Allotments
- Thread starter HJ
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palinurus said:
Get a plastic box in March, put a bit of wet kitchen roll in the bottom. Put fresh parsnip seeds (they don't keep, get 'em fresh each year) on top, and cover with another sheet of damp kitchen roll. Put a lid on the box, keep it at room temperature somewhere in the dark for maybe four or five days. The seeds will sprout; now, sow the germinated very, very carefully and you'll find that they grow far more reliably. They'll be visible growing through the weeds far faster! More work, but takes the randomness out of snips.
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
I think (touch wood) my onions are Ok after all - I thought they might rot, but I pulled a few up on Sunday and they seem OK - will harvest the rest next week and hang them up to dry. Mind you, a couple of the red ones are so small it might have been more effective just to eat the sets...
But the white ones are fine - and some so large they'll last me for three meals worth!
Potatoes also seem alright... And had some of my own carrots and broad beans last night, in a white sauce with tuna (I didn't grow THAT myself, my pond isn't big enough...)
As for the squashes and french beans. The beans are about 5 inches tall, and have flowers - if they form, the beans will be dragging on the ground. And on my courgette plants, I seem so far to have had about 1 female flower to 6 or 7 male, and the fruits have rotted before they form...
And the Pumpkin plants seem smaller than they were when I put them in! Ho Hum. No fairytale carriage for me this year...
But the white ones are fine - and some so large they'll last me for three meals worth!Potatoes also seem alright... And had some of my own carrots and broad beans last night, in a white sauce with tuna (I didn't grow THAT myself, my pond isn't big enough...)
As for the squashes and french beans. The beans are about 5 inches tall, and have flowers - if they form, the beans will be dragging on the ground. And on my courgette plants, I seem so far to have had about 1 female flower to 6 or 7 male, and the fruits have rotted before they form...
And the Pumpkin plants seem smaller than they were when I put them in! Ho Hum. No fairytale carriage for me this year...
Squashes and pumpkins sometimes sulk for a while before they get going. Cucumbers do it too. Don't worry about it.
The french beans, are they a bush variety? If so, yeah, thats exactly how they should look.
Sounds like its all going okay on your plot Arch!
On mine, I've had the tops off most of the spuds 'cos of blight, I had stem rot and then blight on the tomatoes so they're all out (leaving only the plants at home), I had white rot on shallots and garlic (so restricting harvest there), barely any salsify germinated, chillis and aubergines are sulking so much they may just die, and snails ate my cucumbers (might have a plant or two left). But its swings and roundabouts; I might have blight but I've still got a massive crop of spuds, the carrots, French beans, runner beans, beetroot, chard, parsnips, leeks... everything, in fact, that isn't doing badly seems to be doing very well. And the sweet potatoes are looking especially happy compared with previous years. Its all swings and roundabouts, some things do well each year, other things struggle.
The french beans, are they a bush variety? If so, yeah, thats exactly how they should look.
Sounds like its all going okay on your plot Arch!
On mine, I've had the tops off most of the spuds 'cos of blight, I had stem rot and then blight on the tomatoes so they're all out (leaving only the plants at home), I had white rot on shallots and garlic (so restricting harvest there), barely any salsify germinated, chillis and aubergines are sulking so much they may just die, and snails ate my cucumbers (might have a plant or two left). But its swings and roundabouts; I might have blight but I've still got a massive crop of spuds, the carrots, French beans, runner beans, beetroot, chard, parsnips, leeks... everything, in fact, that isn't doing badly seems to be doing very well. And the sweet potatoes are looking especially happy compared with previous years. Its all swings and roundabouts, some things do well each year, other things struggle.
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
"The french beans, are they a bush variety? If so, yeah, thats exactly how they should look. "
Oh, really? But they are very small. Not at all bushy... maybe only 10 leaves or so... I have no idea what variety they are, I just bung them in...
Next year, with the couch grass nuked, I may be a bit more organised, and get more variety. As it is, I'm just happy if I manage to be self sufficient in onions for a few months...
