plot tales

muck and magic

growtosow — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:39:40 +0000

we are now into a new growing year and i have been busy moving my drums that were outside into the polytunnel this now all done, other job i got started was to take more horse manure down to our compost heap and i need to box it in a bit more to keep it tidy and i will get this done over the next few weeks, weather has been not to bad for us today we had a hard frost but on the whole it has been fine not a lot of snow so far this year and i hope it stays like that, i have got two lots of seeds sown so far but still more to do will do them as and when they need to be done.

the cardboard dance

growtosow — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:44:38 +0000

over the last few weeks i have been busy picking up cardboard boxes, from the local bike shop cutting them open with a hand saw and then its just a case of a dance up and down on the them to get them to fit in the car, these large boxes make a grand mulch for the plot i just spread them out over the ground that has been weeded, i then put some stones on top to hold them down, the rain can still go into the soil so it does know harm, we have one or two bits still to weed and should get them done soon before the weather turns on us at the moment its going up and down one small amount of snow which did not stay, and two mornings were we had frost on the whole we have been very lucky so far but that can all change so fast, i have now got most of my seeds for the 2012 season only things i have still to get are onion sets and shallots plus the rest of my tattie order, for 2012 i will be doing two rows of sweet peas as i only did one row this year and did not do bad with them i had some nice stems, i also did one row of gladioli and got a lot of saisfaction from them as well again i will grow two rows for 2012, the plot should have a good mix of veg and flower then, we do not do a lot of fruit this may change over the years, this is the time of year when we are busy making plans on what we are going to do for the coming year, perhaps change the way we grow some of our crops each year we learn something new.

coming to the end

growtosow — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:36:27 +0000

well that is us coming to the end of other growing year and we are getting the plot ready for the winter as one bit of ground is weeded i have been putting down cardboard to help with the weeds it does work and also lets the water into the soil and does not harm the worms, we have still to lift the tatties and would hope to do this soon before the weather turns worse one flowershow left this coming weekend but not sure if we will do it yet will check and see what we have left for it i may be lucky and have some gladiolus left did not bad with them at the forres flower show so will see what i can do, this year the weather was up and down a lot which did not help with our growing we will just have to wait and see what next year brings us i have started sending for our seeds and making plans on what we are going to grow, some more sweet peas will be one thing this year i only did one row of them next year i am going to do two rows gives colour to the plot also i get them for the show, the gladiolus will be two rows next year as well just have to sort out my planting dates for both of these flowers just as well i made a note of the planting dates for this year and got a few tips off an old workmate on the growing of gladiolus i meet up with him at the forres flower show and we had a good old chat you can always learn from the older generation.

showtime

growtosow — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:56:41 +0000

it is the start of the shows now the nairn show being our first we only put veg in the allotment section and i put sweet peas in the open section and very happy with the results, our next show will be the garden club show and we will have to see what we have got too put in to it as some of our veg are not ready and a lot of this is down to the weather as at some points it has been cold and then we get heat, last year we did not a have tomatoes until late on but today we had one ready and their is a few on the plants to come yet, the cabbage plants are very slow as well this year and it looks like they are going to be late we have lifted some tatties and they have been very good cauliflower have all come at the same time which always seems to happen plus they were not very big but we know the reason for that we have clubroot in the soil and this stops the plant from getting big i will have to put more lime on the soil next year and see if this will help, the peas have done well we only have one row of them perhaps next year we will put in two rows also thinking how we will be planting next year and were i think we will do more planting though black plastic this helps with the weeding and also holds the water in the soil on the weeding side of things their seems to be a lot of nettles this year for some reason we have been burning a lot of them but it may be an idea to go over the soil with the gas burner to see if this will help us for next year worth a try if it cuts down on these weeds it does show that the soil is very fertile so we have got something right, you are always learning on an allotment and its all part of the fun of growing your own ways to beat the bugs and slugs and other pests that come along to dine on your veg.

busy times

growtosow — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:12:16 +0000

over the last few weeks we have been busy with the weeding as they grow so fast at this time of the year, and its a case of going around with the hoe even if you do not see any weeds, most of the veg is coming along ok apart from some the carrots that i did in the large drums and also some of the ones outside as well not sure why this was, most of the plot is planted up now and i will be putting in some more lettuce they are in the greenhouse at the moment and i have got one growbag with tomatoe plants in it they are small ones, the weather has been very mixed over the last few weeks and a good bit of rain has fallen which has made the tatties get too a good size, we are doing some tatties in polypots at the house and they seem too be doing well my grandson has done three in polypots as well so hope they do well for him perhaps he will get the growing bug its good for the young ones too learn how too grow their own, the millroad site is now up and running and is looking good all the plotholders have planted up and they will be looking forward too their harvest time.

