Allotments 4 All

Minus 5 here last night.

I've got a second hand shed to assemble so I'm sorted - what are you people up to this weekend (allotment-wise)?

Seeing if my soil is too rock-hard to dig! If so, generally pottering about and tidying up. Oh, and checking if my onions and broad beans need any protection - anyone got any idea how hardy they are?

Cheers,
Rob ;)

Not allotment-wise, as I don't have one (some might say not wise at all! ;)

But I shall be out in the garden making the most of the sun while I can, digging up the frosted remains of the nasturiums and sowing green manure in the bed (it's a winter one). Although it didn't germinate in the other bed, so maybe I'll just spread brown manure and compost and cover with cardboard (to keep the cats off).

I also need to get the pineapple sage indoors (if it's not already a goner!) and probably just potter about a bit enjoying the frosty sunshine.

I was thinking of turning the compost, but I'm sure it must be full of little creatures (toads and that) who would not appreciate that.

That's just Saturday. Sunday is horse-day!

Rob - your broad beans will be fine (as long as they are an overwintering variety). don't know about onions.

Ta. Broad beans are the Sutton variety, so hoping they'll be okay. God knows what the onions are, some bag I picked up in the garden centre - they're being sold as overwintering, so hopefully will be okay.

Sunday's horsey day for us too - my daughter's riding lesson while I stand around shivering!

Cheers,
Rob ;)

HI Rob,

I've sown broad beans in autumn for the first time this year to try and get ahead for next spring.   Our winters regularly include a spell of a few weeks of -15 and we also had a cold patch down to -20 late last winter.  I've given each little plant a plastic bottle overcoat to protect it, just in case, as we also get strong winds.

I've grown Japanese onion sets a couple of times here but not last year as I couldn't find any.  They do fine without protection, even though the veggie patch is on the north side of the house and won't get any direct sun during December and January.  

Rob - you should join her for the lesson - you certainly won't be shivering then! It was freezing on Wednesday when I last rode and I was sweating by the end!

we've got our work cut out this weekend. 2 tonnes of top soil, shed and a trellis panel are arriving today!  ;D should keep me quiet for a while

Daisymay. Will keep fingers crossed that the sun  keeps shining over the weekend for you :)  I am just going to tidy up and maybe start on removing a couple of largish conifers. (that will take me more than weekend!!)   Lorna

For me - day out Saturday, and Sunday hope to dig some soil over whilst still freezing in an attempt to kill slugs etc.
Last few winters have been so mild, thay just seem to get worse and worse.
Nothing better than working hard on a cold winters day!

I have to get out into my garden this weekend, geraniums and fushias still to put inside, leaves to rake up etc. etc.  Then back indoors in front of the fire with a nice glass of vino! Hope the weather holds!!

Well I was going to move my Artichokes but I guess that's out of the question now. I'll probably be bedding them down with straw instead.
And I might....
edge the pathways, fix the raspberry wire, compost the (probably dead by now) Naturtiums, pick some Spinach, then go home to order some shallots and sit infront of  the fire with a glass of red wine.

I might even browse a seed catalgue or two!

I've been on the plot today, sporting my new wellies  ;D  Went early this morning and have just got back.  I was putting my Link a Bord raised bed up and filling it with spent manure and soil.  My husband had the day off today so I dragged him to the plot with me.  We moved my builders rubble sack raised beds onto sheet mulch as we're sick of mowing round them.

A robin was with us all the time we were up the plot, and got really very close.  My cameras batteries were flat as a pancake so got no snaps, except for one pic of my wellies  :)

Was ravenous so went home  :)

Nice pattern on those wellies Wardy - I saw a similar one (when I closed my eyes) after trying some of that gas stuff they have on maternity wards...

Quote from: terrace max on November 18, 2005, 15:55:20
Nice pattern on those wellies Wardy - I saw a similar one (when I closed my eyes) after trying some of that gas stuff they have on maternity wards...

They wouldn't let me have that >:(! Although my wife was using it at the time...

Cheers,
Rob ;)

Beautiful wellies Wardy! Mine are just boring green ones (although they are high in the sentimental value as I rode "my" horse (RIP) when I was a teenager in them - that is I wore them when I rode her, we didn't ride around inside the wellies - I'm not that small!)  ;)

Gilliam - don't remind me about catelogues - I've already placed my order, but now with my pretty, edible garden plan, I may just have to buy some more. (Aqui gives self stern talking to along the lines of you already have too many seeds!)

I may just have to read the book I've bought mum for christmas ( :-\) or my Joy Larkcom book instead. Oh and sleep a lot too.

