Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary

Members adventures in the Vegetable Patch all year round
wildlifemad
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Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary

Post by wildlifemad »

I thought I would do a diary as I enjoy reading everybody elses & its good to pick up tips,etc. Anyway here goes, hubby & I have an allotment in the village where we live which is approx 200ft x 20ft. This is our 10th year on the plot, when we got it,it hadn't been worked for 3yrs so we paid £20 to another plot holder to plough it with his tractor! We then invested in a second hand rotavator & the rest is history as they say! It has took a lot of hard work (as you will all understand!) to get it where it is now. Our BIGGEST problem is Marestail, if you are unaware of what it is, its a weed that can go 10ft down & apparently the last ice age didn't kill it so you can see what we are up against!!! On the plus side it never seems to affect the crops & we have learnt to live with it.We used to hand dig all the beds first because of it & then rotavate to a fine tilth but we are now 10yrs older & a lot wiser so just get any big weeds out then rotavate,after that we just pull it up when it comes through. We have a 6'x6' greenhouse & 6'x8' shed which were on the plot when we got it & it has mains water which is on April-October.
So there you have it that's our plot & I'll keep you updated as to what we do this year...
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

So after the intro to our allotment the first thing we have done this year is planted garlic nearly two weeks ago,we have re-planted our own bulbs now for the last 6yrs as we read somewhere it gets used to the soil type,etc.It seems to work as the crop is always good with big bulbs.
Yesterday I went for 4hrs. Dug up the rest of the leeks that had seeded ages ago but we hadn't had chance to get them up,they were all chopped up (minus roots which come back for garden waste wheelie because of the marestail) & put on the compost.I also dug up the purple sprouting which had finished & composted that.
For the first time last autumn we covered some of the beds as hubby got waste plastic sheets from work to make life easier in Spring & we were glad we did,saved so much time so we will do this again this year as hubby is saving more plastic so we will have enough to do all the beds (there are 12 in total of varying sizes).
I always take time to look around at the wildlife (hence my user name!!) & today found a Robins nest in a plant pot with 3 possibly 4 eggs in it!!We have got nest boxes around which are used every year & also have lots of rabbits which isn't good for the crops as we have to cover nearly everything,even the onion/garlic bed as they nibbled all the tops 2yrs ago ggrrhhh!!
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lancashire lass
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by lancashire lass »

)like( I look forward to reading your diary. Your plot sounds a lot like mine - I've had the one I have now 10 years, and it too is riddled with marestail. I confess I use weedkiller (as well as weed suppressant membranes) because I simply cannot keep on top of it and many a time I've nearly given up on the plot as being too much hard work.

Re: leek roots - another good reason to discard rather than compost is because of risk of introducing onion white rot

PS Have you thought about a pond for your plot? I finally got round to re-lining the pond on my plot last year and put a few plants in to keep the frogs happy but it amazed me to see a lot of insect life (skaters, damselfies) attracted to the pond so soon after.

EDIT - don't forget to )piicy(
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

Hi LL. We do have a pond,a small preformed one that we picked up cheap a few years ago,we've got frogs & have seen toads in the past & we also see plenty of dragonflies,bees & butterflies.Our next door but one neighbour there has put a big pond in last year as he has a plot double the size of ours & has lots of frogspawn at the moment has had Mallard ducks on it & the chap in between us both has a Mallard sat on eggs under his artichokes!!! We along with neighbouring plots have got plenty of bug boxes which the mining bees use each year but we are all still experimenting on to stop the Woodpeckers (GS & Green) from pecking them all out...needless to say it is still work in progress!
Regarding posting pictures, could you point me in the right direction as to how to post them please as I would like to share some of my bird/wildlife pics as well.Thanks!!
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lancashire lass
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by lancashire lass »

wildlifemad wrote:Regarding posting pictures, could you point me in the right direction as to how to post them please as I would like to share some of my bird/wildlife pics as well


I'm unable to find the "how to post piccies" thread (I was sure there was a sticky somewhere) What you need to do is open an account with a photo share site such as Photobucket or Flickr and upload your photos to that. Then when you come to post a photo in your DTL topic, select the photo from the site and you should see something that reads like "copy URL for blogs / forums" - click on that, and then right click (paste) the URL address (usually also includes the address line between this bracketed instruction [img ][ /img]) directly into the post on DTL (you can preview to make sure it is the right photo) If you want to see how it looks, choose a post somewhere on DTL (my gardening diary if you want) with a photo already in, then click on "quote" and you can see what it looks like in the "post a reply" box.

A lot of the free photo websites have limited space, and are heavily advertised (which really slows the upload) Just be careful that you don't accidentally delete photos on Photobucket or other, as that will also cancel out the photo in your post.
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

The weather is not good here today so have taken the opportunity to sow some tomato seeds. I have sown:
30 x Inca (which is a large plum variety we discovered last year & did really well)
12 x Piccolo (small cherry variety)
8 x Sparta (normal size fruit)
8 x Sun Grape (small cherry variety)

All are sown in 1 inch plug trays as the one thing I don't enjoy doing is pricking out, also the good thing about growing them in plugs is the roots aren't disturbed when potting them on.
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

Well we've had a very busy weekend for family stuff but managed to get on the allotment last Friday afternoon when hubby finished work.The paths between all the beds are grass so hubby mowed it all for the first time & I cut back 4 Buddlejas which are in an area at the bottom of the plot which we planted up as a small garden with plants that attract the bees & butterflies for pollination. It all looked a lot better after its first haircut!!!! And in time for the monthly inspection on Sunday!!!!
Cheshire Chick
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Enjoyed reading your new "Allotment Diary". Would love to see some pictures. Reading through you have just reminded me about tomatoes - I really need to make a start. Have sown peas and beans in greenhouse so far and some flower seeds. )like(
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

