houndzrus Posted April 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Hello Sandra, good luck with the fruit I have a couple of blueberry bushes in tubs and this is the first year I am expecting to get fruit from them. Also have rhubarb at the lotty, but next year is the first year to expect to pick that. Glad everything is good for your greenhouse and plants Mags I have had to try some damage limitation on my seedlings with this strange weather. Outside ones had to go back inside when the frosts came, but now it's sunny again, so they should be back out. It's a bit of a merry go round! Off to the lotty to try and plant some tatties, so I may be aching a bit later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantan Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 We are still waiting to be allocated a lotty. We've been waiting about 4 years and were hopeful when the council announced it had got the ownership of a piece of land on the outskirts of town which they intended turning into more allotments. There were obviously a lot of names on the list before ours as we didn't get one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted April 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 That's a shame Marion, we didn't have to wait at all and there are still some vacancies here. Good day on the lotty yesterday, anothe nine rows of tatties in. There's five rows to go, but we ran out of energy (and tea!). In total, there will be 142 potaoes planted, including two in a bag at home. I have loads left though, so i might be gifting them to someone. We have: Lord Rosebery Lady Chrystal Charlotte Cara Maxine. The hardest bit to dig was the new patch, as it hadn't been used for years. Nearly done though, so quite pleased. Here are a few rows of Charlotte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantan Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Well done Marge. Sounds like a hard but productive day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted April 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Thanks Marion. All our plot neighbours were there too yesterday, beavering away. Lots of chatting going on (hence, less digging! ) One of them gave us some rhubarb, so I am going to make a crumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Did you extend your allotment Marge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted April 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Did you extend your allotment Marge? Yep, we uncovered part of it to grow more squash plants and more potatoes. Seemed like a good idea in the autumn when there was little else to do. The new potao bed is about 10 x 8. Not big really, but useful. Excuse me but..... :partytime: All the potatoes are in! Good job done. It did get easier as we got a bit more organised about it. Also, the ground was better where we had planted last year. Hope the mice don't eat everything, we saw one in the compost heap!! I have, however made a bit of a task for myself by planting the broad beans and peas in modules though. I will try and stagger the planting out as there may be over 150 plants! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 I bought some 'alpine strawberry & tomato tiny tim seed disks' today from Morrisons. Can I officially join the Veggie thread now please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 I officially welcome you Alex to the veggie thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted April 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 I bought some 'alpine strawberry & tomato tiny tim seed disks' today from Morrisons. Can I officially join the Veggie thread now please? Yes indeed! Seed disks sound interesting, what are they? I bought some more Rootrainers today from B&Q. I bought some at the edible garden show, after getting the low down on them from an old chap. I'm hoping they will last a few years and save space till planting out time, as one tray holds 32 plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annonymouse Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Hi Everyone, I haven't been on the Refuge forum in years, I'm ashamed to say. I was always much more of a lurker than a poster. Then today my plans for the day were foiled due to the weather and I suddenly remembered the Refuge forum, so I decided to see if it still existed and YAY!! it does. Whats more there is a thread ongoing about growing veggies, even better! My OH and I started growing a few veggies last year, we were playing at it really and not particularly successful. This year we have decided to go for it and do things properly. We are very fortunate to have a large garden and two greenhouses which we decided it was about time we made good use of. Also my OH is retiring in July so we thought a veggie garden would be something for him to get his teeth into. So far we have planted our seed potatoes, cauli's, onion sets and dwarf sweetcorn. Our brussel sprout seedlings are in the greenhouse along with the tomatoes and 3 melon plants in a grow bag. (Yes melons! well it's worth a try). We are waiting for the runner and french beans to germinate. I haven't got a clue how successful all this lots going to be but we're going to try our best to actually produce something worth eating at the end of the season. Last year we had a horrible pest that decimated our potato crop. Not sure what it was, possibly slugs, but whatever it was munched its way through the inside of all our potatoes and just left the skins. Very disappointing. Has anyone any idea what it could have been? The little blighters had disappeared by the time we harvested the potatoes. I'm so glad the Refuge still exists! Looking forward to getting to know you all. Sara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Hello Sara Seed disks sound interesting, what are they? They are basically two circular pieces of paper with seeds between them. You plant them in the compost and the paper disintegrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annonymouse Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Hello Sara They are basically two circular pieces of paper with seeds between them. You plant them in the compost and the paper disintegrates. Sounds good. We tried some seed strips last year with spring onions, its a sort of webbing with a seed every centimetre or so, worked really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted April 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Hi Sara, and welcome to the veggie plot! I wonder if it was wireworm that ate your potatoes? Thwy do seem to be a problem if the land hasn't been cultivated for a while. There are some threads on it here: http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=62160.0 http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=14587.0 I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get something for my efforts too, mice, weather, birds and beasties permitting. Hello Sara They are basically two circular pieces of paper with seeds between them. You plant them in the compost and the paper disintegrates. good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Hi Sara Marge, I loved your photos last year of your harvests and I look forward to them again this year. I hope I'll have some pics this year too.....but on a smaller scale than yours I've heard of seed strips but never of seed disks. Sounds handy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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