Allotments 4 All

Don't know if this is going to be any use to any of you, but i thought I'd let you know of a few seeds that I have tried that I could reccomend as easy to grow and good croppers, in our allotment. ( quite sandy soil, but well fed with compost and manure)

Crystal lemon cucumbers - v. easy to grow, produced an abundance of beautiful round cucumbers well into October.  Quite a tough skin as are outside plants, better peeled, but the fruit is lovely.  

Gem store squash - Again a very easy fruit to grow and a very long, abundant cropping season.  Beautiful round, dark green fruit that is best boiled whole, cut in half, butter, pepper and nothing else. :)

Dwarf broad bean - My first time with broad beans.  If I'd known they were this easy I'd have grown them ages ago!  Heavy cropping, no staking and not much in the way of black fly which was amazing as i planted them out quite late.

Tom Fox pumpkin - Lovely sized fruit.  Billed as medium, but we had one thet was 25lb.  We got 12 large fruit from 3 plants, then a second crop of 4.  The skin is nice and smooth, perfect for Halloween and eating.

San Marzano tomatos - Lovely plum/almost pear shaper fruit and loads of them.  We had that many this year I lost count, many are still in our freezer.  They have vey few seeds and are excellent for cooking.  I also found that the boys prefered to eat them to any because of the lack of seeds.

I know I'm probably teacing my Grandmother to suck eggs here, but if anyone else has any reccomendations I'd love to hear them.  Especially of the more unusual stuff.

We grow the older Crystal Apple but it is great... White wonder is also very good. We have found Winter Radish to be well worth the effort. Veg Spaghetti does really well also.
;D

all the chinese type veggies, well worth growing early and late  :)

Quote from: Hippychick on February 12, 2007, 14:28:15
Don't know if this is going to be any use to any of you, but i thought I'd let you know of a few seeds that I have tried that I could reccomend as easy to grow and good croppers, in our allotment. ( quite sandy soil, but well fed with compost and manure)

I know I'm probably teacing my Grandmother to suck eggs here, but if anyone else has any reccomendations I'd love to hear them.  Especially of the more unusual stuff.

great thread, Hippychick :)
this will be my first growing season, and I have very similar soil to yours, so a list of easy to grow, good croppers is really helpful, especially the cucumbers, and tomatoes â€" I don't like them fresh but use loads when I cook â€" there are SO many varieties to choose from it's quite bewildering ;D

Chicories for `forcing` such as witlloof. They are never cheap in the shops and provide some fresh salads in the winter months

If I were growing for the first time I'd choose runner beans and french beans as they look beautiful too. I had one winding its way up a sunflower it was lovely.

I've had good results this time with Sugar Loaf Chichory (Leaf), Endive and Raddicchio for winter salads...
;D
You can't have too many climbing French Beans Stan!
;D

Quote from: sawfish on February 12, 2007, 17:28:17
If I were growing for the first time I'd choose runner beans and french beans as they look beautiful too. I had one winding its way up a sunflower it was lovely.

What a great idea *vows to plant sunflowers*.

where can i get Crystal lemon cucumbers seeds i cant find them anywere??

please help i so want to try these this year :) ;) ;) ;) ;)

Try here, plim

http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_22_45_107&products_id=117

This almost like a follow on from new for 2007 and not for 2007, this is more, what wouldn't you be without in 2007!  Great idea!!  ;D

Lemon (crystal apple or crystal lemon) cucumbers - prolific, apple sized fruits, sweet and juicy.

Little Gem lettuce - perfect little lettuce, made for 2, sweet and crispy and not one bolted!

Parsnips Gladiator - never have trouble getting it to germinate, not to long, but thick clean white roots with no woody cores.

White Beauty tomato - lovely white/cream fruits, not masses, but there were, were gorgeous, sweet, tender, soft and soooo easy to eat as I picked them!

Leeks - any variety.  For me who can't grow a good crop of hunions because of the dreaded rot, leeks serve me well.  I have a supply of small leeks in autumn as my Japanese hunions have finally finished, and I will still be pulling leeks as the first of my spring onions are ready.

Patty pan courgette/squash.  Dinky little courgettes which can be picked almost as small as marbles.  Very slow at getting huge so can be forgotten about for a while.  Never a glut.  When bigger, great for stuffing or baking.

These all do well on my plot where they receive only the water mother nature provides.  My soil is heavy, yet well draining so if something gets going at the prime time, it generally does great!

I could not be without my absolute favourite tomatoes.

1. Big Beef,  perfect large round with a taste to die for.

2. Laroma( not Roma)  The very best plum tom I have found , yields are 7 times better than Roma, bushes were groaning under the weight,really specatcular.

3. My Sungolds.

4. My favourite sweetcorn ,Sweet Tooth.

5. My Shasta cauliflower,it grows huge and  never fails me.

6. My Gypsy pepper, always comes through for me.

7. My Mokum carrots, so crisp they snap as I pull them if I am not careful.

8. My pumpkin/squash  patch, with whatever I grow ,it warms my heart to watch it.

thanks kitten ordered some so lets see what happens cant wait ;D ;D

Well, where to start! There are so many  ;D

Here's a few of my favourites:

1. Lettuces - little gem, tom thumb, lobjoits green and buttercrunch

2. Tomatoes - San Marzano (heavy crops of plum tomatoes - good for sauces)

3. Squash - Red Kuri (good keeper, quite prolific)

4. Potatoes - Red Duke of York, Arran Victory - (best mash and roasties
ever!)

5. Climbing French Beans - Blauhilde

6. Peas - Hurst Green Shaft

7. Other stuff - mizuna (really useful as a winter salad crop)

As you can see I'm hooked!  ;)

Cheers!
barkingdog

Emma.

I always find the same with Gladiator - really easy.  I know someone who actually buys pre-germinated parsnips, but I've never had any trouble withthese.

Any-one got any reccomendations for sweet pepper, I've only got room for a couple of plants but would love to give them a go :)

I could not be without my absolute favourite tomatoes.


And you didn`t mention `Moneymaker`?-I wonder why ;D

Sorry it`s a bit of a joke with those who know me

Any-one got any reccomendations for sweet pepper, I've only got room for a couple of plants but would love to give them a go


sweet pepper `Bell Boy` is reliable ,green going red. `Marconi red` gives long red peppers-there are so many

I've seen some peppers called Bendigo that I fancied.  Any idea on those?

Never grown moneymaker Cleo, don't really know why.  I gather you must be a bit of a fan then?? ;D