Although I've cleared my allotment ready for next year, apart from some strawberry plants I moved it is bare. I was going to put some stuff in for winter but decided to use it to plastic the ground to keep the weeds off, and start fresh in the spring.
Just wondering whos got whatl eft growing so I know what to expect next year and plan for. ??? ???
I'm about to update the blog as well with a couple of pics as well.
www.dickysfarm.blogspot.com (http://www.dickysfarm.blogspot.com)
Well, as of today, have leeks, carrots, rhubarb (which should be dying down but isn't!, bad rhubarb..!) aubergines, lettuce, cabbages, parsnips, sprouts, celery has just about had it...and chillies in the PT (yehay!!), strawbs now in pots in PT, cucumber finally gave up fight! Now coming up - onions, garlic , broad beans, and savoys doing well....fingers crossed!! Still haven't lifted all spuds, which is down to bad planning on my part! ::)
Lottie ;D
Hi Dicky,
bearing in mind that I didn't start the plot until July:
picked the last of the sweetcorn yesterday
marrows but don't think they will get big now cos its too wet
beetroot, carrots, parsnips, fennel, lettuces of all sorts
cabbages, leeks, and french beans
purple sprouting going a blast for next year, also onions, garlic, broad beans.
Pictures of the lotty look great. You have done a lot of hard work, I think.
Image how it will look next year after sowing all those seeds. ;D
Still on my plots....
runner beans
french beans
3 rows leeks
couple of blocks of spring onions
6 rows carrots
2 rows parsnips
block celeriac
block celery
1 trombolino squash under glass frame
swedes (about 12)
beetroots (about 12)
lettuce - variety all over the place in blocks of 6 or 8
green mustard
kale - 2 varieties
savoy cabbage
swiss chard
spinach
brussels sprouts - 2 varieties
red cabbage
white cabbage
broccoli
caulis
japanese onions
garlics
2 courgette plants hanging on for dear life!
white radish (mooli)
Permanent plantings -
2 apple trees
selection currants
raspberries
strawbs
gooseberry
globe artichoke
cardoon
asparagus
rhubarb
Greenhouse -
selection of different chillis
sweet peppers
aubergines
2 tomato plants
6 spuds sacks (test!)
My allotment HAS to work for me 365 days of the year, naked ground is unproductive ground. Â I would say we are 90% veggie self sufficient year round. Â Anywhere that is nudee gets a good covering from the compost heap. Â Plot number 2 is half bare but that is my spud plot so it is covered in rotted manure and has been roughly forked over.
Can't compete with Emma's list but........
2 Blocks of leeks
Swiss Chard
Parsnips
Salsify
Kohl Rabi
Sprouts
Pak Choi
Radish
Beetroot (sown late Sept - may develop)
Corn Salad
Strawberry patch (moved to new site yesterday)
Pemanent Fruit bushes/raspberries
Spring Greens (planted out early Oct - practically devoured by pigeons, now netted)
Broad beans (to sow in next week or so)
Actually, there's more there than I thought, but there is some bare ground, where I have put in some trenches of well rotted manure for next years runners/french beans - should I be planting something there now, or covering it?
Also, runner beans which I cut down, leaving roots for nitrogen, are now sprouting in this mild weather, here in Sussex (peas too). Dahlias still in flower (should chop down anyway acc. Gardeners World) as are the nastursiums (when will there be a frost to decimate these, will there be one ever again?)
We took our plot on in April, we had to clear it all and remove countless rogue potatoes and the like, so we had to pretty much start from scratch.
At the moment we're growing:
Pak Choi
Bok Choi
White sprouting broccoli
Mooli (coming out of our ears, and we're not that sure what to do with it.)
Lambs lettuce
mizuna
rocket
american land cress
onions
swiss chard
turnips
broccoli
celeriac
purple sprouting broccoli
cabbages
artichokes
more mooli
cauliflowers
New tators for chrimbo
and the odd marrow still trying to grow, plus a few fruit bushes and more strawberries than you could shake a stick at.
Oooh, and the broad beans have just poked through.
