New Year's Resolutions.

[tim]

A bit early, but whikle fresh in mind.

1. Brassica. I shall cover thoroughly, whatever the cost in pain!

2. Peppers. I shall do  what the book says - not as I choose. (Simpsons' advice)

3. I shall space things out better, despite thinking I'm short of room. (eg Dublin Lettuce - the first row has smothered the 2nd & is now going for the 3rd!)
Or stick to the neater varieties.

4. I shall label everything 'NOW' - applies to the Freezer as well!

5. Potatoes. I shall earth up  properly, whatever the cost.

6. Kale. I shall not sow in April - 2 wasted rows.

7. Runner Beans. I shall use a windbreak rather than a fleece 'sail' after planting.

and ................

[tim]

[saddad]

We could all do with some of them... and our Allotment year runs from 1st Oct to 30th Sept. so not too far out...

[caroline7758]

Interesting point about ripening off the plant- does that apply to all peppers?

[Sparkly]

oooo I have loads:

1. To ensure all brassicas are covered and none are left sticking out of the edge (pigeons are crafty!)
2. To plant more peas and not bother with succession - just plant loads early and freeze them all
3. To cover carrots up properly! (carrot fly - argh)
4. To not give in to temptation and plant tomatoes too early and far too many of them
5. To plant an early crop of swedes
6. To plant more broad beans
7. To plant more early potatoes (to be frozen rolled in butter for roasting)
8. To plant some climbing beans rather than just dwarf beans
9. To plant leek seeds in a much deeper pot!
10. To sow lettuce and radish in a more organised succession
11. To get sweetcorn seeds planted much earlier in pots for planting out
12. To not let raspberry canes dry out before planting (they die!)
13. To tie up runner bean canes more securely
14. To give outdoor cucumbers more room
15. To plant less cabbages!
16. to pick all the soft fruit when it is ready for freezing so half the crop doesn't end up wasted
17. to buy a bigger freezer!
18. to grow some parsnips in draining pipe to try and end up with some that are straight
19. to earth up beetroot


As it has been our first year we made loads of mistakes, but we have learnt from them!

[tim]

Caroline -so glad you picked that one up. I had intended to do a separate post on it.

In my experience, a picked pepper will last a few days before softening/wrinkling. Cannot see how it can ripen??

[Jeannine]

I resolution only...


I will not rely on the weather this next year unless I have  better contingency plan  than usual.

XX Jeannine

[carolinej]

I will keep an accurate planting diary, with crop rotation notes ::)

cj :)

[bennettsleg]

1. I will acknowledge my limitations and act accordingly
2. I will relinquish half my plot and maintain the worked-on half (5 poles)
3. I will grow the stuff we love but cannot find/afford in the shops
4. I will be liberal with the slug pellets, even if rain is due
5. I will mulch my paths
6. I will not grow potatoes (OH won't eat them, he's been trained by the supermarkets 'perfect' potatoes)
7. I will plant more brassicas
8. I will use netting more effectively
9. I will not allow self-induced weed-shame to cause me to try and reamin invisiable when on my plot
10. I will remember my past successes when faced with a hard task or a failed crop
11. I will remember that the weather affects the weed-harvest potential on all plots
12. I will learn how to bottle food properly
13. I will plant more immediate harvest foods (like cut & come again lettuce) at home

[tim]

Correction on Peppers - 'few days' - unless refridgerated, of course. But even in the fridge, they don't change colour.

[antipodes]

oh gosh, well the list would be long:

• remember that I am LEARNING so will bugger up a large percentage of things
  Learn what types of potatoes to plant at what time
  Plant more peppers/chillis/tomatoes under cover if need be
  Sow more peas! and label them so I know which are mangetout and which are not...
  Plant more squash and pumpkin!! and forget about gherkins
  Grow sweetcorn despite the seeds being expensive
  space the rows wide enough to get the hoe between them (fatal error this year)
  Do not buy seeds from Lidl, they appear to give pretty crappy results
  Dig the beds better and try and get out as much of the bindweed root as possible.
  get my proper paths laid so the plot's appearance is more professional
  use the advice from all you lot as most of the time, you are RIGHT!!

[newbies]

Same as Bennettsleg.
Do the cut and come again at home, and possibly the tomatoes. 
This may reduce the number of 'little visits', so managing my time more effectively.  They are the only crop to need regular visits, the rest are left to their own devices.  This may then also reduce the guilt(!)
Better crop rotation notes.
Oh dear!

[sarah]

all of the above and

direct sow more things instead of cluttering up every available surface during march to may.
not sow anything before april at the earliest.
except toms and peppers and aubergines...
only plant pink fir apples - all other spuds not worth the space on a half plot.
sortoutcompostarea :-[ :-[
relax relax relax
learn from past experience that no two years are the same and that mother nature will always catch you on the hop.
sharpen my hoe :P

[Rosyred]

Tim- your lettuce look lovely and tidy. For some reason when I thin my lettuce they don't do will so i've given up doing that now.

[cleo]

I`ll just muddle through as usual-but I might just remember that a hoe is for life and not just for the odd time I used it this year.

[Barnowl]

Correction on Peppers - 'few days' - unless refridgerated, of course. But even in the fridge, they don't change colour.

I've had peppers ripen after picking but only ones that were quite close to ripening anyway (dark green rather than light).  I think they would need warmth not refrigeration.

[Emagggie]

0.
7. Runner Beans. I shall use a windbreak rather than a fleece 'sail' after planting

Moving mine to a less windy place in front of my shed as per lottie neighbour, his beans still look great compared to mine!
I too have vowed to be more organised next year, having made many booboos this year, but I learned lots. ;D

[tim]

Lucky old you, Barnie - if I leave mine out for a few days, they just soften & wrinkle.

Just cooking one tonight.

[tricia]

antipodes - don't blame Lidl seeds - it's the weather that has been crap this year, not the seeds. I've used their tomato and french bean seeds for years with good results.

Tricia

[tim]

Rosy, I don't thin. They are sown at that spacing.

[dgillings]

Christ, I don't think this forum is big enough for what happened in my first proper year of allotment ownership! Work got in the way and I allowed myself to get lazy.
My spuds are still mostly in the ground apart from 2 visits worth for the early heritage varieties.
My carrots got caught by the carrot-fly even though I thought I'd done enough.
My Dwarf French beans grew through the netting making it a god-awful nightmare to look after
My lettuce just went mad and I hardly ever grow the d**n things.

SO:

1. I will ONLY sow what I will eat and not just throw loads of things in the ground to see what happens.
2. I will setup a small plot at home so I can tend to it better - instead of my 4-5 weekly visits that I get to the allotment!
3. I WILL read up on what I'm doing and learn to listen to the spacing advice!!!
4. I will log on here more often - I lost track of where I was and what I was!
5. I will sow more in trays and plant out - I did it the other way round mostly this year, and mostly too late!
6. I will sow BIG items at the allotment - things that will take care of themselves like squashes
7. I will sow labour intensive items at home so I can check on them
8. I will build a dog proof fence at home - they can be little buggers!

9. SOOOOO much more to think about and do - perhaps I should apply for EARLY redundancy!
10.
11.
12. etc  :-\


Mostly I think I'll just try harder ;)