I have had my worst ever tomato growing year so next year I am getting rid of the grow bags and will plant in 12ltr containers. Last year I planted only two tomato plants to each grow bag and the yield was much better per plant. I hope it works! ???
Duke
I am going to tie my french beans up more securely and not grow as many turnips.
Start everything earlier ! almost nothing is ready still this year.
I may even do autumn sown broad beans and garlic to get a head start.
Going to autumn sow garlic and onions. As Anemone said, I am also starting other things earlier, as hardly anything ready.
I won't be doing as many oriental greens or Rapa again. Tried throughout season and went to seed...don't think it was due to heat!!!
Will do much more mange touts as they were gorgeous and I didn't do enough.
Not bothering with autumn sown broad beans - complete waste of time. Onions from seeds as well as sets.
Try and crack cauliflowers, aubergines and peppers - still not working for me
Same here no overwintering beans,but have chanced some PSB but it will be well protected. We are only going to grow one variety of potato because its the only one that we really like. Nadine. Its a second early but stores very well.
We always plant too many tomatoes so we will cut back on those too.
We sometimes forget that there are only two of us and even with sharing we still have an excess of some things.
Need to devote more time to my plot in June ,July,and august as i spend the other 9 months of the year getting it how i want it only to let it get in a total mess in 3 months due to taking on to much work(self employed) ::).Will also go back to planting garlic in the Autumn as this years spring planted was rubbish :'(Must also spend more time with all you lovely people on A4A
I must get permission from the council to cut down a tree which is now shading my veg patch, it's now quite a problem.
keep weeding little and often.... better than leave it too late. ::)
Alison
.....going to start rain dance already in February.. ::), might not be bad idea burst in few songs too...
Not trying to germinate my beans in GH if we have hot weather in forecast.. ::)
Remembering to move lettuce trays outside before they 'cook' in GH.... ::)
Routinely 'tinker' with every bag of compost to add lime and fertilizer... ::)
Trying out new variaties. And getting proper paths in.( have been collecting slabs off free cycle over time and now have enough) ;D ;D
Growing more spuds. Getting the green house that came with the plot reglazed.
Alimo, if they won't let you take it down, you could as a friend of mine did and thats take off the lower branches and raise the crown. Gave a lot more light and still acted a a wind break. It looked a bit odd to start with till she got used to it, then planted honeysuckle and clamatis at the base which as now grown up into the top. The bee's love it and looks and smells great.
Grow all weeds - I get a better success rate with them!
No more onion sets for me - going all seed next year. Plus Ill be trying the onion tea methood for white rot.
I've already treated one bed for Onion white Rot with ground up garlic...and then sow with green manure. Will be treating each bed for OWR when the last crop comes out so that in a year, each bed will have been treated and we can then see how onions go.
Next year - I am hoping the effects of the Aminopyralid are lessened so that I don't lose too many crops to this nasty stuff. That's 2 seasons now that we have lost beans. >:(
Each time I get a spare space, green manures are going in without fail.
Next year though is the year of the bush tomato. I tried these this year in pots as one of my schools was closing and I wanted to transport the toms to their other premises and well, this has yielded loads of toms. Thanks to one fab member on here who sent me some extra bush toms it has changed the way I grow toms myself now. I also found another 2 varieties that are dwarf which I have saved seeds for. Much better than vines if you are a little busy during May to Aug.
And again, the garden at home, is begin sown with green manures as the soil needs a bit of a lift.
not exactly next year as ive started but to dig each patch as the crop finish and keep on top of the weeds and not to leave the digging to the spring as i was still clearing beds when i should have been planting so every thing got planted late
I will not sow too many seed like I did this year, as even after giving lots away I had far too many plants to manage in my garden veg plot. I shall space things out better as its been a nightmare getting round everthing to water it. I will resist all temptation to sow my seed way too early as I lost a lot of plants and had to start again. I will not grow my squash as a trained upright in the plastic greenhouse as its been a disaster (two fruit on three plants). I will invent some better way of keeping the hens off the veggie beds as they dug up all my onions and a bed of carrots and some beetroot. I will also stagger what I am growing next year so i dont end up with everything at once. On a good note I will have better soil next year as I will have plenty of well rotted chicken poo in my homemade compost :)
No more savoy cabbage :( as it just forms very lose heads 3rd season trying it, its my favorite as well,
To stop DH weeding!!! Yesterday while at the allotment he showed me this strange weed he had found it was my Achocha plant that I had loved and cared for and had just started producing tiny cues!!! My fault he had pulled it up I never told him it was there even though I had put a label next to it!!!
