Author Topic: What have you done on the plot today? (Read 252221 times)

hatler · « **Reply #1475 on:** 30 June, 2022, 01:34:29 pm »

Bugger.

Front of the plot is horseradish infested. Tactics to overcome this (for the last seven years) has been to put that black plastic stuff down and then place about eight 'tyre towers' in which we have been growing, squashes, courgettes and cucumbers. This has the added advantage of keeping them off the ground and away from slugs.

Mrs hatler has had a letter today saying that the tyre towers must be removed within the month.

FFS. She's just planted a whole bunch of stuff in them.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1476 on:** 03 July, 2022, 05:17:58 pm »

Question for the food growing types;
I have read that the first year you plant rhubarb you're not supposed to harvest it.
What do I do with it then? Do the unharvested leaves and stems just disappear or do I need to do something later?

SteveC · « **Reply #1477 on:** 03 July, 2022, 05:24:49 pm »

Do nothing. The leaves and stems will die back in the autumn. Clear them away when they have done so.
Mulching at that point is a good idea, but try not to cover the crown itself.
They are pretty robust.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1478 on:** 03 July, 2022, 06:35:45 pm »

Cool, thanks

Watching this fruit grow and not eating it is killing me, but I've been waiting 27 years for my very own rhubarb so I guess I can wait another.

SteveC · « **Reply #1479 on:** 03 July, 2022, 06:54:08 pm »

We had a similar issue when we moved here. We moved in June. A friend gave us the rhubarb shortly afterwards, but we also had to wait a whole year.
If you look in the books you will be told that the best time for planting rhubarb is February. Ours has planted in July and is still going strong 23 years later.
It has been lifted and split several times. We now have two plants and at least three friends have been given them as well.

MikeFromLFE · « **Reply #1480 on:** 03 July, 2022, 06:57:44 pm »

Fruit harvesting is in full flood.
Raspberries, tayberries, loganberries, blackcurrants, the final few strawberries. Plus a bit of late rhubarb (I know I shouldn't).

Broad Beans and the first Charlotte potatoes.
I squeezed a cabbage, but it'll wait a week or two.

I've put some bought courgette plants in, and probably the last beetroot and runner bean seeds.

Yesterday's rain has brought the weeds on a treat....

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1481 on:** 03 July, 2022, 07:00:20 pm »

Back on the non food front we have discovered we have a 2nd hydrangea. This one will also be getting dug up and evicted due to having absolutely no benefit to pollinators. (The first one is in a pot, I'm in 2 minds aboit whether I should Freegle it or bin it for the aforementioned reason). I just need to decide what to put in there instead.... $:-\$

Wowbagger · « **Reply #1482 on:** 04 July, 2022, 12:33:59 pm »

Our goosegogs are no more. We removed the bushes some years ago.

This morning I have done some ho-ho-hoeing and weeding, and My Dear Wife did battle with the brambles, and mostly won. She does have an impressive pair of punctures on her forearm that look like a vampire bite.

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #1483 on:** 14 July, 2022, 08:14:49 pm »

Watered and harvested some courgettes. Oh and did a bit more hoeing

I'll put this here as a plot related fail. Laying in bed t'other night not able to get to sleep and thought what happened to the celeriac seedlings I had. Checked garden and not there. Realised I'd planted out at allotment and completely forgot so hadn't watered, probably trod and and maybe even hoed.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #1484 on:** 15 July, 2022, 06:59:03 pm »

I've just dug my first potato of the summer - Casablanca, I think they were, 72 days after planting. A pretty good yield off the first root, considering how dry it has been. June was probably slightly wetter than usual (30-odd mm) but I haven't measured any rain so far in July.

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #1485 on:** 18 July, 2022, 07:46:21 am »

With the warnings if imminent deth from today's temperature was up early to walk the hound then up the allotment to give it a drink

Bumped into an old work colleague but manages to escape him to actually get to plot. Was fairly busy and met my plot neighbour who I've never seen before but she is clearly there a lot as her plot is really productive

Harvested some more courgettes and then onto work feeling better about a crazy day at work after some peace up the plot

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #1486 on:** 29 July, 2022, 09:07:41 am »

Apart from watering not a lot

Have thinned some beetroot which have been crap like a lot of my crops due to living in the desert which is south east england

However my apples are great and first ones are ripe, went out yesterday morning and one had fallen off as ripe but was sat on branch below waiting for me

Legs · « **Reply #1487 on:** 03 August, 2022, 12:57:31 pm »

Cut back most of the raspberry canes, now that the fruit has all gone over. Pulled out the brambles, and a couple of ash saplings, and a reasonably substantial hawthorn which had taken hold amongst the raspberries and gooseberries.

