Topic: My plot this afternoon...

[Deb P]

Whilst I've been taking some interior pics of the shed, I took a few of the plots to show how they are coming along this year.....



Raised beds nice and full...



Little greenhouse also stuffed to overflowing...




Raised beds and shed.



Oblique view over the compost bins.....



Buckets and Nasturtiums...




More Nasturtiums with the kale..




Very Ruby Chard



Yummy yellow raspberries!




Apple cordons fruiting for the first time.




Greenhouse toms getting ripe at last....




One of Jeannine's pumpkins, Sugar Pie I think!



Baby Roseanna aubergines in the little greenhouse.



Ring of fire peppers.....

[oakmore2]

WOW!!!! :o :o :o :o
It all looks amazing!!!!!!
Well done you, you've really given me something to aspire to!!
xx

[Hyacinth]

Jaw-droppingly incredible Deb! How long per week approx do you spend down there - and have you got a LARGE family to feed? Many many congrats,

x

[davyw1]

Loverly juberjy Deb

[thifasmom]

My GEM (green eye monster) is growing ;). your plot is beautiful and so neat wow really impressive. that's what i want mine to look like as i also have raised beds, how many do you have i have 12. next year i want strive to add more flowers and herbs in and around the beds. and how do you keep your beds fill till now, mine seem to be struggling to get that full look since the heavy harvest during July month, i have been successionally sowing but the second or third lot of everything seems to be growing so much slower. anyway wow! your plot rocks 8).

[glosterwomble]

You really do have a plot to be VERY proud of!! I am completely jealous!!!  ;D

[Deb P]

Thanks for your kind comments, I'm always slightly nervous posting pics!
I spend about 8-12 hours per week at the plot at the moment, more in Spring, less overwinter, though I've now got 'next door' to keep me occupied!
I'm veggy, so eat a lot of the produce, the other 3 in our family do their bit to eat it all as well. I do try hard to get a succession of crops to make best use of the space, 12 raised beds and two other raised beds (without edgings) areas to rotate around. It will be nice to have more room to grow more of things we eat a lot of, maincrop potatoes for instance, I only have room for earlies at the moment, and spring planted onions.

[thifasmom]

OK Deb P its pick brain time. My next questions are:

• why gravel under the aubergines and chillies and on soil surface is this to aid water and heat retention.
• what are the sizes of your beds mine are generally 3' x 6' see the pic attached for the layout of my veg patch

• how many sweetcorn do you get into your beds and what are those clear things at their base
• how do you get such healthy sweetcorn, when do you sow them and plant them out , cause i love them and fight with them every year with very little to show for my energy.

OK that will do for know I'll get more questions for you as i study your pics more;). its like looking at someone's illustration for a vege garden book, but with the added bonus of being able to question the author about them. really well done again, the joy it brins certainly shine through.

[Borlotti]

I love your plot, I love your shed.  But I am so, so jealous, but still love it.  Mine is a bit more untamed, wilder, uncultivated but I still love mine.  When I buy a digital camera I will take pictures and post.  Don't hold your breath as haven't learnt to use my mobile phone yet as every time I try to use it ring up the first person on the list and get told off, and I didn't even put the numbers in.  I think I prefer a telephone which the operator puts you through to the number (only joking).

[caroline7758]

Wow, Deb- looking as great as ever!

[Biscombe]

Looks fab Deb, and what a great little shed!

[Deb P]

OK Deb P its pick brain time. My next questions are:

• why gravel under the aubergines and chillies and on soil surface is this to aid water and heat retention.

There is capillary matting under the gravel, it is to keep the air moister and help slow down evaporation as I cannot get to water everyday and do not have a fancy watering system! It also retains heat after the sun has gone down keeping them toasty and I find it helps reduce Red Spider Mite too.

• what are the sizes of your beds mine are generally 3' x 6' see the pic attached for the layout of my veg patch

My raised beds are 8' x 4'..that was determined by the size of the pallet wood we broke up to make them. My other plot is going to have some 12' x 4' ones made from some decking wood we have had for ages but never got around to using!

• how many sweetcorn do you get into your beds and what are those clear things at their base
• how do you get such healthy sweetcorn, when do you sow them and plant them out , cause i love them and fight with them every year with very little to show for my energy.

I have 32 sweetcorn in one 8' x 4' raised bed, I sowed them the second week of May to plant out first week of June. I always use plastic bottles around the bases to help protect from late frost and wind, and deter the slugs! Like everything on my plot, they get the odd handful of chicken manure pellets, and a liquid seaweed treat (when I remember). I do plant them in well manured soil though, a good thick layer laid on overwinter and just forked in. My soil was pants when I first started in 2006, heavy clay and not much humus, getting better now though!

[thifasmom]

thanks for answering my numerous questions, that was nice of you and you have given some good ideas to try next year.

[oakmore2]

I keep coming back to look at this thread to check out your piccies. Your plot is AMAZING!! I just hope I can get mine to look 1/10 as nice and I'll be happy.

xx

[Deb P]

Thank you for your nice comments! ;D

If you haven't seen these before, you can see what it looked like from when I took it on in August 2006 until early last year......

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,27300.0.html

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,27306.0.html

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,27320.0.html

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,27323.0.html

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,27330.0.html

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,27333.0.html

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,30181.0.html

[thifasmom]

Thanks for those past photos it was quite inspirational how much you got done in such a short space of time, beautifully laid out and planning looked well thought out. Have you had to do any tweaking or has everything worked out pretty well as you origanally planned it? just trying to understand the layout, is you compost bin to the front of the plot?

[Deb P]

Yep, compost bins are at the front.....the worst ground was there and it was the first bit I levelled and cleared.

I haven't really changed anything, just tried to work with what I inherited. I spent a bit of time uncovering what was there and trying to find a use for anything I could and recycle it if possible. The layout was kept simple, I guessed I wouldn't be able to grow everything in raised beds so kept the left hand side as 'long rows' to give a bit more flexibility. Didn't have much money, so all the wood was free from old pallets and I kept and replanted just about anything that was usable on the plot. The fruit bushes were very sad but I thought they would be worth saving, and after weeding, pruning, mulching and a bit of TLC are now much bigger and fruiting well this year. All the paths are either made from bricks found on the site, or free woodchips we get delivered from the council underlaid with woodshavings I get from my OH. Most money has gone on seeds and mushroom compost/manure to get everything off to a good start! Talking of seeds, I'm off to Wyvales.......

[Paulines7]

Lovely pictures Deb, they put my plot to shame.  I like the idea of having capillary matting and gravel under aubs and chillies.  I will try it in my greenhouse next year.