We live in Hertfordshire and was wondering if it would be safe to plant out runner beans,courgettes French beans etc. I know there is a risk of a frost still but the runners are akin to triffids and trying to take over.
Any one else taken the risk.
our courgettes and climbing purple podded have been in the ground for a week here in the chilly north, one of the courgettes has a flower on so I suppose it's happy ;D
Well if they are ready I would put them in....mine seed not yet set,will set them this weekend....lost all mine to a 17th May frost 2 years ago!
Some fellow plot holders ahve theirs out already but they have gone to great lengths(and expence) to protect them....fleece,hessian,etc etc......and they wont have beans too much before me!
We acquired a green house earlier this year so I think I was a bit over enthusiastic and sowed a bit too early I think. ;D
We have an old Italian couple on our site... and I watch when they put out their squash... (they have big plastic collars to keep the worst off) they rarely loose anything, and have now put their's out! :-X
Hi from Dane End in sunny Herts
I have to say i took a chance and had my courgettes out since Sat 7th (albeit under fleece until this weekend just gone) as they were going to become pot bound which is a bad thing for courgettes, I have just interplanted them with the sweetcorn which is already over 18" tall in some cases and had to be put out, all of my french beans and runners have now been planted out as they also were becomming triffids. I know we can get a late frost as last year our last deep frost was literally the last day of may, but with the way the weather has been going i am taking a chance this year, as is most of my other allotment holders (and they have been doing this for many more years than me)
We keep being told that this year is going to be a scorcher, i might even try planting out over the lottie some aubergines and sweet peppers just to see how they do as compared with my ones in the greenhouse.
All i can say is plant them out. but listen to the weather forcast and cross fingers.
good luck and i hope you have a great crop ;D
forgot to say, already have baby courgettes on my plants :o 8) ;D
Lottiedolly we are just up the road from you. We are in Watton at Stone !!
goodness you are positively next door, are you planting out at home or do you have a plot at the allotment ;D
We have an allotment. We acquired it at the start of April so have been clearing the rubbish and digging and more digging and it is now ready to plant up. We already have potatoes onions and garlic planted, along with inherited strawberries, black and red currents........we think, and sickly raspberries.
Quote from: stargazer on May 19, 2011, 15:55:52
We have an allotment. We acquired it at the start of April so have been clearing the rubbish and digging and more digging and it is now ready to plant up. We already have potatoes onions and garlic planted, along with inherited strawberries, black and red currents........we think, and sickly raspberries.
Well good luck, it is hard but totally worth it. I keep meaning to pop over to your allotments to ask if the allotment association if i can have a nosy around to compare it to our tiny, tiny plot. :-[
There is a public right of way that runs along the side of the lotties so any one can walk through albeit over a stile at one end. We have about 50 plots in all I would think. Come down and have a nose :)
My beans were looking a bit sad this morning; I don't know whether there was an actual frost as the stems and growing points are OK, but the leaves have withered.
I think wind can be as bad as temperature, especially at about 10C at night which is OK in still weather, but about 7C in the wind!
I'm still hedging my bets. I put some courgettes out a couple of weeks ago first under bottle cloches and then under fleece with a plastic sheet over at night. Some are now nearly a metre across, put some more out under bottles, also have beans under bottle cloches and some fleeced up.
But I still have a good supply left in my mini greenhouses which are covered with an extra cover at night, and I have recently sown some more as well. Forecast tonight and Sunday night only 7C so I am going to leave my main planting out a little while more. The nights are still very cold at the moment.
But some of the plants really want some more space for their roots.
We put some dahlia plants out this week and courgettes yesterday.The dahlias that had been left in the ground over winter had started to emerge so I thought we would chance it.Have piled straw around them just in case. Havent risked the squash yet.Perhaps next week.