frost

growtosow — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:08:02 +0000

well we have had a frost hit our tatties, i was down at the plot the other night and saw that a lot of the tatties had got a touch of frost, this will set them back a wee bit some of the other ones are not quite showing so they should be ok. now the weather has changed too rain which was overdue as the soil was very dry this should help with our crops outsid. over the last few weeks the plot has been filling up with the veg and i have still got lots of plants in the greenhouse the other night i spent some time in the greenhouse potting on plants and pricking out seedlings, some of the polytunnel has been planted out with onions and some leeks i am doing long carrots in the drums that i set up in the polytunnel i am not having much luck with them as only a few came though, most of my stump carrots are now showing but i had to redo some of them as well and quite a few of the other seeds that i have sown have got bad results will have too get back to the person i got them from for more, i have done some long carrots outside and stump root carrots as well so will see what happens with them.

greenhouse

growtosow — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:55:44 +0000

the greenhouse is now starting to fill up, over the last few weeks i have been busy sowing seeds for our new growing year this is a exciting time of the year, trying new seeds and planning were you are going to be growing your veg on the plot, today i got on to the plot as i had a few jobs to do one of the jobs was to repair our hose, as i was going to need it to water the drums in the polytunnel, they had been filled a while back and the sand had gone down a bit so i was able to get more sand into them and water them at the same time, these drums are going to be used for my long carrots i have got one lot mix made up for them but may need to do other, i have still some seeds to sow in the propagator and they are cucumber marrow courgette and some more cabbage, other jobs still to do are get manure on to the plot and work out how many polypots i am going to do for the show tatties, we will be doing tatties in the ground as well.

last of the tatties

growtosow — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:10:48 +0000

today i picked up my last lot of tatties, and have been busy in the greenhouse potting on some things, last week i got my shallots potted up and they are in the greenhouse now , i will put them in the other greenhouse as it no heat on as i do not want them to grow to fast at the moment, this will be the same as the sweet peas. yesterday i got 3 bags of multipurpose compost this is for my parsnip mix, the compost will be put in shredder this gives you a fine growing medium. i am growing the parsnips in drums out side, but will also grow some in the ground will do two rows of them this should be enough for us, and again i will do two rows of carrots in the ground, will do onions from sets again this year but will be planting them though plastic this helps on the weeding side of things will give the ground a feed first then lay the plastic out, just a case of spacing them out and cutting a hole in the plastic, will be doing the same with the cabbages and cauliflower.

a new growing year

growtosow — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 10:13:57 +0000

well here we are in 2011 its a new growing year and i have got some onions started they are in the greenhouse at the moment i will pot them on soon, we are still waiting for some shallots to come and also some tatties today we got on to the plot for a morning ‘s work some tidying up done the ground was soft and could be dug over but we have left it for the time being, some planning was done with regards to were we will be planting our veg this year as we do try not to plant in the same place, this year i am going to try some clubroot resistant cauliflower and cabbage but will also use lime on other parts of the plot, we still have to get manure in and will have to think about this over the next few weeks also were its to go as i will not need to manure the bit of ground that i will be growing carrots on. so this will be the start of busy times for us and for those on the waiting list who will be getting their plots at millroad quite soon it will be exciting times for them planing were ever thing is going and what they are going to grow,

wildlife

growtosow — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:18:05 +0000

yesterday i went down to the plot to see if i could get any jobs done and while i was turning the car at the bottom of the site i looked over into the padock and saw four deer grazing on the undergrowth they must be finding it hard trying to find food with this weather. quite a few small birds on the go and as it was warm some insects were about as well this year i am going sow some more flowers for the wildlife birds and bees need this help our bird feeders at the house are very busy and when it was cold some of the birds were very tame when you were filling the feeders the birds were at your feet. i am still waiting for some seeds to come and will need to start sowing some onions this is inside they will go in the greenhouse and then get potted on until they are ready to be planted out other job i have to do is start getting bags of peat for our tatties this is only for the ones we are going too show plus i need peat for part of my borehole mix. will need a mix for parsnips and long beetroot this will keep me busy getting them all ready. i have now got six large drums in the polytunnel and got them moved over the last few weeks the last two i got moved the other day as before they were frozen so they are all done now just a case of letting the sand go down a bit and that will be them. the large drums i am using for my long carrots and i have smaller drums i will be using for my stump root carrots.