 >:(
First chance to go up to the lottie for a week and its frozen solid....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

Ah well, at least its not raining!! The robin was there and it all looked like a picture with leaves frosted. Sometimes its good to just go and LOOK!!!

;D

Aqui   Joy Larkomm's books are great I reckon.  I've not got the veg growing one yet but bought it my bro for his birthday and he says it's marvellous.  I hope he might loan it to me for a while  :)

I have two new lotty related books which my husband got for me.  One is called Close to the Veg (a book of allotment tales) by Michael Rand who was in the ill-fated lotty programme which got pulled by the Beeb after about 3 episodes.  He's the guy making the straight backed chairs.  And my other new book is about self-sufficiency.  I think my husband is hinting that he wants to retire  ;D   

I'm glad my new wellies are green.  Had they been pink I would have looked like Mrs Blobby  ;D

Digging and putting in my pea and broad bean seedlings.

Wow Wardy!!! Am green with envy....GG! Well if it's not too frozen, I'll be continuing digging yet moe trench for rabbit proofing the new bit, only got about 30 more yards to go... ::) ::) ::)which is going to be just for squash!! Thanks Lorna!!  ;DIf too frozen will be sat in PT sulking.....
Lottie  ;D

Wow!  Now them is wellies you wouldn't get me in!  Mind you thinking about it I always wear hiking boots anyway cos soil lovely and loose with not much clay  ;D

Will be cutting back rest of asparagus this weekend and then having a fire to keep warm!  Kiddies loved cooking tatties in the fire last weekend so may do that again.

Well, I'm certainly going to do a bit of recreational digging.  It's only a bit of frost; the ground won't be that hard.  There's just one last bit to do, and one raised bed to dig over, and the whole lottie will be rescued from its former jungle.  :)

Plus I've got some wooden compost bins to put up, and maybe transfer some of the huuuuuuuuge and straggly compost heap into them.

That should do.  ;D

Wardy.. Love the wellies!!!
   
UC. Hope the selection I sent you was OK.
   
I did venture out in the garden and did some real tidying up, didn't get as far as starting the removal of the conifers. Also had a good look round greenhouse. Since "drying" out the geraniums a bit  the problem of spots on underneath of leaves seems to be cured so as somebody suggested (sorry without searching can't remember who it was) the problem seems to have been dampness.
Forecast looks good for weekend.    Lorna.

I am out visiting on Saturday, so no gardening for me. The first opportunity will be Sunday afternoon, hopefully any frost will be softened, so I can carry on with my clearance. If not, then the greenhouse needs clearing out, plus numerous other jobs. There is never a shortage of activities ...

Derekthefox :D

PS Brilliant Wellies , Wardy !

creosoting the garden sheds for me

I'll be putting in the last of the overwintering onions. There's been a bit of frost here but nothing too hard.

Hi Guys.

Jimbo the Newby here.  I'm hoping to do a little digging, as my new allotment is rather trampled under foot and I need to get some air into the soil.

If it rains, then several trips to the Horse Stables for sack of free horse manure.

I'm, just going to hide behind a shed and watch daisymay an manuel trying to remember which plot is their's      :P

I'm going to build a double composter bin out of old pallets,
last year i salvaged some huge packing cases from work and converted them into 8ft square raised beds trouble is they are to big. So i intend to turn them into 8x3's.
when that's done i guess i'll stop for a cuppa  ;D

BTW daisymay & OH , I have sourced an unlimited supply of wooden palettes (is that the right spelling ?) if you are interested     {:¬)#

Up until today i have only had a quarter allotment but today i found out i can take the neighbouring quarter as well ;D, so it looks like i am digging all weekend, as it is a mass of weeds, rocks and and lumpy bits!! Heres hoping the ground wont be too solid.

Is it to late to plant daffodil bulbs?  I've got about 50 that i wanted to plant a couple of weeks ago, but then did my back in and couldn't walk!!

My plot's a bit of a curate's egg right now; frozen hard and undiggable in places, OK elsewhere. I managed to do a bit of work despite the cold. I'm a bit worried about the gunnera; it was sitting in a frozen 12-inch pot, which I've now sunk and covered in a barrowload of dead leaves. Time will tell. Elsewhere, someone had forgotten to turn off the water supply, and a couple of the pipes under the taps had burst, spraying water everywhere, and producing some spectacular icicles in the hedges.

