Wahey, Offer and contracts were sent out to me yesterday for my Allotment

[Jamesy_uk]

You just reminded me of something rotten my Dad did Feral....
He told me there was treasure hidden in the potato patch of the garden buried there a long time ago and I could have it if I could find it! I methodically dug up the entire patch and when I was done he told me maybe he was wrong and it was in the Bean area I should go try there lol.

[Feral007]

Hehehe, you know Jamesy I like the way your dad thinks.................

[Jamesy_uk]

Sunny weather plans (Have I jinxed it?)

I will finish off clearing the 1st bed this weekend which is about 8m x 2.5m to get some winter stuff in and the second bed which is about 8m x 4.5m I will green manure, any suggestions for an overwintering green manure maybe spinach? The problem is I can't see myself filling the second bed with whats left to sow this growing season although if anyone has any ideas I am all ears.

First bed I was planning on overwintering onions, garlic, Kale, broad beans and I did read somewhere Meteor peas maybe?

[Feral007]

Just a few things from Jackie French's book The Wilderness Garden.
Garlic, strawberry runners, broad beans, spinach, onions, seedlings of broccoli, cauliflower. Brussels sprouts (yeck), fast maturing asian veg tasto, pak choi (this did great for me over winter) mitsuba. Add winter lettuce, winter radish (huge success here) chinese mustard, kale, corn salad, and swedes, all to eat in spring, altho our radish went great and is now over done. Also I put in small globe carrots that grew great, just pulled the last two yesterday, wish I'd put in hundreds more. Smaller than the size of a golf ball but really tasty. I also have cabbages (the purple ones are less holey from the pests) and I'm waiting to see if they go really fast in the first bits of sun. I'm going to start harvesting the outer leaves anyway as they look quite tasty.
What about herbs? My rosemary plant is looking quite good, and the oregano that I mulched up with grass hay is good too. The tarragon may have gone to God but we won't know till spring I guess. And the Mountain Pepper (or Welsh pepperplant) is great. Some of the garlic chives on the deck are coming back already. There's still lots you can put in if you want.

[Jamesy_uk]

Strawberry runners, thats a good one as my strawberry tarp bags are full of runners I can get on that at the weekend for sure. Pak choi, check I got seeds for that. I assumed I was a bit late for the cabbage, swede and brussels but I have some variety of those in my seed pile and Rondo round carrots somewhere.

I guess the trick is going to be constructing some cages, I have a very limited budget but I cut down/back a load of conifers earlier this year and still have all the long cuts so I could in theory make a cage lashing them together and some poundland netting.

[Feral007]

How cold does it get there? We've had around - 8 to -10C this year and the pak choi has been good, the lone beetroot also! And the globe carrots. The cabbages are soso, and the spring onions well they've been going around 7 yrs now. I haven't done cages, but have mulched up high in the coldest, and some days pulled the mulch away to let the sun in. We're going with the thought that the things that do well (esp if self seed) then that is what suits this climate and set up. If it doesn't do good then try something else.

[Jamesy_uk]

Cages are for the brassicas being as I had more cabbage whites and little flippin flies by weight last year on my cabbage and brussels that I could measure, it was like a white cloud appaearing when I shook them.

[Jamesy_uk]

Vegetable Seeds : Chard and Cooking Greens

"Viroflex" Giant Winter Spinach

This looks like an edible candidate for the second larger bed maybe?

[Andromeda]

You're not too late for cabbage, depending on when you want to harvest. it's prime sowing time for Durham Early and take a look at some Tundra for late winter cabbage.

[Jamesy_uk]

Well thats bed 1 clear, just need a quick second pass to get the smallish bits out and I can start on bed 2

[hamesy]

Can you not burn the rubbish Jamesy? Saves you black bagging it and taking it to the dump.

[Feral007]

Has it gone to seed? You could bag it and let it die in the heat and then compost it.

That bed is looking good. Get something in quick before the weeds notice! They hate bare ground.

[Jamesy_uk]

Can you not burn the rubbish Jamesy? Saves you black bagging it and taking it to the dump.

Unfortuantely no, the council has had so many complaints from the houses backing onto allotments the new allotment paperwork says you cant have a fire ;(. Oh and there was a lot of bind weed mixed up with that stuff so I though better safe than sorry.

However lucky for me I made a new friend today, Barney and he has 2 plots next to me and he kindly went and got his trailer and came with me to the dump and I got rid of it all then he will do the same when I clear the other bed.
I spent rest of my time today digging over that bed and starting to clear the second one, I sowed some winter cabbage and cauliflower and other goodies when i got home.

[Jamesy_uk]

Not much to report, I fully dug over the first bed I cleared getting the last weed roots and exposing slugs eggs etc before the weekend



Then I spent this weekend helping friends move to Kent so that was 2 days of a different kind of back breaking lol.

I ordered 40 plug plant leeks and those arrived today, they look quite healthy so next time i get to the plot, probably thursday I will get those in the ground.



If any of the new plot holders want the details of where I ordered from feel free to pm me I don't want to fall foul of promotion rules

[hamesy]

Coming along nicely Jamesy. I might send you a PM about those leeks