Picked nearly a pound and a half of blueberries, to make a blueberry and croissant bread-and-butter pud.

The wind over the last few days has blown off most of our Hinnonmaki Red gooseberries.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #1488 on:** 07 August, 2022, 06:25:57 pm »

Today I got the ropey old Flymo I bought for £30 off Facebook Marketplace running. It just needed the spark cleaning and the gap adjusting and off it went in a haze of 2 -stroke smoke.

Brilliant fun! I've always wanted to try a petrol Flymo. I had a modern electric one for the small front garden but it was rubbish, hardly floated at all. This petrol one is a different beast altogether.

I used it to attack the overgrown weedy bit at the end of the garden which it did without complaining.Used the Honda as a garden vac to get all the chopped down stiff bagged up.

Now I just need to keep an eye out for a broken but complete Flymo of the same model to cannibalise for the missing bits off this working one (such as the engine cover).

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #1489 on:** 07 August, 2022, 08:01:36 pm »

On holibobs soon and didn't think was fair to expect our house sitter to be on knees to fill watering cans from stream so have been filling tub trugs and borrowing down garden to fill the water butt's. About 250 litres so far, will finish the rest during the week. Then watered the garden......I'd really like some rain please

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1490 on:** 07 August, 2022, 08:05:17 pm »

Just got back from holiday today, only been a week but what were previously 3 happy lupins (albeit dwarf ones) have been utterly nommed. All that remains is the stems. Little bastards waited until I'd turned my back...

pcolbeck · « **Reply #1491 on:** 07 August, 2022, 09:01:31 pm »

Quote from: The Family Cyclist on 07 August, 2022, 08:01:36 pm

On holibobs soon and didn't think was fair to expect our house sitter to be on knees to fill watering cans from stream so have been filling tub trugs and borrowing down garden to fill the water butt's. About 250 litres so far, will finish the rest during the week. Then watered the garden......I'd really like some rain please

We are off on holiday in a few weeks. Since she retired Mrs Pcolbeck has been giving the garden some serious attention. There are now about 50 pots of various sizes on the patio and the greenhouse is full. It takes an hour to water everything. So I have ordered a drip watering system and a timer. Hopefully it will keep everything alive whilst we are away and free up some of Mrs Pcolbecks time when we are at home

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1492 on:** 07 August, 2022, 10:30:44 pm »

If we want to become more resilient to droughts we need to stop growing plants in containers and plant them in the ground instead.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #1493 on:** 08 August, 2022, 10:17:30 am »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 07 August, 2022, 10:30:44 pm

If we want to become more resilient to droughts we need to stop growing plants in containers and plant them in the ground instead.

We never water the lawn and the raised beds and borders get watered using water from three rainwater water buts.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1494 on:** 08 August, 2022, 06:47:07 pm »

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1495 on:** 08 August, 2022, 06:49:07 pm »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 07 August, 2022, 08:05:17 pm

Just got back from holiday today, only been a week but what were previously 3 happy lupins (albeit dwarf ones) have been utterly nommed. All that remains is the stems. Little bastards waited until I'd turned my back...

And today I can see that the sedum spactabile (which was nearby the lupins) is being chomped as well, and I thought that sedums were supposed to be less attractive to slugs.

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #1496 on:** 11 August, 2022, 01:38:43 pm »

Got a bit depressed at the state of my arid wasteland aka the allotment last night. Basically squashes etc OK. (F)artichokes look good above soil but no idea on tubers so far. Most over things crap but despite regular watering it's still bone dry

One of the troughs you draw water from clearly hadn't been used for a couple of days as water was green. Was so warm would have been a pleasant bath, if it hadn't been busy with people watering may have tried to get in

pcolbeck · « **Reply #1497 on:** 11 August, 2022, 01:49:55 pm »

Just looked at the price of large (ie 500 litre+) water butts for maybe doing some serious rainwater harvesting. Blimey they are spendy .

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #1498 on:** 11 August, 2022, 04:36:39 pm »

Look at an old IBC, 1000 litres and often not much money or enduramax used to do some decent big tanks.

graculus · « **Reply #1499 on:** 11 August, 2022, 05:00:11 pm »

I think they start getting really expensive once you go above 200L. Particularly if they are rectangular rather than round as the design has to provide the necessary reinforcement to stop the sides bulging. If you have the space then multiple smaller ones linked together may well prove cheaper.