Allotments 4 All

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHh Purple Wight.  Good job someone knows what is going on on my plot!  ;D  It really does work well on my plot, and I have decided to stick with that from now on.

But not in the same bed, Emma??

Oh no Tim, it will be rotated.  My 2 plots have a ...ahem...rough rotational plan.  This year the garlics and onions are on the down end of plot number 2, next year they will be on the top end of plot number 2, then after that, back onto plot number one.....see, method in my madness!

Strangely enough i hadnt considered rotation for garlic but i suppose you must do it, being an allium and suseptable to all the things that can go wrong with allliums.

I grew them in one of the proper veg beds last year and found since they were in the ground so long and were growing at a different time to other crops it caused problems positioning other shorter term crops within the rotation. So this 'season' (garlic-wise) I have put them in a special bed next to the greenhouse, seperate from the main veg beds.

I guess with next years crop i shall have to find somewhere else to grow them. If it has to be in the veg beds then so be it but it will cause me more headaches with the crop rotation ( I have enough as it is!).

H*ly Good G*d alm*ghty! All those garlic photos!  I jumped on the band-waggon a little late (in time for the january cold snap) and shoved 8 in for an experiement not realising how my caustic thumb wouldn't kill them off.  Planted them out about 6 weeks ago and how they've grown!  Doubled in height. Marvelous!

It makes one so proud !

Before we lose this thread, just a note to say that I think Emma's been lucky with her Purple Wight - I do not believe that white rot discriminates.

Maybe an exciting new strain?

My garlic is looking OK-it`s in 5inch pots of sieved compost in the larger of the greenhouses-I`ve never tried growing in a pot before but I just got fed up with white rot.

QuoteI went down to the allotment this morning to discover great big footprints all over my garlic bed!    There doesn't seem to be too much damage, a few cloves were out of place and exposed but easily earthed back over.

When I had my delivery of manure, the farmer accidentally ran the trailer over part of my neighbour's plot, right up at the edge of the concrete path, where he had planted his garlic (daft place to stick it, he admits happily). About eight garlic plants have carried on quite cheerfully growing in an enormous tyre tread mark. Garlic is quite tough, it appears!

Oh I will loose half Tim, for certain, but those that make it through seem to store for longer and better than the white ones.  Reading what Cleo has written about growing it in 5inch pots, I might give that a go in the greenhouse this winter.....  Is it heated Stephan??

nope EJ-but it will be -not for the garlic but I will soon have to use it for all my babies still in the smaller one.

Storing? That's a good point.

Now that I've finally mastered the technique you can hopefully have a look at mine as of 5th April.

hmmmm...needs a feed of potash, perhaps?  ;) ;D

Lovely pic again...(no stopping you now..)

Really sturdy stuff you've got growing. How's your plaiting skill?  ;D

excellent 8)

Quote from: Alishka_Maxwell on April 08, 2006, 13:52:24
hmmmm...needs a feed of potash, perhaps?  ;) ;D

Is this wood ash? Or something else? Mine looks similar  8)

mine too

Dunno, tho think wood ash was mentioned a while back? Me, I buy a box of J.Arthur Bowers Best....Feb was mentioned as the month to apply but surely that depends on the growth and when they were planted? I did mine last week.

Yes I suppose wood ash would do the trick. I've put down seaweed meal which I think will act as a general pick-me-up but it hasn't been down long enough to show any improvements.

Re: White Rot.

Coupls of articles on applying garlic solutions and synthetic garlic oil to beds to reduce teh incidence of white rot (never did hear back from HDRA)
http://westernfarmpress.com/news/3-8-05-foil-allium-white-rot/index.html
http://www.bspp.org.uk/icpp98/5.1/7.html
http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/tcjpp/plant24/k02-038.pdf

Mine as of today, have given feed today so hopefully will be even better as time goes by.
DD