Author Topic: Too Wet  (Read 6530 times)

GRACELAND

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Too Wet
« on: April 04, 2018, 14:30:09 »
Had my polt about 25 yrs and  this yr has been the Wettest i have known this late  :BangHead: .Usually i have had it all dug over by now but   up till Friday last week it was still Water Logged !
               So Looks like i A need to  have some dry weather  And B  Really get going to catch up when i can get on it !
                           iTS WEED FREE AT MOMENT AND  WAITTING FOR A FEW DRY DAYS !! :icon_cheers:

 Anyone else seeing this this yr !!
i don't belive death is the end

saddad

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2018, 14:58:34 »
Really damp here too... 2/3rds of the path on the bottom plots is underwater...

Plot22

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2018, 15:42:50 »
Been down this morning hoping that I can set potatoes this weekend. No chance I put a spade in and realised just how wet it was. Five years ago I set my early potatoes in similar conditions and the lot rotted. Forecast not too bad for next week so I will check again after a couple of dry days. I have excellent soil and it does not take too long to dry out.

Tee Gee

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2018, 16:26:43 »
This is the main reason I like to get my plot prepared prior to Christmas particularly up here in The Pennines. We never know how long winter is going to last, or how wet the soil will be.

Added to which I always think when you dig in Spring the cold soil is buried and the slightly warmer soil is on top meaning when I plant out my tender seedlings their roots are in coldish soil....OK that's me but I think it is logical hence my reason for digging prior to Christmas.

This reminds me of watching Gardeners World on telly many years ago.......the pundit of the day when telling the viewers what they can do this weekend  said you can sow this and that, however when I looked out the window my garden was covered in a foot of snow. Ever since I do not take much notice of advice like this from TV pundits!

GRACELAND

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2018, 16:33:57 »
Tee Gee So do i but since Nov its been rotten on our plots here in Gloshire Just so wet Globall wetting i recon !! Like you said about Gardeners world ,He said about putting spuds in this week !! wahat   in a foot of water !!!! :tongue3:
« Last Edit: April 04, 2018, 16:37:30 by GRACELAND »
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ancellsfarmer

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2018, 21:26:59 »
Not only is it wet, but the forecast is for more rain. The other aspect is that here in N E Hampshire, the forecast is for almost 100% cloud cover, until 16/04, and /but temperatures around 6-8 deg C, rising just into double digits. So no frost (good), but little solar energy to dry the surface. Spring is looking late, my guess now is 2 weeks behind, in 3 weeks time, its going to be 4 weeks behind.... The year of the cloche!
Slugs will be ' lovin' it'
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squeezyjohn

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2018, 21:41:20 »
Yep ... our plot can't take much more ... the ground water level is only about 6 inches to a foot under the plot and some neighbouring ones are under water.  I'm incredibly glad this is the year I planned to do potatoes in buckets ... I've got half of them planted out already and they are raised up.  We need a week or two of sun before there's a chance of preparing the beds and planting properly.

Paulh

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2018, 23:10:09 »
So when can I plant my potatoes and onions? I'd usually have done it by end March.

I'm on holiday from 15 - 22 April and work Monday to Wednesday.

It's the next four days (not likely!) or the following Thursday, Friday and Saturday (who knows?) or the end of April!

I guess they'll catch up whenever they are planted.

squeezyjohn

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2018, 00:26:35 »
You can start your onions (I'm assuming they're sets) in pots or modules and transplant them out once the ground is dry enough - that should give you a head start on people that have to wait until the ground is dry!

As for potatoes ... this guy is one of my favourite YouTubers and he has grown his potatoes in buckets for years ... here's him harvesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xNfy0qYFrs ... and this one is him planting them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEKXDfl2IW4 ... no volunteers, early start, easy to harvest ... I'm sold!

Borderers1951

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2018, 09:14:11 »
My plot is, thankfully, very well drained and I hope to be able to plant potatoes tomorrow.

Redalder

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2018, 11:50:14 »
West Country just as bad, wet, wet, wet, greenhouse full of stuff that can't go out and tatties sitting waiting in their trays in the house. Needed a plank path to get the last of the leeks in. On the good side, did get most of it dug in the Autumn so should be ready to go as soon as I can rake in some compost and manure.