X Chas
Only going to do toms and cucumbers in the greenhouse I am getting for Christmas. It's a waste of time putting them up at the plot. I'd rather use the space at the plot to grow the things I simply can't fit in my courtyard.
Only planting 2 courgettes! I am sick of the buggers now. ;D
Im going to give up on the aubergines. three years and not a single full sized fruit ive tired them in pots, in the greenhouse beds , and outside not a sausage!
I am going to try a different beefsteak tom as marmande and black russian havent been at all sweet or firm.
Im also going to find mroe cheap fruit trees at aldi this winter as the the ones i bought last winter and trained along my boundaries have done brilliantly ive got all sorts of pears plums and cherries that i really wasnt expecting this year!
and as a poster said above next year there will be more compost to go around and i will take more smelly trips to the stables for manure.
you live and learn
x sunloving
Will try the onion tea method but will probably grow the sets in a raised bed with the pallet hold up thingies
Start celeriac off early next year.
:D
Sow Peas in succession :)
Get better at sowing brassicas for a succession ;)
Not bother with bush toms in polytunnel - they are going for a take over bid :o
Get an aubergine to set fruit... :-\
Grow a decent beetroot... :'(
Main one probably wider paths between veg, smaller beds, no walking on planting beds. I'm hoping it will look nicer as well as being better for the plants. :)
Use different seeds!!
No over winter onions, sow broad beans in Autumn as i got a tremendous crop from them this year.
Leave the blackcurrents alone, did not get one this year after "opening" out the bush last year.
Keep collecting fallen leaves and stacking them even though it is pouring with rain.
Try onions from seeds as well as sets.
Only grow two courgettes, two cucumbers and two marrows (I am also fed up with the buggers. ::)
Grow less potatoes. Contemplate more dig less.
happy new year everyone
Bill
Have a try at growing Yacon if I can get it.
Put in sturdier support for Jerusalem Artichokes.
Remember to get the garlic in over winter and plant up a row of Welsh Onions.
If we have time, attack the communal fruit area that no one touches so that it does not decide to start growing in over allotment as it has this year.
I am going to design myself a sowing and transplanting calender..then stick to it.
Keep adding more stuff to my perennial veggie bed.
Get another plot just for soft fruits
XX Jeannine
Like a few others, more onions from seed. Wellington and Bedfordshire Champion have done brilliant this year both multi and single sown. Also start harvesting when crops are a little smaller instead of being greedy and wanting them all to be maximum size. Nothing to be gained as they are all ready at the same time, and before you can use them all they are past their best. Although cabbages never wasted, the hens don''t mind what condition they are in so long as they're not slimy!
Quote from: non-stick on August 20, 2011, 23:54:46
Not bothering with autumn sown broad beans - complete waste of time.
Me too, after the last 2 years of not a lot to show for themselves it's back to Spring sown for me!
not sure whether or not to bother with aubergines again
less spuds - we really don't eat many
oh and less courgettes - been a bumper year, after a couple of years of having decent amounts this year has been a year of ridiculous amounts :-X
I shall be investing in a greenhouse of some description & growing tomatoes in there, rather than outside. I'll also be starting stuff off earlier & growing a lot more onions, garlic & broad beans :)
Quote from: Jeannine on August 21, 2011, 22:10:55
I am going to design myself a sowing and transplanting calender..then stick to it.
XX Jeannine
A very good idea!! ;)
Each year I set out to keep accurate records of when I sow and transplant but it usually goes to pot when I get busy. Notes are typed into my allotment diary but it takes for ever to read through and find them the following year. ::)
Next year (if all goes well) I will sow back-ups and take a chance planting out earlier.
