Allotments 4 All
General => News => Topic started by: kenkew on March 27, 2004, 17:37:20
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A cherry tree, 250 onion sets, 7 dahlia tubers, and in my newby plastic greenhouse a row each of radish, lettuce and carrots. By the gate I scattered wild flower seeds. Aren't I a good boy?
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250 onion sets - I'm seriously impressed - how's your back? Love the idea of walking through wild flowers to get to your bit of heaven.
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No, use just smartie pants! Shou know bout others who don't blow trumpet. They'se makin history! :D
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Soz Ken but here are so many of them here who do so much in face of so little! :D
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By 'eck, MB. That's straight from Churchills speech 1941. That's some memory you have. I'm impressed.
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K Ken, how much space did you give your onions? I have done some and noticed that my neighbours are much much closer than mine. I spaced mine very scientifically, the way I space everything in my garden and plot, a trowel apart :-\. Too much space or am I going to be looking at some champion onions?
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I space mine a hand apart. As they grow I pull every other one and use as salad onion. The rest then have enough space to mature. (and I completely cover shallots.) Yesterd I planted nothing, still too wet for spuds, so I furrowed that bit which will speed up the drying. Next week my earlies go in.
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Blimey KK - makes my efforts today look a bit feeble ! Nevertheless, I made a start..like they say in a certain major supermarket - every little helps. :)
I put my onion sets 2-3 inches apart for 'useful size in the kitchen' ones and between 4-6 inches apart in an attempt to grow them bigger for delicious french onion soup....but it is only an attempt! The weeds grow like fury and it's a bl**dy nighmare weeding them without breaking the leaves on the onions!
AC x
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Ah! Ha!...I made me a hoe for that job. I sawed off the prongs of a kitcken fork and sharpened it like a razor. Drilled a hole in a pole, filled it with glue and tapped fork in. A really handy thing for the onion bed.
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Now .. funny you should mention that, KK. An old chap on my lottie site gave me a similar thing he had made from a dessert spoon hammered out and trimmed. It's probably wider than the one you describe but very useful and effective. However, I find the hardiest and healthiest weed seeds germinate right next to the bulb itself and I have to resort to a steak knife and careful hand weeding to get the darn things out....that bloomin' soup better be good!
AC
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Naw! All you need do is bend the 'fork' at right angles. With that you can almost stroke the onion and get the weed too.
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You'll be pleased to know I only managed to nudge two garlic plants with the hoe today! Also planted out thirty broad beans though and made a start on the next stage of the strawberry bed (the couch grass and creeping thistle seem to enjoy the compost I put on, judging by the size of their roots) and raked over the spot where the onions started in modules will eventually go, so feeling rather more virtuous than of late!
AC x
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blimey, what a great idea -off to get my dremel out first thing. a mini hoe
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Seems to me that there is a marketing opportunity here ....... I haven't got a Dremel ... :(
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Can't get the HP site working so can't show the pics yet, but due to Mrs Kew's insistance that we need more spuds, I'm having to convert my doggy's bit of play area into a new spud bed. Is it too late, or is it too early...mmmm....paws for thought.