George the Pigman

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2018, 21:17:51 »
Over in Brum its one of the wettest starts to the year I can remember in 26 years (our plots are on clay soil). The combination of snow melt (we've had more here than usual) and rain has left the plots a quagmire.  No chance of digging or rotavation at the moment.
I wouldn't worry about getting the spuds in too early. I've put them in at the end of April and had a great crop. (first, second earlies and maincrops at the same time!). They just will mature a bit later.
Also soil temperatures are lower than usual for the time of year because of the cold  prolonged winter so seeds sown in the soil will not germinate and will simply rot.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2018, 21:20:44 by George the Pigman »

ed dibbles

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2018, 21:52:13 »
Usually It's wise to wait until annual weeds begin germinating before sowing seeds outdoors. So far there is no sign of weed growth at all. Under cover they are growing well and with the recent milder temperatures I expect to soil to be warm enough soon.

I did sow some parsnip seed under planks last week and beetroot, turnip and radish under double layered debris netting yesterday. I also have some peas and broad beans sown. Lot's of things are in pot and trays ready to go out when the ground becomes workable.

Tentative steps but at least I'm making a start. :happy7:

saddad

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #13 on: April 07, 2018, 22:56:42 »
I agree... the speedwell is starting to germinate so self sown annuals will come up fine!

Paulh

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #14 on: April 08, 2018, 10:21:39 »
Thursday and Friday were warm and dry, so I got my potatoes in. The onions may well have to go into modules later this week, unless it's good weather at the end of this week.

Vinlander

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #15 on: April 08, 2018, 10:30:15 »
The answer to next spring's waterlogging is putting raised beds in the worst areas ASAP. They also warm up much faster - I now get tomato volunteers all over in April/May and the first flush will give a crop - before the beds I never saw a single one before mid-June.

Personally I prefer bringing the minimum amount of stuff to the plot and try to maximise the resources that are already there.

This means filling the beds by digging topsoil from 50-60cm wide trenches that will become paths between 4' - 1.2m wide beds. On my plot this means 30cm deep - there's no point in removing subsoil, but that topsoil will be much more productive in a raised bed than it was under your feet. You can make a huge difference by doing just this - more than enough to cope with even the dampest spring, though you can do better by putting similar paths in the flood-free areas, but stealing the topsoil to raise the problem areas.

If you get woodchip deliveries then filling the trenches is no problem - it becomes incredibly good soil conditioner (it only takes 2 years to get past its nitrogen-theft stage and go chocolate brown), so that's a massive inducement to dig it out regularly (before it rots to nothing)  and replace it with fresh. Obviously it's best to overfill the trenches and top up ASAP so it settles - then it's all 2yrs old when you take it out.

Without woodchip, prunings are the best trench fillers - they take 3-4 years to make soil conditioner, and you may have to chuck any big bits back in the trench (sort of hugelkultur) before re-filling. It's worth including a bit of your own woodchip to fill the voids and stop soil coming into the trench, but you can also line the trench with cheap plastic sheet/tarp - it doesn't need to be expensively UV protected - it's not going to see any UV down there.

Actually,  putting the prunings in a bin bag can speed up the rotting - you could just chuck the bags in the trench and tread them down (but make sure you remove all the exposed plastic as soon as it starts to crack - or it will flake all over the place - unless you covered it at the very start - with more prunings?).

The raised sides of the bed need to be supported - I tend to skip-dive for planks and old iron pipes as stakes, but you can also drive thick straight prunings into the ground like a palisade - if you hold the tops in with a single rail (estate agent signs) and a few decent stakes it will last 2 years.

As a last resort, batter the exposed sides at 40o.

Cheers.

PS. I may copy this to Top Tips if it doesn't get rubbished - fire at will.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2018, 10:41:03 by Vinlander »
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

Digeroo

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #16 on: April 08, 2018, 17:22:26 »
My soil drains ok, but there has been very little sun so the soil is cold.  There are a few weeks starting.  And the stingers and quite happy.  Was going to get rid of the white death nettles but saw a bumbly bee so thought I had better not grub up his dinner, not much else in flower.  Been a good year for the daffodils the cold have keep them going longer than usual.  There are signs that the comfrey is growing which is a sign it is time for potatoes. 

laurieuk

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #17 on: April 10, 2018, 15:35:59 »
At long last I have managed to get my onion sets and early potatoes planted. I now have a damaged back due to some one's out of control dog so I may not get much done for a while. Many say that cold weather reduces the number of slugs etc. but despite this winter being extra long and cold we have more slugs then ever. My daffodils and narcissi are like lace curtains. The shows were last week and this but I have none to show from almost 100 show varieties.

Flighty

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #18 on: April 10, 2018, 17:21:14 »
I'm in Harrow and still not planted or sown anything on my soggy, but thankfully not waterlogged, plot.  I looked round this afternoon and doubt if I'll be doing so for at least several days providing there's no more rain.
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pumkinlover

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Re: Too Wet
« Reply #19 on: April 10, 2018, 17:38:46 »
Sorry to hear about your back Laurie.

 

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