Unofficial retrobike allotment thread....

[TheGreenRabbit]

Re: Re:

My Brussells have been a failure

Think you can get a cream for that now

 

[TheGreenRabbit]

Going over to cut flowers this year, not sure its worth all the effort for veg, will grow a few just to keep my hand in. The big event is I will be at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, with a garden, that will be out of this world !

 

[REKIBorter]

Re:

Must get my spuds in soon, running a bit late this year as only just dug the plot over. Looking at being more selective with what I grow. Learnt a few lessons last year about what works for me and the plot. Just exhausted our supply of main crop potatos we had stored away, much tastier than the shop bought ones even after being out the ground since last September. Still have plenty of onions and garlic which have stored very well. Pickles and preserves are slowly being consumed, my spicey pickled beetroot can blow your socks off.

Must grow less courgettes!

Congrats Greenrabbit on your Chelsea garden, shame we are not going this year.

 

[Silvergoat]

Re:

Got a busy weekend coming up prepping ground for spuds – get heat patches and rubs ready. Always late but always catch up in the end. Got a fine stock of salads, peas, beans and onions ready to go in the ground. Now it's getting warmer, I'm considering sowing tomatoes.

Your own produce is always way better and tastier than supermarket. For the last few months though, I've been frequenting a new farmers market where I live. There's a fantastic veg stall there every Sunday selling half a dozen varieties of kale, purple and yellow carrots, and 'heritage' purple skinned and fleshed floury spuds. It's all "biodynamic" apparently. Whatever, it all tastes great. I've tracked down the varieties and have got seeds to try.

Went to the recent 'Edible Garden Show' at Ally Pally, now into its 2nd year. Spent a while gossiping with Sean and his mates off the Horticultural Channel, met Rusty the cat (or rather his stunt double). It was OK but not quite as full of stalls as the 1st year and not enough to justify the 'Edible Garden Show' title.

Have divided and repotted all my snow drops. Have calculated there's about 750 quids worth. I'll be having a stall at the E A Bowles snow drop event next Feb at this rate.

 

[REKIBorter]

Re:

Going to use Pentland Javelin as an early - same as last year, and Maris Piper for the main crop. Pink Fur Apple were nice last year as a late waxy spud but are an aquired taste and fiddly to wash / peel.

Want to try growing sweet peppers but will need to sort out some sort of protection for them as the allotment site can get very windy. Tomatos don't work for us, blight sweeps across the allotments very quickly and destroys everyones crop, happens every year apparently. Best to grow them at home on the patio.

Had a belter of a fire with the incinerator - melted my compost bin stood 6 feet away.

 

[Silvergoat]

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PFAs are a great spud, normally quite a cropper. Very nice in a either a cold potato salad or in a hot sauteed mix with med veg or in a breakfast scenario.

 

[REKIBorter]

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Spuds - earlies and main crop, red onions, white onions, peas, leeks, all in. Sown in pots under cover red peppers and sweetcorn. Very dry at the moment, we are needing some rain.

 

[REKIBorter]

Re:

Red cabbage, Savoy cabbage, cauliflower are all planted and covered to keep the pesky butterflies off them. Growing sweetcorn from seed in a cold frame at home also Romano pepper from seed. Mice have been eating the peas I sowed but should be okay as I made sure there were plenty more than required in each row.

Still very dry, need lots of rain.

 

[Silvergoat]

Re:

I no longer have the problem of pesky mice eating the peas and beans before they have a chance to shoot. We re-homed a cat back in December and since then, there's been no sign of the little blighters anywhere – they've shipped out. The mice moved in to get away from the rats which were displaced by our council doing environmental work nearby last summer. With an absence of cats in the neighbourhood for a year, the rodents boomed. Now we and our other neighbours have cats again, there's no rodents. Just the squirrels digging up the onions and other bulbs.

 

[lumos2000]

all going good this year, got lots of different spuds in to see which do best, garlic was in last autumn and doing well. just waiting for a sunny spell to move all the seedlings out the greenhouse. also getting set up to start beekeeping this year, though not going to put them on the allotment till I have some experience. buzzin with excitement