I also have a new larger garden to plan. :)
I am going to plant less potatos and stick to no more than three varieties.
I am going to dig out half my blackberries and one of my josta berry bushes and replant area with apple and pear
cordons.
I will try to get broad beans in earlier with a distinct second planting later.
Want a fig tree and a vine but have to work out space issues
And somewhere far of in the future some flowers, sweet pea, glads and dahlias :)
I was always say stick to my planting plan, but I never do! Plant more onions and garlic on our 2nd plot as the soil conditions seem better there and they did really well. Get the seeds in earlier again or at least remember to go and water them regularly if they get planted in the dry season! Our germination of some things was pretty naff.
Me not plant as many varieties of potatoes, and only do very few earlies.
PLant more carrots in sucession. More parsnips as no 2 son loves them. Mpre sweetcorn. More tomatoes. More onions.
Prune vine!
Oh and parents (not trying to kick the bucket) permitting have more time on plot next year!!!!!
Water the beetroot more. More raspberries - though I am hoping this will happen naturally. Less digging. Put more straw round strawberries. Plant more in cloches and so get more veg in June. Erect the greenhouse. Hoping to cover part of garden in strawbales with plastic underneath to discourage bindweed. Great crop of autumn onion will plant more. No more aurumn broadies - waste of space.
Not use Manure that is unknowingly full of Fat Hen seeds!!!!!! I've grown more Fat Hen than fruit & Veg!
Maybe plan what I'm going to grow instead of randoming planting :)
In total agreement about courgettes 2 maximum, maybe do the roundy yellow one and one normal one ;D
Not pick, dig up veg before they are ready, I am so impatient.
Quote from: Gadget on August 22, 2011, 14:36:27
Maybe plan what I'm going to grow instead of randoming planting :)
In total agreement about courgettes 2 maximum, maybe do the roundy yellow one and one normal one ;D
I tried the globe shaped ones this year and I'm very pleased I did. I've had some yellows and some green ones. They seem a in a bit less of a hurry to turn into monsters than the traditional long ones.
I will be on the lotty more frequently after I finish work next March sorry after being made redundant next March, hope to have a better plan for next year and try varieties that I have not grown and hopefully I won't have to wait for the water tap to attach my hose on,
Yes, yes yes to success through successional planting! I am so bad at this -- at least, I remember at first, then as the season really kicks in, I forget and forget... :-[
And yes, to green manures too in every available patch of soil next year, even if I'm digging the plants in only half-grown. The difference in the corners where I've grown and dug-in two crops of green manure this year is amazing (works wonders on soil heavy with London clay).
Then... more Stupice toms -- it's my first year with them and they were ready a full month ahead of anyone else's, even other plotholders' greenhouse toms! Fantastic.
More parsnips, leeks and shallots, more raspberries (better than strawbs for us because they freeze so amazingly that there's just no such thing as a glut).
Be brave and try sweetcorn again (gave up this year having had three rotten years and am now being taunted by everyone else's wonderful plumping cobs on our site ::)
More herbs... more flowers (this is a gradual evolution rather than a sudden change).
I think I'll be reigning back on spuds, except for my personal favourite, Pink Fir Apple. All the other spud varieties that I've tried and liked have also been top of the menu for slugs! And I've not yet found a Sarpo spud I really like, so it'll be nice not to worry about blight striking.
Re courgettes: been adding every year (having realised that two plants just doesn't do it in the Triffid household ;D)
This year I seem to have got it about right: three yellow, one round "de Nice", two Lebanese and two "Firenze" (regular dark green). Except for the round ones, it's meant I can pick all the others small and sweet.