Not bad going for our first season at it I reckon, should be better next year. POLY TUNNEL wahhheyy
:)
Not quite up to this standard, but here goes:
runner beans - all to seed and gone
french beans - gone, hit by cold
leeks - doing well
spring onions - doing well
carrots - a few
celery - hit by cold
beetroots lots oval ones, doing well
lettuce - one left - slugs got most this year
greyhound cabbage - remarkably untouched
brussels sprouts - forgot to plant
broccoli - very good this year
caulis - eaten alive by slugs etc
garlic - must get some t put in
courgettes - yellow hit by cold and gone, green still ok
damsons, plums, apples and pears all picked
blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries all picked
raspberries - Joan J still going strong
blackberries - last of the Oregon being picked
strawberries some there but they aren't that good (most of mine are summer ones)
globe artichoke - one left to pick
cardoon - gone to seed, whch I always do
asparagus - ferns now yellowing
rhubarb - gone
potatoes - 4 rows to dig, sacks in garage
parsley - looking good
sweetcorn - all gone
tomatoes - all gone (got a brilliant crop of Roma this year, blight free, but Sungold got hit badly)
tomatillo - still going strong
physallis edulis - still picking as they ripen but edge plants in the block hit by cold
jerusalem artichoke - digging about now
chilli peppers - dug up and potted up and put in tall frame to ripen hopefully
Thanks for reminding me you lot! Parsley, curly and flat leaf, and kohl rabi!
Bums! :-\
And there was me thinking I had done quite well for 4 months.
Oh yes, I left out the Bright Lights Chard and the
Perpetual Spinach. Also have Alice strawbs allk ready to go next season.
:-*
weeds/couch?-not my best year :(
Leeks,J artichokes,Kale,1 sprout,red cabbage,a few spuds,Chard,Pan di Zucchero,black radish,sorrel,parsnips,salsify,scorzenera---did I mention weeds?
Well.... lets think......
Turnips
Leeks
Parsnips
Celeriac
Brussels Sprouts
9 star perennial broc
Purple sprouting broc
Pointy cabbages
Savoy cabbages
Cavolo Nero kale
Cauliflowers (for next Spring)
Perpetual spinach
Chard
Sorrel
Flat leaf parsley
Overwintering garlic, onions and shallots
Patch of Cut-&-Come-Again still producing
Green courgettes still there (picked 4 last week but don't think there will be more)
Permanents
Blackcurrants
Raspberries
Cardoons
Strawberries
But have got some empty beds and not had the time yet to prepare them properly, and haven't had a chance to put in the overwintering broad beans - maybe tomorrow with luck. Was also going to try some hardy peas although not optimistic.
Cold frame has
2 trays of cut-&come again
winter lettuce
rocket
cauliflowers.
Periwinkle - What are the cardoons like? I've been intrigued since I heard Clarissa Dickson Wright raving about them on a cookery show. Do they take up much room? (We only have a half plot)
Cleo - Where do you get seeds for Pan di Zucchero. I've just googled for it but only found Italian sites. It looks good.
Bums again? Even in my younger days, I don't think I ever achieved what you all seem to do without flinching.
I think it's because I love the Spring & hate the Autumn. And the fact that for 15 of the last 45 years, I was only home for part-weekends. And then age started to influence the pattern of life?
I'm amazed at the things, like Aubergines, that you are still picking. Indoors, outdoors, heated? Doesn't it sort of balance out that frantic early-year cry of 'why have we not got Tomatoes??'
So - we have precisely - little:
Chard, Spring Onions, Beet, Lettuce, 1 Celery, Celeriac, Leeks. Failed again!!
But lots in store & chutneys etc.
Looby Loo-Pan di Zucchero is not so hard to find in `home` catalouges-sometimes called `sugar loaf`
Cardoons are big-like big,and I confess to never having actually blanched them-they are pretty though. Dont buy one,one or two of us have them and might send you a root.
Oh Looby, I will send you a lump, if this weather ever holds off long enough for me to get to the plot. They are MONSTERS though and take up plenty of room. Very gorgeous though and having 2 plots, I don't mind the room that and the globe artichokes hog. Let me know.
LL - Grew from seed last summer, mainly coz I love the flowers. This year had gorgeous flowers, then all died back and disappeared. Now there is lots of new growth. I think you are supposed to tie them up to blanch the stalks and then use a bit like chard - its very popular in Italy and I've seen lots on sale in markets there in the spring. But this is a rather long way of saying I haven't actually eaten any yet - can anyone else out there help? EJ? And I do intend to try and see if Clarissa is right. And yes they do take up rather a lot of room so probably not to be recommended for a small plot.
Tim - was inspired to try 9 star by you I'm sure. What's happened to yours?
Oo, thanks to DP I have 9 star also. Only planted 6 or 7 weeks ago and already planning to take over the world!
