The Blessing of a new Allotment - Page 2 - The potting shed

rosie plum

11/04/2012 at 13:54

and not to mention twee gifts like nail sets haha oh dear lord if you saw my dirty nails and calloused hands!!!!!

Deano's "Diggin It"

11/04/2012 at 20:54

Hi Guy's!! First day back at work today! n it nearly killed me!! They say don't take time off work because ya come back to an abundance!! How true!! Lol!! Really ready for an Horlicks n bed!! (only 46! How bad is that!!) Ha! Ha! But cheers Sandra! I now know the meaning of a "rod" Thanks! Sad that I want to know, but my knowledge as been expanded!! n Rosie! Ya not mad!! Just concider yourself as one of the chosen few! Bet ya love sitting in the back garden listening to the bird song too!! With a cold glass of wine of coarse!!!! He! He! n Emma! Living in the North, I am holding back for planting out!! I have a boat load of stuff to go out, but waiting for a friend to do me some spikes for the raised beds so I can cover my crops as soon as they go in to to try save em from the cabbage white!!

Sandra 2

12/04/2012 at 08:19

Just out of interest, guys, and talking of creepy-crawlies, how do you kill slugs? I have all manner of ways of catching them - traps etc, but it really gives me the creeps to squash 'em, especially the big fat brown ones. What do you do?

Deano's "Diggin It"

12/04/2012 at 14:58

I find a sharp pair of scissors does the trick! Just snip em in half into a bucket! qiute brutal but effective. But if a tad squemish, drop em in a bucket of salted water!

Sandra 2

12/04/2012 at 15:31

Yick!! No - I really couldn't cut 'em in half. But I need to do something - my lettuces are a shadow of what they were a week ago...

Deano's "Diggin It"

12/04/2012 at 20:13

Ha! Ha! Well the salted bucket seem's your only answer! As well as a torch n night time patrol's!! Good luck with it!!

Sandra 2

13/04/2012 at 08:53

Okay - night time patrols and salty bucket it is then...

In other news, if the rain holds off I should be able to get shelves in my new shed today - then I can move my tools out of the cold frame (where they've been rather insecurely stored) and actually use the cold frame for plants. Huzzah!

What has everyone else got planned for this weekend?

Newleaf

13/04/2012 at 10:08

Hi - I'm very very new to gardening and veggie growing so stumbling along a bit. I've set up 2 raised beds (no allotment for me) in the garden and in one have put in some peas (with a cane wigwam I made from our raiding our bamboo plant), parsley and some leeks. I just realised the leeks should be planted out singly? not in the clumps they came in when I bought the seedling box.... How will I fit all those leeks in my itsy bitsy bed? The other bed has some beetroot seeds, some thyme and space for the courgettes I'm growing from seed on the kitchen windowsill. I'm growing some sweet peas up a obelisk (well they are starting to show through the ground now) and they and the lavender will hopefully attract some bees.

Sandra 2

13/04/2012 at 10:29

Ha - your leeks must be further developed than mine - they look pathetic at the moment.

Best way to plant leeks - use a thick dibber - I use the end of an old broom. Make a nice deep hole and drop single leeks into each one so the top's sticking out, then water them in - don't bother back-filling the holes. It looks a bit odd but persevere!

Newleaf

13/04/2012 at 11:45

Thank you Sandra. They're not very big yet. Clumps of thin little critters more like the bristles of your broom! I've spread them out a bit in between rain showers and they are still looking fairly perky. I've just been transplanting some tomato seedlings from the propogator into some smallish pots (7cm). Hope they survive... the leaves are very droopy and sad despite a nice drink. They are on a sunny windowsill but not much sun...

Sandra 2

13/04/2012 at 11:54

I think they should be fine. I'm having to turn my toms on a daily basis as they keep growing towards the light. They'd better be bloomin' worth it. Last year the whole allotment got blight, so this year I'm trying a blight resistant one, which is frankly a bit weedy so far.

Newleaf

13/04/2012 at 12:08

When I transplanted my toms I did take the advice of Alan Titchmarsh who says to bury then up to their armpits so they don't get too leggy. Fingers crossed! I'm using a type called Moneymaker - ever heard of it?

Sandra 2

13/04/2012 at 12:18

I've heard Gardener's Delight is the one to go for - but as I say I'm using blight resistant Ferline F1 - no idea what it will taste like.

Bury 'em up to their armpits, eh. Good thinking.

rosie plum

13/04/2012 at 13:42

moneymaker is a good one newleaf..well established..and burying them is really successful if they have gone leggy

Sandra 2

13/04/2012 at 14:13

Rosie Plum - how small do they have to be to benefit from being buried? Mine are about three inches high now, but most of that's 'leg'. I'd like to repot with most of the stem under soil - would you say that would help at this stage?

Newleaf

13/04/2012 at 14:36

Thank you Rosie - I can almost taste them already! I hope that burying them will be successful as it's what I've done! the droopy leaves they had earlier today are now much more perky and with any luck they won't rot!

Deano's "Diggin It"

13/04/2012 at 22:10

Hi! !Guys!! My tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill are doing fine! got Gardeners delight! Cherry Tom!! Lovely taste!! Money Maker! Medium sized! n San Marzano! Plum! Type, which is a first for me!! See how we go!! n Sandra! Unfortuanatly for me I will be going away this weekend to sort my ol man's caravan! He sadly passed our way a few weeks back!! But on a plus note! my friend is gunna take over the allotment for this weekend n do me some fencing!! Bless him!!!

Deano's "Diggin It"

13/04/2012 at 22:31

Oh! Sandra!! Got sidetracked!! Once they start growing there true leaf is a good time!!

rose'splot

14/04/2012 at 07:22

How to Kill slugs..... Well, I use CHICKENS, yes, they eat slugs anad snails and bugs and anything else that crawls, wriggles, slimes but the chickens will also eat your plants, so make sure they are covered up before you let the chickens run riot on your garden or allotment.

lynda d

14/04/2012 at 23:10

hello everybody i am just asking about my cherry toms i am growing sweet baby for my hanging basket now today i read that i can not plant out untill they flower or i will only have green leaves no fruit so now i dont no which way to go can anybody advise me please thanks