Allotments 4 All

its been a little hazy today here on the sunshine coast so was up early to the plot by 7 would have been six yesterday lol . so had 5 hrs of pricking out all in all a very enjoyable productive morning this is around half of them i done today

So that new greenhouse ain't going to be big enough!!!

Quote from: ancellsfarmer on March 25, 2018, 17:32:05
So that new greenhouse ain't going to be big enough!!!

indeed however at this time of year is there a big enough greenhouse the shard come to mind but only just

Impressive!!!

As always you are weeks ahead of me in fact I only took my stuff out of the packets yesterday as you can see here;

I see you use round pots have you ever considered using square pots?

I have been using 3" & 4" square pots for twenty years and more and find them more efficient to use as they take up less space in storage and on the bench than round ones, plus they are easier to water because all the water goes into the pot rather than down the gap formed by round pots.

As I said....I just wondered!

Quote from: Tee Gee on March 26, 2018, 15:42:48
Impressive!!!

As always you are weeks ahead of me in fact I only took my stuff out of the packets yesterday as you can see here;

I see you use round pots have you ever considered using square pots?

I have been using 3" & 4" square pots for twenty years and more and find them more efficient to use as they take up less space in storage and on the bench than round ones, plus they are easier to water because all the water goes into the pot rather than down the gap formed by round pots.

As I said....I just wondered!

i use square pots for tomatoes peppers and chillis  pricked out 150 tomatoes today still around the same to do tomorrow those round pots sit nice in there tray and easy to carry when planting out 

Quotepricked out 150 tomatoes today still around the same to do tomorrow

Bl**dy hell Johnny what do you do with around 300 tomato plants I thought I went OTT at around 60 

I give a dozen each to 3 friends so that leaves me around a couple of dozen for myself.

Have you a stall on the market or something 

I love me a square pot - as said above they fit together really well and are great when watering. 

Quote from: Tee Gee on March 29, 2018, 16:41:46

Bl**dy hell Johnny what do you do with around 300 tomato plants I thought I went OTT at around 60 

My thoughts exactly! I do maybe 60-70, a few fail on the way and I give a few away.  I don't think my local garden center has 300!

lol i do love growing tomatoes will take ics of the rest tomorrow once finished i do grow some for friends . normally plant around 200 around 8 per variety a few more of money maker alicante and gardeners delight  and this year as I'm not showing have loads of time to pinch out side shoots and tie in and as I'm not growing a pumpkin this year i have a load of room as for harvest i have some friends who own restaurants so always have an outlet for produce

Glad its not just me that goes mad sowing tomatoes....I grow about 30 different varieties a year, sow about 4 of each, keep 30 for home greenhouse, the rest tries its luck in the little lottie greenhouse or bush varieties outside with plenty left to give to friends or donate to our allotment plant sales if they are having one!

I,ve got to prick out my celery seedlings today ....oh..my goodness they are SO tiny and fiddly !       Debbie

We have about 30 varieties  planted this year too!

all finished the first wave  just got 150 pom pom dahlias to prick out then off to portugal for  a week then back  for more sowing melons,sweetcorn,courgettes,cape gooseberries,runner beans, french  beans marrows,cucumbers and squashes  then starts the second wave of salads not much to do really and its still raining

just come across this how-to video.  It is related to pricking out in that the 'make' is a 3 inch tall newspaper pot.  Many of us make round newspaper pots with a former, but this square pot looks a bit more sturdy.  Hopefully of use to someone here,  for when the seedlings need to be moved up again. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dlGQP81yfo

three greenhouses all full

and one more

Who looks after them when you are in Portugal?

Quote from: galina on March 31, 2018, 18:52:56
just come across this how-to video.  It is related to pricking out in that the 'make' is a 3 inch tall newspaper pot.  Many of us make round newspaper pots with a former, but this square pot looks a bit more sturdy.  Hopefully of use to someone here,  for when the seedlings need to be moved up again. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dlGQP81yfo

I once made toilet roll tubes into square pots - but I did it to pack more seedlings under LEDs - it backfired because when stacked close together:
1) as soon as the pots get damp they stay damp because only the ones on the outside of the cluster actually dry off - so the root systems go across many pots and you have to slice them apart.
2) the pots go mouldy really quickly and the mould glues them together so they are impossible to separate cleanly.

Newspaper is even more useless in this respect.

I tried putting clingfilm over each pot before clustering but it was more effort than it was worth - I now make 30mm x 80mm tall pots from beercan metal (wear gardening gloves to cut it - not so bad once they're made) - and I re-use them every year.

Cheers.

Quote from: Tee Gee on April 01, 2018, 14:32:46
Who looks after them when you are in Portugal?

im only going for a week  and the weather here on the sunshine coast seems to be around 13 to 15 and 8/10 at night  so i think half inch of water thursday morning then cover should see them through the week im back the following thursday lunchtime so i think they will be fine watch this space ill let you know

I have standing water inside my greenhouse ATM... wouldn't mind too much but it's on a hill... if the tide goes out I'm pricking out brassicas over the next few days..

today flowers 80 zinninas