Never eaten cardoon either, altho next year I plan to give it a whirl. As this was it's first full year, I wanted to let it make good growth - another plant trying to take over the world!
You did space it at 3', Emma?
A repeat -
I thought I was doing well (for a beginner) ...
We have: carrots, leeks, spinach, rhubarb, onions (from seeds and sets), garlic, cabbages, kale, sprouting broccolis, sprouts, various salads and flat leaf parsley. Oh and celeriac but I don't expect much from those :'( Took so long to germinate I forgot them, then thought it was more parsley (!) so planted much too close together ...)
There's still a few runners growing and the marigolds are still flowering. Just cleared the patch where the courgettes, marrows and pumpkins were. And I'm getting the last of the raspberries.
And I've just planted broad beans and peas.
That's about half the plot. The rest is still being dug...
D
Well all veggies have left my garden - not that I had a lot anyway ! ::) ;D
But f.u.s.c.h.i.a.s still flowering like mad, as well as honeysuckle and stocks, lavender and fennels. Hopefully, a gardener will take over my little beauties ... :'( :)
Well I have
4 rows Leeks
2 rows Carrots
6 rows Parsnips
3 rows Swedes
2 rows Turnips
2 rows Sprouts
2 rows Savoy Cabbages
2 rows Purple Sprouting Brocoli
Goosberries
Currants
Rhubarb
Quarter of the plot has been planted with Green Manure (Mustard), ready to plant onions and shallots in the early spring
Aww Marainne, sure they will! My fuschias are looking very sad and neglected, marigolds gone, lavender cut back, bet your all warm and snug in your boat now....Meg, my eldest, is very jealous of your houseboat, and suggests putting a hole in the bottom (not the bottom, she says, but where hole going, I'm not sure... ???) and filling it with dirt and then grow veg in it....why didn't you think of that!!!! ;D
SHe's very like me, poor lamb.....
Lottie and Meg ;D ;) 2 of us now, how scared are you.. :o
Seeing those lists has reminded me (see earlier post) that I have also got garlic and onions planted last month (and sprouting), plus basil, lavender, sage, rosemary, thyme, still looking OK, a marigold still in flower, some blackberries still in fruit (just), plus of course rhubarb, and an inherited globe artichoke on the second plot I took over this year (mainly fruit on it -and couch and weeds). First plot is my first year also.
Oh dear Lottie and Meg !! ::) ;D :D
Drilling a hole in my boat to put dirt and plants in it would simply make it sink and I would wind up with an under-water garden LOL ;D ::)
But I do really appreciate the kind thought. ;D ;D Thank you very much. ;)
Marianne. Don't know what your plans are BUT if you should ever be on the River Nene and near March or Wisbech don't forget to give me a buzz. Have got nice mooring spots in March. I have often stood on the bridge in town and looked down at the long boats (I think that is what they are called). Sorry folk for going off thread subject. Lorna.
My 1st season, and I have:-
Garlic
japanese onions
Broad beans
Leeks (loads)
Swede
Turnip
Perpetual spinach
Parsnips
Savoy Cabbage
Spring Cabbage
Celery (not very good)
Beetroot
Carrots
White & purple broccoli
Celeriac - inspired by EJ
Raspberries
And loads of weeds and slugs!!
Loads of old compost gone onto empty areas in readiness for next year.
I forgot to sow Sprouts...ooops!
Only the one plant Tim so he has all the room he could hope for!
Seems to me like everyone has loads on the go! Look out supermarkets, us allotmenteers and gardeners are going to rule the world! ;D
I don't need the greengrocer ;D still have carrots, leeks, rhubarb, onions, garlic, brocoli, brussel sprouts, kale, parsley, rosemary, thyme in flower, marigolds in flower, bieslook, parsnips, potatoes (in the gound!), chard, lots of patisson, lettuce, scorzanera and salsify, beetroot, spinach, squash, cabbage,
even some strawberries and raspberries and an amazing lot of quinces and apples this year.
oooooooo, keep forgetting the scorzanera! Got about 8 of them...don't know what I am going to do with them however....
We only started mid-year, and in the excitement of planting tomatoes and beans and courgettes, we didn't put in a huge amount for autumn and winter. But we've got:
Leeks, which are coming on OK
Cabbages, one lot of which are showing signs of splitting, but spring cabbage is looking good
Celeriac, a surprise success!