I've had a day off from the lottie today, did tooooo much yesterday.  I am gradually getting it ready for next year.  Dug over and limed the cabbage bed, the rest is being manured apart from the one bed for roots. Still haven't moved the raspberries though and the strawberries need sorting.  I've got a ton of manure arriving tomorrow and it has to be carried up a dozen stone steps and wheeled down to my patch! Don't think I'll do much digging after that!
Not sure how old it is yet, so I'm going to heap it and cover.
Q: Should I put something like plastic under it or just plonk it on bare soil?

Love your wellies, Wardy. Here's mine!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/myrtle60/wellies.jpg)

Wow, Myrtle!! Well, nearly finished all my mucking and covering. Ran out of old membrane so raided the local dump, and got loads of carpet, was grabbing it off one lady as she went by!! Still got few more areas to cover, but that'll have to wait til tomorrow...am knackered now!!
Lottie  ;D

I've got some black plastic too - to cover the manure heap, but have no idea when I'll be able to get up there during the week in order to cover it!

I guess there won't be much in the way of leaching while this cold weather holds.
I didn't get up there at the weekend as it was just too darn cold to be able to dig. Really was frozen solid (my back garden has still not unfrozen from the start of last week!)

moonbrrrbells

Have collected said poo and the nice farmer had left it all sacked up at the gate for me and son No.2 to collect. Wasn't that kind of him? Couldn't get it all in the back of the van though, there was soooo much. Got to the lottie, son carried each sack up the steps, I got the barrow and guess what?  Yep, flat tyre!!! Between us we managed to manhandle it to my lottie and for now 'tis still in the sacks. Lovely black stuff!!!  My son thinks (nay knows) I am completely bananas for getting excited over a load of poo!  ;D

Thanks Dominique for advice on the plastic, I shall heap it out onto some I have spare.  Looks more lottie like in a heap, don't you think?  :)

Am crying over beans and peas and cabbage seedlings that can't go in due to rock like soil....might have to pot them on as v. congested in trays....should have been quicker, like I was with other beans, safely under fleece.

Quote from: AikenDrum on November 18, 2005, 21:41:36
BTW daisymay & OH , I have sourced an unlimited supply of wooden palettes (is that the right spelling ?) if you are interested     {:¬)#

excellent!! sounds good. Always come in handy. Manuel is always (talking about)  building stuff  :)

H

Quote from: AikenDrum on November 18, 2005, 21:12:54
I'm, just going to hide behind a shed and watch daisymay an manuel trying to remember which plot is their's :P

LOL - v funny! is quite easy it is the only one that is 2 ft tall at the front - not so sure what we are growing there - is meant to be fodder radish (green manure) but we appear to have allsorts!!

Did make it down on our bikes for about 5 mins on Saturday, to discover we have managed to pick a plot that is so in the shade in winter the frost had clearly not melted for at least 3 days! ooopps! was so rock solid was nothing we could do!

not too worried - just know for next year to plant our over winter stuff on the half that is in the sun

(onions, leeks, garlic are all in the shade ATM)

still smiling  ;D

Crickey, my nasturtiums looked sad! Had frozen fingers (despite the gloves) after pulling them all up. Funny how they smell like cooked runner beans! That bed is not covered in some lovely horse manure with cardboard on top (cat defenses). Was going to sow my sweet peas, but the packet (free from mag) was empty when I opened it. Oh well - should really have noticed as they are rather chunky seeds! oops.

Also thought I'd better bring my purple sage in for the winter. It survived last year, but I doubt it will this year. So it's now on the kitchen window sill - lovely to have the smell indoors! Even at about 3pm on saturday the compost in the pot was frozen solid at the top. Already?

I cut my sage back at this time of year and open freeze the leaves. It just gets a bit mouldy in this soggy part of Yorkshire in winter if I leave it...

After breaking through the top inch of frozen soil this weekend, I managed to dig a trench for beans in the Spring.  After a trip to the Cardiff Riding School for a car boot-load of free horse manure, I filled my trench full, and stood back to admire my work, the steam rising up into the crisp Winter air.  Spookily awesome.

I have been reading a lot about manure recently (!), and was wondering how rotted is 'well-rotted' (I notice that the rotted variety is much better, and doesn't 'burn' like the fresh stuff).  Say, for example, I was to cover half-a ton of horse-manure / stable straw / sawdust with a tarp, how long should I have to wait before it 'matures'?

Strange question, I know, but I don't want to do more damage than good with what I have to work with, which is a very heavy clay soil, and I desperately need to add some texture to it.

Ahhhh...clay. Leaf mould is your friend for helping texture!
Get a load of leaves put them in bin bags, poke a few holes wet them with a hose, then ignore...there are some good pictures of the results somewhere on this site! Won't add much nutrients, but great for texture etc.

Thanks, Colleenemp.  And it's the right time of year to collect leaves!