Early Autumn Bits and Bobs - 2021.

A place to chat about anything you like, including non-gardening related subjects. Just keep it clean, please!

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Clive.
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oldherbaceous wrote:What crazy weather it is….it’s quite balmy over the allotment today…even made me feel like I should be seed sowing! :)


Well balmy like...I sowed some herbaceous perennial seeds the other day. Info' on Telekia said sow as soon as ripe, collected and sown post haste and in a couple days they are up. :)

Quite windy so washing dried well today....then I have started my back garden tidy, always starting with a weed and tickle over between the raspberry rows. I always think of my old dad when doing this as it was the very last job in the garden that he managed to do.

At work, herbaceous border sorting and forking is underway...need the reasonable weather to keep going to aid progress. :)

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Twelve paces dug out of the thirty-six on one plot.
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The plot is still quite full, what empty space there is has been dug. Green leafy stuff still growing well (I have put some fleece over the top) leeks (lots of leek but not faring very well), a selection of brassicas, parsley, broad beans just planted. We have found that the Charlotte potatoes can stay in the ground without serious slug damage, there are just a few left to lift. The Sarpo were lifted ages ago.
With the permanant planting; rhubarb, currants, gooseberries, asparagus, raspberries, the apple trees, chives and the jerusalem artichokes, it is easy to find that I haven't got the right size space available.
We gave up the extra half of 18 months ago, the under-gardener made the decision. I would have kept it but admit we were not making intensive use of it.
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Primrose
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I think it can sometimes be a problem using more growing space than you need or can take care of when time, health or other issues are a factor.

We cogitating this issue right now with our main garden vegetable patch as grassing over all or part of it will need to be considered this winter. However, over the past 40+ years it's been heavily manured and composted and it seems a shame to end up with the best manured lawn extension in the street! I'm thinking that a generous spreading vegetable like winter squash may well be the answerto keeping it covered with plant material for part of the summer (which will help keep the weeds down), and a couple of courgette plants.

Do anybody else have any spreading plant suggestions to keep it in use without a lot of manual work? We'll continue hopefully to grow tomatoes, climbing beans, salads and cucumbers in a separate wide south facing border
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HI Primrose had this suggestion from Charles Dowding "If you have any empty beds and want to sow a green manure (cover crop), I suggest white mustard. It's great for no dig because of being killed by frosts in winter."
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Any of the squash family should do the trick Primrose but although they are in a long time there is still several months barren. Have you a strawberry patch, that's another option maybe, even plant them both through membrane? I have a found one on 'A' that is not the plastic but like a cloth that doesn't fray & one side is black & the other brown so gives a choice. I have put it brown side up around the fruit trees to save some weeding & it is not so obvious.

The best choice for approaching age limitations is to change to proper raised beds gradually. The cost is filling them but a lot of people put branches in the bottom to save on compost & some local councils will provide large bags at a much better rate than any you will buy on line & less costly than bags of the same weight. Someone is doing this on the site using old sheets of corrugated iron they got free from the tip. They have finished one & painted the timber cream & the iron a green/grey colour & it looks dead posh. A local handy man could build you a frame, but make it 'proper' height of the iron so you don't need to get up & down all the time. There are raised beds & there are proper raised beds, like there are proper polytunnels & Wendy House polytunnels. ;)
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Primrose
I'm glad you are determined to carry on growing something but don't have suggestions beyond the various curcubits as Westi has suggested or sweet potato. I have looked at Giaur500's pictures https://forum.kitchengarden.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=14885&hilit=sweet+potato&start=135, they seem to spread widely.
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My leeks :(
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Primrose
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Stephen My leeks nearly all ended up like this last year but to date this year have been fine. I never really knew what caused the collapse and mushiness but assumed it was some kind of insect or bug. I;ve planted them in a different part of the veg patch this year.

Could it have been caused by a massive attack of those horrible little black earth living slugs which seem to have eaten into hearts of all my cabbages this year? If you have any leeks worth saving I wonder whether it's worth putting down some slug pellets to try and kill them off - I guess the wet weather will only encourage them more.
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sorry Stephen, that's very sad. Mine didn't even get that far long, they collapsed after hanging about for months at pencil size.
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Thanks both.
Retropants, I also had some which never were no bigger than a magic marker and they collapsed too. They were the last to be planted out when I found there was space. I assumed that they have had too little time to develop. I have taken them out.

Nothing to be lost in putting down some pellets, I guess.
Last edited by Stephen on Fri Oct 29, 2021 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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oldherbaceous
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Most probably Leek Moth causing the problem…the grubs bury themselves into the stems, then eat from the inside, distorting then collapsing the plant!
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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retropants
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OH, mine were covered in veggie mesh from the beginning :(
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I would agree leek moth ,mine started with it but I sprayed them with a spray no longer available I’ve found it in the pre mixed bottles but not in the neat form ,I found a very small bottle of it in my dads shed when I was emptying it but I can’t remember it’s name touch of ould timers
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I also agree leek moth. Netting will not do it has to be the micro mesh stuff to keep the blighters out which I do, but think the gits take advantage of any time you lift it off & get in there to weed. Next year if my senses can deal with it I will leave a bed unweeded. Leeks are pretty tough so should be fine - I might need therapy though! :)
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