More peas is a good shout and definitely work on the successional planting. Getting better but still not got it right
i am another gardener who sows far too many seeds at the start of the season.. so will have to get to grips with successional sowing for once and all next yr!
sow more -
mange tout and sugar snaps
lettuce
carrots tho' they didn't germinate v well this yr, tho' that's prob due to the bed not being fine enough
parsnips - ditto but have a separate bed for them as they were edged on the comfrey bed!
swede - didn't get to doing any this yr as didn't have a spare bed ready..
brussels - didn't get my act together enough as the few i did get rather neglected and died on me
chinese veg - should net these from flea beetle tho' environmesh is rather expensive... will have to save some pennies from now on
shallots as these are v healthy and take up less room than onions
sow no more -
runners - am in two minds about these as the flowers are lovely but the taste is boring...
got 5 kales this yr, so more more to sow!
grow less potato varieties so there's no mix-up with the labels that i had this yr with the ten i had!
make an improved brassica frame from sturdier wood. we used bamboo cane this yr.
may try a softneck garlic this yr as my 'music' hardneck isn't storing well at all. they've gone yellow for some reason (does anyone know why? maybe, i left them too long in the greenhouse to dry out?)
Keep my allotment diary up to date and follow it for planting.
More use of root trainers and plants instead of seeds, especially for brassicas.
No wigwams!! It's straight lines for my runners and not so many of them.
May try some early potatoes, I only have a half plot so there isn't enough room for any other plantings.
Not so many tomatoes and courgettes but more shallots and garlic.
A few more flowers especially native wild varieties.
I have added some summer fruiting raspberries to go with my established autumn row so should be sick of raspberries by September next year!! ;D
More peas for me and grandchild, we love them and cant get enough. Less cucumbers, courgettes,marrows, more flowers. Try and grow cabbages,would love to grow big ones like my Irish neighbour. My pointed cabbage grow well but I dont seem to have much success with drum head.I will crack it yet ( only been trying for 10years) try not to let my allotment take over all my time...
I am determined to have wider permanent paths between long narrow beds. Once I have dug the soil I am reluctant to tread it down into decent paths so I am always mincing sideways and tripping onto the beds. It's stupid!
..thought came to my mind this morning.. ::)
I must grow MORE tomatoes next year. I thought I was having excellent tomato year..but there is no spare tomatoes nowhere to be seen.. ??? ::)..I've must been extra greedy, grown double belly and shucked some over the shoulder too to get rid of what there has been dangling from the plants.. ::)..nor I have given many away.. ???
I rather fancied the idea having some bulk to freeze for the winter... ::)
I have to start planning ...where am I going to put some more plants next year?.. ::) :-\
Resist the "Red mist" of seed sowing at the start of the season and I won't plant a couple of pumpkins in my greenhouse "seems a shame to let them go to waste" ! !
Looks like a Malayan jungle in there now ! Cheers, Tony.
Try and spend more time up the plot. Not really had the time this year with this and that. Have a week of soon so getting ground sorted and weeds cleared hopefully !!!
Quote from: BoardStupid on August 23, 2011, 17:18:22
Try and spend more time up the plot. Not really had the time this year with this and that. Have a week of soon so getting ground sorted and weeds cleared hopefully !!!
That's my aim too for next year.
It's been difficult as I haven't had week-ends free so nearly every visit has been at
running pace
and then only for a couple of hours at a time.
I have just bought a big bag of Daffodil bulbs. I intend to plant them to grow for cutting in spring.
I also intend to grow a bit less of things as I often get a glut. I tell my friends and family not to buy certain things from supermarkets, I will give them some. They never seem to listen, so things go to waste.
I too will be trying celeriac earlier, I will not bother with onion from seed as that was a waste of time, and I must pace myself with the spinach, as I cant seem to keep up with it!, so half / quarter rows at a time next year. I will water my spuds next year if we have a dry spring like this year, as I had the worst crop this year...
Quote from: Kleftiwallah on August 23, 2011, 12:11:39
Resist the "Red mist" of seed sowing
Me too
Quote from: irridium on August 22, 2011, 20:43:02
may try a softneck garlic this yr as my 'music' hardneck isn't storing well at all. they've gone yellow for some reason (does anyone know why? maybe, i left them too long in the greenhouse to dry out?)
Woould you like to try my hardneck purple garlic? Don't know name but I have been growing it for years and I think it has acclimatised to growing conditions
Get a pocket diary and fill in the dates for successional planting and keep better records.
Build better supports for my greenhouse tomatoes, plastic clips and string is no match for 6ft plants laden with fruit
I'm starting next year now.
