Tricks of the trade.

[Shallot Man]

Re hoeing, thoughts go back to my late Fathers word of wisdom, The time to hoe son, is when it don't need doing.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Shallot Man, how right your Father was, an old gardener always used to say to me, the more you Hoe, the more they'll grow.
And i do hasten to add, he was on about the plants and not the weeds.

[oldherbaceous]

Back to the amount of seed you need to sow.
With things like Radish, Lettuce, etc, that soon go to seed when they have reached maturity and then are of little use to cook, so sow a little seed of the amount you will need each month through the growing season.
This again will help to keep a continuous supply for a longer period, without getting those annoying gluts.

[Colin_M]

Here's another oldie but goodie:

For thirsty plants, insert a 2 litre plastic bottle (upside down with the base cut off) in the ground next to the plant when it's first getting established. It makes it so much easier to get good volumes of water down to the roots for things like courgettes, squashes, tomatoes etc. Also quicker when you have lots of plants needing watering at the height of summer.

A short cane stuck down into the bottle will help you find it when your courgettes have hidden everything from sight too

[Compo]

Mulching with anything...........cardboard, carpet, anything that will keep the weeds down or make a path, off cuts of ply, oil tempered hardboard.

All this stuff locks in the moisture, and keeps the weeds down. And work in as much organic matter as u can if on clay, it makes a big difference

CoMpO

[oldherbaceous]

If you are new to gardening and taking on an allotment, keep an eye on what some of the old timers are doing. They will know the best time for planting certain things in that area and on that type of soil.

Also never be afraid to ask them for a little advice, most people get a lot of enjoyment out of being able to help others.

[oldherbaceous]

A rather crafty tip here, get up early in the morning, get all the jobs done while it's nice and peaceful, then just wander about in the afternoon chatting to your fellow allotment holders, so holding them up.

[peter]

A rather crafty tip here, get up early in the morning, get all the jobs done while it's nice and peaceful, then just wander about in the afternoon chatting to your fellow allotment holders, so holding them up.

Which is how OH manages to be ahead of everyone else.

'Cos he does both!

[oldherbaceous]

When you come to erect your pea or bean sticks, try and do it when the soil is nice and dry, as it does so much damage to the soil structure if you go treading about on it whilst wet.

Actually, trying not to walk on the soil at all when wet is a good idea, if at all possible.

[Geoff]

Stick your labels in at an angle so you can read them without bending down.

[oldherbaceous]

If you're going to be applying a mulch, whether it be compost or any other kind, place it after heavy rain or give the ground a good watering first.
This will then help to have a good supply of moisture retained in the soil.

[Johnboy]

As Geoff has brought up the subject of labels may I suggest that you write them in graphite pencil or crayon. Contrary to what the manufactures say there are no permanent marker pens as they all fade in sunlight. Also using pencil or crayon they can all be reused several times.
JB.

[macmac]

Quite right J.B.I used a "permanent"marker on some wooden sticks labelling several vaieties of early potatoes only to find them blank after a shower of rain,fortunately i had made a note of the details in my diary.
re pencil on labels i find those big blocks of spongy things they say will clean anything are brilliant on labels, they only need to be wet to work so i keep a piece down the lottie

[John]

I agree about pencil or crayon on labels. The best pencils to use are carpenter pencils that you can get in any decent DIY shop.

John

[Primrose]

Do not prematurely throw away or dispose of your surplus seedlings thinking they won't be needed. Sometimes an unexpected attack of slugs or cold weather can destroy/damage what you have planted out and you will then be grateful to have some surplus to fall back on.