Progress reports

[dicky]

We are only a couple of weeks into decent weather and already I'm looking at the plot and planning next year, already thinking of correcting some of my mistakes.

Just wondered if anyone is doing the same.

So far i'm planning:

less onions but some banana shallots
more leeks and parsnips
more room for squashes
better organisation of the salad patch
more sucessional cropping for brocolli
a herb patch
mini veg like mini collis and cabbages (will never eat the huge ones)
more strawberries
french beans instead of runners

???

[dicky]

[weedbusta]

i want to space things properly, keep on top of the weeds a bit better, buy more weed fabric, grow more fruit, hire a housekeeper and a cook, get someone to go do my job (but give me the pay).......time to go to bed and dream some more!!

[supersprout]

LOL@busta
Great question :)
So far (it's still early in the season, but lots of learning!)

Sow seed later - a lot of my plants sat for too long before it was warm enough for them
Sow peas in succession to get continuous crops
Continue mulching heavily
Sow more plants in modules - now I have the kit, tadaa ;D
More space between squash in the greenhouse
Grow squash upwards - time to think about supports during the winter
Grow more garlic, onions and tomatoes outdoors
Grow more early spuds - ours were gone in a twinkling
Put mesh cloches over seedlings immediately to foil the pigeons >:(

[MrsKP]

get a plot
produce a plan
give things room to breath
give the sweetpeas a trellis to themselves
stake things that are not intended to grow horizontally
not grow multiple varieties of seeds in one tray and not label them properly
understand the consequences of a courgette glut
not get too upset over the casualties


;D

[tricia]

I wish - I wish ::). My veggie plot is so small I just can't fit any more into it. It was enlarged this year, but is now hard against the shed and three water butts at one end and two composters at the other end. Block paving on one side and the garden wall on the other. So that's it :(. Even so, I have managed beetroot, harvested and pickled, snap peas, frozen in portions, ( they seem to have got second wind because they're flowering again,) another variety of snap peas which are just coming into flower - a very pretty purplish colour - Purple Vienna kohlrabi, which we are eating as often as we can (can they be frozen?), Little Gem and Tom Thumb lettuces all used up now and succession plants coming on nicely, Autumn Bliss Raspberries growing strongly against said wall with a row of celeriac in front of them,  then rhubarb, 6 tomato plants, 2 courgettes, 12 sweet corn plants, three rows of leeks and two rows of parsnips complete the picture. Oh - almost forgot that I've harvested 53 garlic and 12 (43) shallot plants which are drying in the lovely warm weather. In their place I now have a Waltham Butternut squash growing well. All this in a space of 5meters x 190cm (16ft x 6ft.3ins.)
In 20 pots I have a variety of bush tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes (training them to grow vertically), climbing French beans, courgettes, aubergines and Inferno peppers.
In a very small GH there are 6 sweet peppers, four tomatoes, 2 cucumbers and three aubergines.
I'm sure that given reasonable health I shall be doing the same next year, growing all the plants from seed and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it ;D ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Next year I'm going to keep my chilies and aubs on the windowsill till the weather warms up. I think that's the main thing so far.

[jennym]

Same as others - sowing most things later for certain. Sowing tomatillo and cape gooseberry earlier.
Also, using my new cold frames to best advantage, getting more horse muck delivered to dig in or spread on, try doing it in autumn rather than spring and hope the rains don't take it, moving a ditch, putting loads of bramble and blackthorn cuttings in around the perimeter fence, getting fewer but decent spuds from a potato day or catalogue again, rather than take the B&Q cheap option, putting more fruit in, doing the new strawberry bed.

[cleo]

Develop foresight-all the newly planted babies and young herbs in  cold frames have been all but scorched to death >:(

[artichoke]

"putting loads of bramble and blackthorn cuttings in around the perimeter fence": is that against cats and dogs???

I started the year with one half allotment, so planted things very tightly, as usual, then got another in May, but most of it is still a field with only ten square metres growing things. So I am tripping over and standing on things in my first allotment.

Next year I will give myself more space and order on the first as the second gets under way. I plan to move the tough, slow-growing things to the further away plot and keep the one nearby full of quick maturing things that need picking regularly, like courgettes and peas/beans, raspberries etc. If I've got the energy, I'll move the gooseberries and artichokes there, and grow potatoes and onions/garlic/shallots as well.

Looking forward to it already.

[tricia]

I don't believe any of you who say you will sow things later ;) ;) :P. When we are over New Year we all start to think of what to start off early and end up sowing everything too early - we just can't help it ;D.

Two things which really do benefit from early sowing are aubergine and celeriac.

[mc55]

hmm, interesting, unlike most of you I intend to sow earlier next year, think I was a little too cautious this year.

going to get some early potatoes
erect greenhouse
grow loads more peppers
grow a melon
grow more flowers
try to grow avocados
grow way more shallots, garlic and peas (or rather protect peas from mices and pigeons) and red peas (?)
move the raspberries and rhubarb to a bed of their own
dig the remaining third of jungle when the heat of the summer has died away
move the apple tree from the pathway  :P to the end of the plot
build a fruit cage
burn the ratty shed.

[Multiveg]

Get (and stay) organised.