More: Perennials on the flower plot, peas, peas, peas. New Raspberry bushes, french strawberries (delicious), onions from seeds (really successful this year),mange tout, little gem lettuces - we eat so much lettuce. Weeding (ugh) and more keeping the grass paths in order as I have now bought a small push mower, easier than a strimmer and neater.
Green manure, green manure and green manure. Sunbright beans - they are amazing, such a lovely colour leaf and tender beans. Rocket, Cara and Estima potatoes. Carrots and more carrots, different types of radish. Rhubarb, have 4 different plants want more. Spinach, but it ALWAYS bolts.A couple of small fruit trees, stepover apple....any suggestions? PSB and WSB. Weeding, sigh, but it has to be done and a tidier plot overall.
Less: Cavallo Nero - we have had loads - sick of it and green kale, ditto. Main crop pots see above, blight does for 'em. Beetroot, we don't eat enough. Turnips, see beetroot.
Wish list: Oh to be able to grow outdoor tomatoes - no greenhouse nor room for one, and blight always gets 'em. A surefire solution to the monster slug and mighty snail population and an infinite supply of energy and time!
Caro
Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me. So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...
Everything changes.
Quote from: Busby on August 25, 2011, 10:45:23
Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me. So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...
Everything changes.
I'm sorry to hear you are deciding to give up your plot but life seems to be full of changes one way or another - some large ones and some everyday small ones.
A friend of mine has recently lost his wife and is gently considering the future. "Slowly does it" seems the best way.
I wish you luck with your changes. Will you continue to grow veg at all? Perhaps a few tomato plants close to home? I don't think I could get through a summer without having something edible growing somewhere.
Quote from: Busby on August 25, 2011, 10:45:23
Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me. So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...
Everything changes.
Making decisions like that is difficult so it you have already gone through that process I apolgise but....
have you any other options like going to a half plot or a plot share (we have a "buddy" scheme where plot holders get help and share the produce) ?
Quote from: pumpkinlover on August 25, 2011, 13:23:06
Quote from: Busby on August 25, 2011, 10:45:23
Well, after 42 years on the same allotment and now a widower, I find everything too much for me. So next year will be my last. I've always enjoyed the work and the success of harvesting but it's time for something different...
Everything changes.
Making decisions like that is difficult so it you have already gone through that process I apologise but....
have you any other options like going to a half plot or a plot share (we have a "buddy" scheme where plot holders get help and share the produce) ?
That's a great idea especially if it's already set up and there are people willing to share.
I started off with my plot in a similar way. My father was 89 and finding it too much so I started helping out with weeding and rotovating. Eventually I took over the plot that he had been working for 50 years. The soil is fantastic!
He continues to share an interest in our plot giving advice and sowing the beans in pots for me to plant out so at 96 he's doing pretty well. :)
Next year I'll be making the paths on my lottie narrower so I can grow more crops ;D
Ha! Sticks, did you see my declared intention of making my paths wider so I can walk along them more easily???
haha, no! I'll probably be doing that in 2013!
Next year I'm not going to plant a 'leftover' pumpkin seedling in the greenhouse !
(http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae294/Kleftiwallah/IMG_3324.jpg)
(http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae294/Kleftiwallah/IMG_3325.jpg)
The light fitting to the right of the pumpkin is ABOVE my heated propagator table! :D Cheers, Tony.
