Vacant spot

[Mrs Ava]

As every inch of my allotment is possible planting space, I remembered what Ina had said in a posting a while back about planting lettuce in between her runners as they will be all grown up and ready to leave home by the time the runners completely shade the bed, so, in went a tray of lettuce...biondi or something....some red chicory...and a row of radish!  I figure all will be well gone before the light becomes and issue, and I couldn't stand looking at that lovely strip of earth, all unused.  Hopefully, it will keep the weeds down too!

[Mrs Ava]

[kenkew]

Me to EJ. I have a row between the poles and all round the edges. Also got some cabbages among my fruit bushes, na, na!

[Mrs Ava]

What a blinding idea Ken!  So, what veggies don't mind a touch of shade then??  I have 2 apple trees, not huge ones, but they are underplanted with a selection of fruit bushes....however...there is plenty of room for other things, if only I knew what wouldn't mind spending the summer in dappled shade.  :)

[Wicker]

Far too many lettuce seedlings so am going to plant some out inbetween the rows of cabbage and caulis which are pretty widely spaced.  They should be well grown before leaves are big enough to shade them - if it doesn't work and as there will certainly be too many for us and friends to eat well they will just add to the compost.  Haven't put them there before - the ground is limed for the brassicas but I doubt that will harm the lettuce?

[kingkano]

What a blinding idea Ken!  So, what veggies don't mind a touch of shade then??  I have 2 apple trees, not huge ones, but they are underplanted with a selection of fruit bushes....however...there is plenty of room for other things, if only I knew what wouldn't mind spending the summer in dappled shade.  :)

Hamburg parsley for sure - tops used as parsley, roots grow into small well flavoured parsnip type things :)  and grows well in partial shade.  Id say lettuces in height of summer would grow well, and bulbs (tulips daffs etc) would be an excellent choice under fruit trees (great for cutting).

hope that helps

ken

[Garden Manager]

I am just starting to get the hang of 'interplanting/cropping.  I had my first go last year when i tried lettuce amougst onions (too sucessfull, lettuce overwhelmed the onions, shant do it again) and lettuce amougst cabbages (great sucess - doing it again this year).

This year i am trying beetroot (and maybe some carrots too) between the onions.  I have some more lettuce  on ther way in cells, so i might try them between the runner beans, though the lettuce are loose leaf types which are in the ground linger so might loose the light before they are finished with.

Any comments or further suggestions would be welcome.  :)

[Mrs Ava]

Well, I am no great rotator, and I know some peeps will frown, but wherever I have a gap, I am planting something!  So, as an example, a couple of my shallots didn't grow, so in the gaps I have planted a tomato plant.  A couple of caulis and cabbages didn't grow - slugs I fear - so in those gaps I have lettuce, or different brassicas - whatever I had left when I came to the end of the row.  A whole line of broadbeans didn't germinate  :'( so I sowed a row of peas, and all of them came up, so in the middle of a broad bean patch, I have peas!  It is haphazard, it looks very 'rustic' but every area of soil is being well used.  Plot numero 2 is really going to be rustic, a mix of corns, sunflowers, beans and squashes.  Then, once they are all growing, all of my left overs will go in.  ;D

[Garden Manager]

I agree with you EJ - empty space/soil is wasted soil. Traditional cottage gardeners maxim.

Sometimes though it is difficult not to get carried away and have plants fighting each other for space- then having to 'referee' them  ;D

[Mrs Ava]

The one thing I do try to do Richard is keep the plantings similar sizes or spread, so hopefully there won't be too much of a battle for light and space.  For example, 2 shallots didn't grow, but I only planted one tomato plant in the gap, and the shallots will be going as the tom plant gets bigger so that should be okay.  I think salads, the quick growers are the best things to dot in the gaps, especially as you don't want 50 lettuce all ready today, you want them staggered, so plonking a couple here and there when you have a gap hopefully prevents to much of a glut!