Topic: SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT YEAR?

[irridium]

i am another gardener who sows far too many seeds at the start of the season.. so will have to get to grips with successional sowing for once and all next yr!

sow more -

mange tout and sugar snaps
lettuce
carrots tho' they didn't germinate v well this yr, tho' that's prob due to the bed not being fine enough
parsnips - ditto but have a separate bed for them as they were edged on the comfrey bed!
swede - didn't get to doing any this yr as didn't have a spare bed ready..
brussels - didn't get my act together enough as the few i did get rather neglected and died on me
chinese veg - should net these from flea beetle tho' environmesh is rather expensive... will have to save some pennies from now on
shallots as these are v healthy and take up less room than onions

sow no more -

runners - am in two minds about these as the flowers are lovely but the taste is boring...
got 5 kales this yr, so more more to sow!

grow less potato varieties so there's no mix-up with the labels that i had this yr with the ten i had!

make an improved brassica frame from sturdier wood. we used bamboo cane this yr.

may try a softneck garlic this yr as my 'music' hardneck isn't storing well at all. they've gone yellow for some reason (does anyone know why? maybe, i left them too long in the greenhouse to dry out?)

[boydzfish]

Keep my allotment diary up to date and follow it for planting.

More use of root trainers and plants instead of seeds, especially for brassicas.

No wigwams!! It's straight lines for my runners and not so many of them.

May try some early potatoes, I only have a half plot so there isn't enough room for any other plantings.

Not so many tomatoes and courgettes but more shallots and garlic.

A few more flowers especially native wild varieties.

I have added some summer fruiting raspberries to go with my established autumn row so should be sick of raspberries by September next year!! ;D

[willsy]

More peas for me and grandchild, we love them and cant get enough. Less cucumbers, courgettes,marrows, more flowers. Try and grow cabbages,would love to grow big ones like my Irish neighbour. My pointed cabbage grow well but I dont seem to have much success with drum head.I will crack it yet ( only been trying for 10years) try not to let my allotment take over all my time...

[artichoke]

I am determined to have wider permanent paths between long narrow beds. Once I have dug the soil I am reluctant to tread it down into decent paths so I am always mincing sideways and tripping onto the beds. It's stupid!

[goodlife]

..thought came to my mind this morning.. ::)
I must grow MORE tomatoes next year. I thought I was having excellent tomato year..but there is no spare tomatoes nowhere to be seen.. ??? ::)..I've must been extra greedy, grown double belly and shucked some over the shoulder too to get rid of what there has been dangling from the plants.. ::)..nor I have given many away.. ???
I rather fancied the idea having some bulk to freeze for the winter... ::)
I have to start planning ...where am I going to put some more plants next year?.. ::) :-\

[Kleftiwallah]

Resist the "Red mist" of seed sowing at the start of the season and I won't plant a couple of pumpkins in my greenhouse "seems a shame to let them go to waste" ! !   

Looks like a Malayan jungle in there now !     Cheers,    Tony.

[BoardStupid]

Try and spend more time up the plot. Not really had the time this year with this and that. Have a week of soon so getting ground sorted and weeds cleared hopefully !!!

[Aden Roller]

Try and spend more time up the plot. Not really had the time this year with this and that. Have a week of soon so getting ground sorted and weeds cleared hopefully !!!

That's my aim too for next year.

           It's been difficult as I haven't had week-ends free so nearly every visit has been at running pace                                                                                                  and then only for a couple of hours at a time.

[cacran]

I have just bought a big bag of Daffodil bulbs. I intend to plant them to grow for cutting in spring.
I also intend to grow a bit less of things as I often get a glut. I tell my friends and family not to buy certain things from supermarkets, I will give them some. They never seem to listen, so things go to waste.

[PeterVV]

I too will be trying celeriac earlier, I will not bother with onion from seed as that was a waste of time, and I must pace myself with the spinach, as I cant seem to keep up with it!, so half / quarter rows at a time next year. I will water my spuds next year if we have a dry spring like this year, as I had the worst crop this year...

[lottie lou]

Resist the "Red mist" of seed sowing

Me too

may try a softneck garlic this yr as my 'music' hardneck isn't storing well at all. they've gone yellow for some reason (does anyone know why? maybe, i left them too long in the greenhouse to dry out?)

Woould you like to try my hardneck purple garlic?  Don't know name but I have been growing it for years and I think it has acclimatised to growing conditions

[Chrispy]

Get a pocket diary and fill in the dates for successional planting and keep better records.

Build better supports for my greenhouse tomatoes, plastic clips and string is no match for 6ft plants laden with fruit

[carosanto]

I'm starting next year now. 

More:  Perennials on the flower plot, peas, peas, peas.  New Raspberry bushes, french strawberries (delicious), onions from seeds (really successful this year),mange tout, little gem lettuces - we eat so much lettuce.  Weeding (ugh) and more keeping the grass paths in order as I have now bought a small push mower, easier than a strimmer and neater.
Green manure, green manure and green manure. Sunbright beans - they are amazing, such a lovely colour leaf and tender beans.  Rocket, Cara and Estima potatoes.  Carrots and more carrots, different types of radish.  Rhubarb, have 4 different plants want more.   Spinach, but it ALWAYS bolts.A couple of small fruit trees, stepover apple....any suggestions? PSB and WSB. Weeding, sigh, but it has to be done and a tidier plot overall.

Less:  Cavallo Nero - we have had loads - sick of it and green kale, ditto.  Main crop pots see above, blight does for 'em. Beetroot, we don't eat enough. Turnips, see beetroot.   

Wish list:  Oh to be able to grow outdoor tomatoes - no greenhouse nor room for one, and blight always gets 'em. A surefire solution to the monster slug and mighty snail population and an infinite supply of energy and time!

Caro

[Busby]

Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me.  So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...

Everything changes.

[Aden Roller]

Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me.  So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...

Everything changes.

I'm sorry to hear you are deciding to give up your plot but life seems to be full of changes one way or another - some large ones and some everyday small ones.

A friend of mine has recently lost his wife and is gently considering the future. "Slowly does it" seems the best way.

I wish you luck with your changes. Will you continue to grow veg at all? Perhaps a few tomato plants close to home? I don't think I could get through a summer without having something edible growing somewhere.

[pumkinlover]

Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me.  So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...

Everything changes.

Making decisions like that is difficult so it you have already gone through that process I apolgise but....

have you any other options like going to a half plot or a plot share (we have a "buddy" scheme where plot holders get help and share the produce) ?

[Aden Roller]

Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me.  So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...

Everything changes.

Making decisions like that is difficult so it you have already gone through that process I apologise but....

have you any other options like going to a half plot or a plot share (we have a "buddy" scheme where plot holders get help and share the produce) ?

That's a great idea especially if it's already set up and there are people willing to share.

I started off with my plot in a similar way. My father was 89 and finding it too much so I started helping out with weeding and rotovating. Eventually I took over the plot that he had been working for 50 years. The soil is fantastic!

He continues to share an interest in our plot giving advice and sowing the beans in pots for me to plant out so at 96 he's doing pretty well.  :)

[sticks]

Next year I'll be making the paths on my lottie narrower so I can grow more crops  ;D

[artichoke]

Ha! Sticks, did you see my declared intention of making my paths wider so I can walk along them more easily???

[sticks]

haha, no! I'll probably be doing that in 2013!