch through laziness (that and I'm physically knackered). It is all annual weeds, and what look like the leafy bits of dandelions. Potato bed is all carpetted green. Most of the spuds have failed.

Small high for today. Two white pound land lilly's that drew compliments.

[Two_Sheds]

Psst Aunty two_sheds, I got broad beans! Think Ma wants to use them like peas. Boil, freeze, save.

Yay yay !

Get Ma to make them into those fried crunchy spicy broadies you can get in Holland & Barrett. I don't know where they originate (Middle East perhaps?) but they're nommy

[Feral007]

My house yard has been a shocker this year HH. But the no-dig garden was going great guns so I just tried to pretend I couldn't see all the long grass. Of course, another problem for me, is the snakes in the grass

Now the grass is dropping off and we're about to tidy it up and try to make it easier to look after next year. And the poor garden is just some oasis of cabbage in the desert of hay. It's just so hard trying to do everything! I agree in putting down some cardboard, thick paper or plastic over any areas you can't manage atm. And also about not hassling all the weeds. I'm considering the grass in the tree gardens as green manure until such time as I can get to it And I'm cultivating 'The Shaggy Garden Look' for next spring/summer