Carrots, still a few left
And a strawberry bed which gave a few strawbs this year, but the plants are looking very good for a serious crop next time round
I forgot my Xmas spuds! Foliage looking nice and green - but rather holey - think the slugs are enjoying themselves.
Hmm  have got
outdoor cucumber  :o
Brussels
Swedes
Turnips
kale
Purple Sprouting
cauli 9 star
Bright lights chard
Celeriac
spinach lazio
parsley
pak choi
carrots
beetroot
mooli
Black radishes
Turnips
Leeks
Borlotti beans
Savoy (looking sad though)
A sweet pea still flowering!
Nastutiums as above
overwintering onions
broad beans in
Last of potatoes out
And lots of weeds! ;D
Sweetcorn - just harvested the last of it yesterday
Pumpkin - a couple of plants just hanging on, and covered with fleece
Courgettes - 2 genovese plants under fleece that I hope will have a few more fruits
Leeks
Celeriac
Brussels
Spring Cabbage
Winter Cabbage
A few carrots - have had a big problem with slugs this year :(
Broad Beans - sowed last week
Purple Sprouting - a couple of plants
Cauliflower
For those that asked about eating cardoons - I have and wouldn't bother. Yes, blanch stems by wrapping something around them for about six weeks, but really, it's very much like awful stringy celery!
I grow them for a wind break at the north end of the plot, and because of the marvellously electric blue flower heads, and the seed heads later for the birds, and since I am at the front of a quite neglected site, it adds a bit of interest and dog walkers in the field do stop and chat to me about them when I'm there. And it stops people seeing too much of the other succulent goodies that are growing! Same as the Jerusalem artichokes really, but those I just love eating.
What a superb thread,after a year best forgotten about these posts have inspired me again. Thanks everyone :)
In the ground I have:
Carrot â€" Flyaway
Carrot â€" Sytan
Parsnip â€" Tender & True
Parsnip â€" Gladiator
Leek â€" Porvite
Leek â€" Autumn King
Leek â€" Carantan
Lettuce â€" Suttons Mixed
Cabbage â€" January King
Brussel Sprout â€" Peer Gynt
Brussel Sprout â€" Trafalgar
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Pinks â€" Various
Dahlia- Various
Chrysanthemum â€" Incurved mixed
In pots under shelter
Sweet pepper â€" Gypsy
Aubergine â€" Black Beauty
Chiilie Pepper â€" Ring of Fire, Heatwave
If I had had my act together I would have put in some spring greens.
New season planting includes Garlic (3 types), onion sets and broad beans, all of which are now up.
I have also sown in cold frames winter lettuce, oriental leaves, carrots and cauliflower and need to get my skates on with sweet peas.
In dry storage I have:
Potatoes â€" Arran Victory, Picasso, Romano
Carrots â€" Autumn King, Early Nantes
Beetroot â€" Bolt Hardy
Winter Squash â€" Avalon
Pumpkin â€" Mars
Borlotti Beans - Lingua di Fuoco
And the freezers are over flowing with tomatoes, broad beans, French beans, runner beans, calabrese, cauliflower, chillies, peppers, etc, etc.
Jerry
Globe artichokes, sprouts, rhubarb, currants and about a gazzilion onions :D
Quote from: wardy on November 07, 2005, 14:38:39
Sanders  My carrots are in big containers with glass over the top and are about 2" high. do you think they'll produce carrots?
Well seeing as I am about to sow a few deep pots with carrots, something like Early Nantes, and put them in the cold frame I should think you have a better chance than me.
I got a good enough crop of baby carrots this year from a January sowing so nothing ventured nothing gained.
Jerry
Just two other crops to suggest to you resourceful people for cropping over winter: sea kale and witloof chicory - both good for lifting now, potting up over the winter months and forcing in a dark place.
My witloof didn't germinate this year. :'( Must get hold of some fresh seed for next year. Last year I was enjoying those peppery bullets all winter long! Sea kale, I was given some seeds off, but the slugs beat me to it! >:( Must try harder. :)
For some reason I planted my witloof far too close together this year, so I'm not expecting too much...
Seakale I get those nutmeg-like seeds going in pots first and they've survived mollusc attack for the last 3 years...never tried digging it up to force indoors before but looking forward to having a go...
Has anyone mentioned lambs lettuce yet? I grow mine on the greenhouse staging in a big flat storage box (with holes drilled in the bottom) - this keeps it clean and tidy if the weather is really filthy. It's the only crop I know which seems to enjoy winter.... :)