Oh, really? But they are very small. Not at all bushy... maybe only 10 leaves or so... I have no idea what variety they are, I just bung them in...
Next year, with the couch grass nuked, I may be a bit more organised, and get more variety. As it is, I'm just happy if I manage to be self sufficient in onions for a few months...
Yeah, bush beans look like that. If you're concerned that they're runty, give 'em a mulch of chicken manure or a few growmore pellets. They'll be fine. They're astonishingly prolific little critters; I'm growing a few borlotti bush beans, and various coloured climbers (my favourite French beans are two climers, cosse violette which is bright purple, and blue lake, a great old green variety).
It saddens me that all you can buy in the shops is boring green round ones, when French beans come in purple, yellow, green with red stripes, red with yellow flecks, flattened form, slightly curly... All sorts. Such variety is available if you grow from seed.
Same is true of peas really. I've got a pea variety called 'golden sweet', pale yellow mange tout, and they're the sweetest you can imagine. Why ever they're not sold commercially, goodness knows.
It saddens me that all you can buy in the shops is boring green round ones, when French beans come in purple, yellow, green with red stripes, red with yellow flecks, flattened form, slightly curly... All sorts. Such variety is available if you grow from seed.
Same is true of peas really. I've got a pea variety called 'golden sweet', pale yellow mange tout, and they're the sweetest you can imagine. Why ever they're not sold commercially, goodness knows.
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Cab said:
Well, you learn something new every day. Makes my elaborate bamboo wigwam erected for them look a bit silly...
Amanda P
Legendary Member
- Location
- York. Well, York-ish...
We used to have a fairly productive veg plot, and a polytunnel that produced nice tomatoes, cucumbers and one or two pumpkins.
Unfortunately, for the last couple of years, we've both been away from home working all spring. Makes it very hard to plant any veggies at the right time. So the whole place is a weedy wreck right now, apart from two sad rows of onions that the slugs have almost finished off and some rather spectacular bolting leek flowers (some about 9 feet tall). Plus the polytunnel cover's all torn and green.
So we're just now getting it all under control, starting with a new polytunnel, frame and all. But there'll be no veggies until next year I fear, altho we might plant a few indoor potatoes to have as new spuds in the winter.
Is there anything else I can plant now so that this year isn't a complete dead loss?
Unfortunately, for the last couple of years, we've both been away from home working all spring. Makes it very hard to plant any veggies at the right time. So the whole place is a weedy wreck right now, apart from two sad rows of onions that the slugs have almost finished off and some rather spectacular bolting leek flowers (some about 9 feet tall). Plus the polytunnel cover's all torn and green.
So we're just now getting it all under control, starting with a new polytunnel, frame and all. But there'll be no veggies until next year I fear, altho we might plant a few indoor potatoes to have as new spuds in the winter.
Is there anything else I can plant now so that this year isn't a complete dead loss?
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Uncle Phil said:
Mustard-and-cress?
Uncle Phil said:
Loads.
I rekon you can plant peas as long as they're an early variety. Might get away with bush varieties of French beans. I wouldn't sow a climbing runner this late myself, but there are dwarf varieties like 'hestia' that will thrive.
Certainly isn't too late for swedes, turnips, radishes, kohl rabi, fennel, early carrots (go for 'paris market' and 'parmex' varieties for ultra fast small round carrots, which if sowed at the same time as 'early nantes' and 'sugarsnax' should see you into winter, a little late for 'autumn king' and other main crop varieties to do well ), spring onions, lettuce (if the weather gets hot keep the seeds in the fridge, trust me, really helps germination), rocket, mizuna, mibuba, pak choi, chinese celery, overwintering Japenese onions... So much you can still sow if you .
I'd be looking at beetroot varieties like 'pronto', baby beets essentially. And for over wintering go for leaf crops like perpetual spinach, chard, etc. Quite late for sowing winter and spring cabbages, but you could hazard something like 'Durham Early'. Worst that can happen is they do better in late Spring rather than early.
Later this year sow broad beans and overwintering pea varieties (like, in November) and plant garlic (mine goes in mid to late November).