I will definately be growing three times as many Blue Lake French Beans the climbing ones . They are delicious , easy to prepare and freeze so well . :) Debs
LOL Kleftiwalla that will teach you!! ;D
Duke
NO
gigant kohl rabi, it gew far too big and was pushing the netting to it`s limit
cucumbers, I had 3 little ones from two outdoor plants
aubergines, they were a novelty, outdoors and not worth the watering effort
annual flowers apart from marigolds
summer spinach, it all bolted
rocket, it all bolted
patty pan, didn`t like it
maincrop cara potatoes, wireworm liked them
FEWER
tomatoes, I had far too many and blight on the outdoor ones spread to covered ones
onions, I grew about 300
parsnips. I have gladiator and it takes me 20 minutes to get one out. 45 were far too many
radishes, they grew better than rxpected
huge kales, too big to protect
MORE
beetroot, they grew wonderfully and were great in juices
turnips, I discovered delicious petrowski
lady chrisi and charlotte potatoes instead of any maincrop. I don`t like worrying about blight
st george runner beans, lovely and easy picking
red cabbage drumhead, massive and dense, disease and insect free and stored for weeks
duncan cabbages, nice tight heads and slugs don`t get in
compact kales, easier to keep clean
lots more garlic and shallots
perennial flowers
all in all, I will count my seedlings when growing at home to transplant. I grew far too many on and it was hard to keep them going during the hot spring
Quote from: Duke Ellington on August 26, 2011, 15:26:08
LOL Kleftiwalla that will teach you!! ;D
Duke
When midnight strikes it could get worse... A coach and horses belting through the greenhouse!!
Thanks Aden Roller and pumpkinlover for your input.
Yes, there's a chance I can carry on in a small way - the housing complex where I live has a number of small beds for the tenants (would cut out my need for a car) and I notice that some of them are unattended. Nevertheless I'm going to miss my cherry, plum, apple, and pear trees and all the various berries. So next year, on my present plot, it will be mainly onions, strawberries and other easy crops, anything easy to plant or sow and easy to harvest, but it will still be hard to leave behind such a large part of my life. Which I have enjoyed so much.
Less earlies and more 2nds. ;D
I'm not going to hope, then I can't be so disappointed if it doesn't rain for 4 months...and I'm going to make netting cages for my brassicas, sow more successionally, keep the greenhouse tidy, ruthlessly pull up self-set marigolds, then I'll flap my arms and fly to the moon....
Won't put the sprout plants in between the o/w onions. Didn't realise they would grow so quick and rot the onions.. :-[
Won't grow Lidl indeterminate cherry toms coz they are trying to be sycamore trees. [Nice fruit but unruly plants]
Won't let my daughter sow the squash plants and give me a patty pan instead of choggia de marina... ::)
Will be very careful which butternuts I sow. This years from a little welsh firm were duds. Best ones before came from an imported Lidl butternut..
Will try leeks from my own seed.
Will hope that I can do anything because my inoperable back is getting worse but it does like squatting down and weeding.....
Will try to cram as much as I can overwinter in the polytunnel
Will go and sow winter lettuce now the rains have come.
Will try to keep up with a4a- despite 99 yr old mum in hosp with stroke- just after picking the rasps. :(..But hope for a hol first 2 weeks in Sept :)
I'm not going to buy a polytunnel from KMS Distributions Ltd. The last one, just over
12 months old, is now completely useless. I 'phoned them and told them about the broken zip, the splits, the stitching that had given way and the broken catches that secure the door.
They asked me to e-mail photo's of the faults. They then said that they "couldn't
source a replacement" and advised me to go to a garden centre and buy a repair
kit.
Although they do still advertise the exact same model on e-bay.
all of the above plus hope that I don't get my shed broken into 4 times again
I've already made a massive change, ie buy a battery powered hedge trimmer which is both manageable and adequate to the job. That'll make an enormous difference. Apart from that. plant the angelica away from the path; I've spent most of the summer struggling through the stuff! Same goes for lovage when I plant it out; it's in pots at the moment.
Next year I'm growing fewer tomatoes and all in the polytunnel.. I will try to create a cucumber friendly growing environment so the harvest lasts for more than 6 weeks. I will continue the war on bindweed in the raspberry bed, by lifting up the weed membrane and starting again.
My bindweed has suffered badly in the drought, so it shouldn't be too hard to reduce it for next year. In a wet weason, it can run for yards!
I have also noticed that the bindweed is mostly very close to the surface so it is much easier to dig it out.
Quote from: Digeroo on August 27, 2011, 12:44:14
I have also noticed that the bindweed is mostly very close to the surface so it is much easier to dig it out.
That's good news. I'll tell my next-door neighbour at home then perhaps we wont have quite so much of it clambering over and under the fence for a change. >:(