So today in the beautiful weather we have done nearly 5 hours on the allotment! We got there at 7.45am when its nice & quiet! Cleared a big bed (12x15ft) of weeds,then rotovated & planted 4 rows of Annabelle potatoes which are a second early & delicious! Hubby then mowed the paths which have lots of dandelions coming up with the sunshine.I then cleared the next bed for potatoes which may get put in tomorrow. Hubby is off for a week from today so we will try & break the back of it unless we break our backs first!!! The Robin is still sat tight on her nest with 4 eggs. That's it for today a chilled afternoon in the garden!!
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

So with hubby off for the week we have got quite a lot done. We had a nice mixed week of days out bird watching,allotment & the usual visit to sort Mum in law out! All of the potatoes are now in. Last year we had a total of 11 rows, when we order them we buy them by weight so you never know how many will be in the bag....The seeds tended to be smaller this year so we have 15 rows in total!!!!!! Hubby said "Great 15 rows to ridge, oh & 15 rows to harvest!!!!" He's quick isn't he??!!!! We also planted approx 100 Onions. The rest of the time on the plot was spent clearing beds.Having had very little rain for a while it is hard going, its heavy soil & although we've improved it alot over the years when it dries it is still rock hard on the surface. We also picked 40 spears of Asparagus over the week which is earlier than last year by 2 weeks, it was worth the wait!!! We are also picking Spring cabbage now.It becomes harder work year on year & sometimes we question if we should give it up but when you start harvesting it makes it all worthwhile! News on the Robin is that the 4 eggs hatched probably Monday or Tuesday & how they've grown when we popped down yesterday!!!
In the greenhouse at home I potted on the tomato plugs yesterday into 3" pots.
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Mo
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by Mo »

Well done on all that hard work.
My potato planting is hampered by the fact that I'm clearing the weeds as I go (all the books say 'on land dug the previous autumn" - ha, ha), and most of the weeds are forget-me-nots in flower. Can't just throw them out so am potting them up to stand in front of my study window. i agree about advancing age - the bending and straightening gets to me after a short time.
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wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

Nice day if a bit cool yesterday so went to do a couple of hours on the allotment. Didn't get much done really! Two different people came to have a chat & ask about the Robins, so when I said they had hatched they wanted to see them, perhaps they didn't really want to talk to me but only see the babies!!!!! Anyway got the last of the parsnips out & we had decided they would be woody by now so I just shoved the fork in & went through them to then find out they weren't bad at all!! I can take or leave parsnips anyway!!! Also got some weeds out before looking at the paths which are grass & thought I better pick the dandelion flowers AGAIN!! I timed it & it took me half an hour to get them all but at least it stops them seeding. We have a long plot but the plots either side are divided into 2 so we have 4 neighbours in total.One of them keeps their plot like a show garden (which is great), the next ones are now trying a bit harder than they have but the other two...one I know is giving up as he told me but as he has issues with the committee in the past he hasn't told them yet (not really fair imo) & the fourth plot holder has had it 4 years & has never grown anything.There are established fruit trees there which he didn't even harvest last year! The committee do a walk round each month & he has had letters to improve he answers this by strimming the grass with all the dandelion heads not a good idea.So the upshot of it is we have 2 plots about to share all their dandelion seeds with us AGAIN!! We are in discussions with the committee regarding it all but they are been less than helpful.Does anyone else have committees on their plots & if so are they useful & running by the rules?
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by wildlifemad »

Did another couple of hours on the allotment yesterday & that was enough! The ground is SO tough now to dig as its so dry at the top, I was trying to finish the bed I started earlier in the week & I've only got the edges to clear of weeds but it is very compacted then I keep seeing Marestail popping up in the bed & although we now rotavate regardless of it I became a bit obsessed with digging it!! When I came home I filled 80 x 3" pots ready to sow beans for the season.I will cover them in plastic & perhaps fleece for a week as its going colder next week & we don't heat the greenhouse.
wildlifemad
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

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Well we've had a couple of part days on the plot over the weekend. We've got all the broccoli,cauliflower,red cabbage & chard in & as there was a bit of space left in the bed we popped the onions in that were left over, waster not want not!! Also got the paths mowed & another bed clear although it was still hard going as we've still had no rain to speak of but yesterday (Mon) we did get some rain so will pop down today to see if its done any good & also see if there is any Asparagus to pick. The Robin chicks have grown well & should fledge this week although I would like them to stay till the end of the week as its going to warm up again! We have 3 beds left to clear now, one is covered but has weeds coming through where there are holes in the cover so that shouldn't take long. The other is only about 4ft x 16ft so shouldn't be too bad. The worst one will be the Strawberry bed which is 10ft x 18ft! We don't really eat that many & last year I left them to harvest the next day as I'd done a lot of work that particular day & when I went to harvest some selfish person had harvested the lot for themselves!! There must have been 5lb of them!! So all in all the bed will be put to better use with another crop!
At home I have sown French Beans, Runner Beans & Borlotti beans in 3" pots with 2 seeds per pot.Lots more sowing to do today!
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KarenE
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Re: Wildlifemad's Allotment Diary 2017

Post by KarenE »

That's disgraceful that someone would steal your entire strawberry crop! What a nerve!

I've just got an allotment, will look forward to any tips!
Karen
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