Here we go Bits and Bobs - 2016.

[oldherbaceous]

At last the weather looks as if it is going to be improving this week, so i'm going to make a huge effort and try and catch up with everything that i have got behind with, and i have to say, that is quite a lot....

[Primrose]

Glad to see April behind us. I always find it such a variable month temperature wise. The rain showers often cause temperatures to drop sharply which young seedlings don't like and hopefully May nighttime temperatures will now be a little higher What I find surprising though is that the weed seedlings always seem to be hardier survivors than their domesticated cousins and I wonder why this is.

[Westi]

Finally we're off then! A wee bit later than usual but we will adapt!

My usual pattern of Annual Leave requests so I can take on the allotment jobs was blown out of the water, so it will be catch up as well! Not to worry, everything will be fine! [If I was a Newbie I'd be devastated]- read into this those that read but don't post - it's a challenge, but all will end up just fine if you follow your instincts, give or take a little helping of what is posted on the forum!

Go on - you know you have questions? These are the guys to help - don't go back reading loads of old posts, ask again! I really must look back at my first post - bet it seems pretty daft now, but that question posted & answers given has made me an allotmenter - of sorts!

Westi

[Clive.]

After the "snow", hail, of last week I did get the Early Onward peas sown at home here and got the same done at work today and a row of Radeo too.
At last I was able to have a shuffle around of trays of bedding plants at work, out into the frames. There is always a log jam of one thing needing to move on before another task can be done. I have a load of pelargonium cuttings ready to pot up to replace the older stock plants but having moved the bedding plants out of the back greenhouse the begonias now sit on the bench where the pelargoniums could have gone....so they will just have to wait their turn a bit longer.....

Had the old Merry Tiller out at home yesterday and worked down some ground using the finger rotors. Last of the carrots lifted and all but a few of the parsnips enabling forking up and then working down for some very well chitted Maris Peer potatoes to go in and a few Setanta, left over from elsewhere.

Potatoes at work fared ok with the frosts but Lady Christl at home got caught but are moving again now. Kestrel just popping through, odd ones got caught.

Onions sets at work now nicely showing in rows in the front formal gardens, in lieu of Catmint....this partly re enacts a Country Life dig for victory time photo whilst being part of a gap year, or two, for the Catmint beds.

It rained, as advertised, this afternoon so didn't get the beetroot sown as planned at work...or the carrots at home. Did get the Incredible sweetcorn sown and re potted the Oxalis. Put a few Tiger Cross marrow seed into pots...reckon I'm being a bit keen with this one...but some old seed so worth a chance....

Was able to tear my jacket off and discard my woolly hat today....and so was a little under dressed for the day....lots of regency dress and top hats about.

Clive.

[Primrose]

After the "snow", hail, of last week I did get the Early Onward peas sown at home here and got the same done at work and re potted the Oxalis...

Clive.

Clive, am intrigued by your mention of potting up the Oxalis as in my garden i know it as an incredibly noxious weed that spreads everywhere and no matter how carefully I try to remove all its little bulbils, it always reappears. Are we talking abiutnthe same plant or a variety of it?

[Clive.]

We have a load of the oxalis you refer to in the rose beds but in the case of my re potting it was oxalis triangularis and deppei that were sat in pots under a greenhouse bench dried out ready to start into life again once in some fresh compost.


Clive.

[dan3008]

If the weather improves, I'll have to replant loads of stuff that was hit bad by the frost

Never mind though, I've paid a grand total of £1.50 for seeds this year, the rest have been free with the mag, or my mum and dad gave me a pile

Here we go Bits and Bobs.

]
Now i've got that song rinning through my head just before bed... lol
Here we go again
I suppose its better than frozen, my little girl loves that movie at the moment... yes I know the words to every song and sing along for her

[Ricard with an H]

I've gone and done it again, from a free packet of courgette seed I sowed all 20 expecting failures and got 100% germination then read that they need spacing one-metre apart. And I'm not even big on courgette, I suppose this will be the first of many posts on what to do with all these courgette.

First thing was to ask my partner if her work-mates would like some but her work-mates also had sown far too many and were begging to get-rid.

I grew them once on a strip of soil that gets sun from 11:00 hrs until 14:00 hrs from now until August, is that enough sun ?

[Pawty]

Richard - how long did your courgettes take to germinate this year? I put 8 on the window sill (various varieties) 9 days ago, and only 2 have appeared yet. They're usually about a week.

I'm going with small numbers of plants this year - I say that dispite there being about 30 tomato plants which need a new home.

Pawty

[PLUMPUDDING]

What a lovely morning. I ended up doing an hours gardening after letting the hens out. Took the fleece off the potatoes, weeded the strawberry bed, uncovered everything in the greenhouse and transplanted some fritillaries. I don't think the neighbours were up, so dressing gown and wellies ok.

[Ricard with an H]

Richard - how long did your courgettes take to germinate this year?
Pawty

Yes, a week. I was very surprised to see them pop thier heads up so quickly.

I germinate my seeds upstairs in our garage/store and under some Velux Windows. This building is heated so it never drops below 10 degrees at night and usually maintains 15 degrees. Once the seedlings are up I move them to a cold frame with east facing plastic twin wall glazing to catch the early morning sun and to stop them getting leggy.

I have had failures, my cauli seedlings provided one single seedling. Some flower seed, Zinnia and French marigold are showing after just a week and I lost some French bush beans that just rotted away so I sowed more of a different type.

A few weeks ago I prepared one of my beds then sowed two types of carrot with coriander and spring onion in between, all those seedlings are now showing but two billion other Unknown seedlings are also showing. Nothing has gone to seed in that bed and it's been grown-in for two seasons with the usual weeds appearing but getting cleared. Is there ever an end to this underground and wind blown seed ?

[Monika]

At last a decent day to do almost a whole day of gardening: planted out the first sweet peas, sowed beetroot and spring onion (under fleece), sowed dwarf and runner beans in roottrainers, put peas (Hurst Greenshaft and Alderman) into plastic bag with damp compost, aiming to sow them over the weekend, sowed courgettes (only four plants, Richard!!!), hammered in posts for the broad beans and repotted some fuchsias.
Lots more to do in the days to come!

[Westi]

Goodness Richard, you better get a taste for courgettes with 20 plants!

If your wife's workmates don't want them, how about setting up some little stall & try to sell the plants. If not the end of your drive then a friendly neighbour's with passing traffic! Not just yet mind as too cold, but pot them on for a bit. OK not going to make you a millionaire but you could expand & get rid of some other 'over sows'.

Funny you mention your brassica seedlings not playing, normally these pop up without a bother but this year been a mix of poor germination & leggy plants!

Westi

[robo]

A new thing happened to me this afternoon, my mate who works the plot two up from me asked if I was willing to bring the tractor down to the allotments and rotavate his sons new half plot which is at the far end of our allotment and has not been worked for over three years, I told him it is not registered for the road but if he can get a trailer I would be willing, this afternoon around fiveish I had a phone call saying there was a breakdown truck on its way for me ,at 7_30 I was back home with the tractor ,job finished rotavated over twelve inches deep the weeds did not stand a chance it left a fine tilth just right for planting I also have a very happy mate and his son

[Clive.]

Just in from sowing the Radeo peas at home here.

Need to get packed up for an early night...could not get to sleap last night...just got off when a Typhoon went over,12:50am, rtb...at least only going slowly unlike when it went past Leeds earlier.

The Chard at work is nearly up as a full row now. I got the Beetroot sown this morning once ground had dried.

Trimmed up the new cut bean poles last job before home time...


Clive.