Permaculture & Getting Going in the Garden.

[tattercoats]

My poor neglected half-lottie has spuds and onions - which I should have weeded more - and pumpkins - ditto. Slugs more than decimated all my cucurbits as fast as I could plant them.

But the potager in the garden's doing OK - harvested my first garlic, that's drying off now ready for plaiting; sweetcorn doing nicely (planted in loo roll middles and started indoors, staggered in three lots, got that right this year!); tomatoes everywhere as they seem to germinate as soon as you lok at them, and I got carried away trying 4 kinds. Still waiting for them to ripen, and I know they'd have done better if I'd planted them on/out sooner, but we were still building the greenhouse and sealing with a close family bereavement, so cuoldn't be helped.

Sugar snap peas - bit of a washout. Hestia beans I was given - doing OK, but can't seedsave as they're F1. Other beans - disaster as they needed planting out when I had to be away from home (see above.) Hoping last years dried beans will germinate next Spring for me.

First salad greens crop - doing well. Have planted beetroot late, and spinach in the space vacated by the garlic (first second crop, iyswim).

Four small apple trees planted. Autumn planting raspberries ordered. Potager now in raised beds with hard paths between, that's a major job I don't need to do next year.

Courgettes: three have survived, and they're now producing. On balance, I think three courgette plants may be enough. Cucumbers - happier now in the greenhouse, one rogue in the courgette patch outside, oops, something went amiss with the labelling there. Rhubarb established. Sunflowers thriving. Herbs middling. First leeks started indoors and planted out late, but thriving in the potager. They'll tide us over a disappointing onion crop.

Hoping to plant a small stand of wheat in the Autumn - I want a bread roll I've grown!

I think the rain hasn't affected the garden too badly as I'm always there watching it. Things can't get swept away or drowned from raised beds, either, and emergency measures can quickly be taken. Harder to do that over several acres and fields.

Next year, all this and more, hopefully - minus the capital investment work we've achieved this year (greenhouse, raised bed potager) and plus bigger amounts of most things, planted sooner, plated uot sooner, and weeded better! (I have a fine collection of hoes now - three sorts - must actually use them!)

Sorry, went on a bit there.

Did I mention I love my avatar? Thanks, Powerswitch team!

[Totally_Baffled]

Hi guys

Right allotment is ready for planting and we are keen to get going!

Just wanted some general advice on propagation - now I am quite well read on the "theory", but I have limited practical knowledge(been in the office for too long now).

The question I have is:

What sort of veggies can I sow in trays in a cold frame now? Now being in the south of england (southampton) , its generally a bit milder - so I wonder what I could get away with?

I dont have a greenhouse - but do have a couple of cold frames. I normally use the window sills but the little one keeps knocking the blighters off! (and the seedlings tend to "stretch" given the lack of light for a good proportion of the day - we are quite shaded)

I have a calander of what can be planted when outdoors, but we are keen to get a "head start" , and wanted to get started on some propagating now!

Many thanks in advance!

[Eternal Sunshine]

Quite a lot of our allotment is ready now too. We've started chitting our potatoes, just need to keep them frost free. We've just planted some garlic and will be planting the 1st broad beans soon as my mum says they can be planted anytime. There's types of cabbages that can be planted out too. Will be starting some leeks in the green house soon as along with the potatoes they were the best crop last year (our 1st year with the allotment).

I'm certainly not an expert Totally Baffled, but basically things that aren't very tender can be started off now in a cold frame (maybe brassicas?) - as long as they are protected from frost. Is there plenty of animal manure in there to keep the temperature up?

If you've got areas of the allotment you want to plant soon maybe grow some green manure for now - I think we'll do this in areas that are going to have squash & pumpkins on as I don't want to put them put until it's much warmer.

[Andy Hunt]

I've sowed some cabbages, leeks, kale and bunching onions in my greenhouse/cold frame thingy. When I looked yesterday they seemed to be germinating . . .

We are still eating our sole pumpkin from last year. It has made 2 pumpkin pies, 2 portions of pumpkin risotto and we still have 2 'chinese takeaway' tubs of it left!

[Totally_Baffled]

Thanks ES/AH.

I hadn't thought of the manure idea lol!

Anyway - the cold frames are at home in the garden , I want to start them off in the coldframes and then when March comes I am ready to start off loads of stuff at the same time.

Once stuff is planted - you are commited to going to the allotment once or twice per week (its only a mile away)

I am thinking in March we can then put in:

Potatoes ( Seed pot's - chit them now)
Garlic (cloves)
Broad beans (seed)
Onions (from sets)
Raspberry (canes)
Rhubarb (seed)
Carrots (seed)
Leeks (seed)

etc

I've started some of these off in seed trays to try and get ahead of the game and hopefully minimise failures.....

[Smithy]

Great thread!

I put in garlic cloves just before Christmas under a sheet of glass on bricks in a sheltered part of our Midlands garden. Had to take the glass off due to the fact they grew so fast and they're about 6 inches high now and they didn't mind the recent cold weather.

Experimented with sowing peas and beans indoors and they are also going well now out in the unheated green house. There would be more in there but too busy localising...

In view of peak oil you really should be considering these: http://www.realseeds.co.uk/why.html (they hope you'll only ever buy one lot!)

[RenewableCandy]

Just a quick warning, there's supposed to be a cold snap next week, so all you lot who've beat me to it with the planting, get yer bubblewrap/fleece/newspaper at the ready...

[Keela]

Great time of year this.... all the planning etc. I love it!

We've just eaten the last of last year's leeks. There are also a few more jerusalam artichokes still in the ground. Other than that we are well and truely in the hungry gap now!

THIS year however I have even more plans afoot. I've taken the plunge and ordered a polytunnel so I hope to grow a lot more inside. However it hasn't arrived yet and the ground hasn't been cultivated before where it is going. So plenty of work for my half term week!

[fifthcolumn]

As nasty as it sounds, we humans produce plenty of good quality fertiliser.
Your pee can be used directly as it's already sterile.
Your poo can be used to give your compost an extra boost as long as you leave it in long enough for the thermophilic activity of the bacteria to take place (about a year).

If things get really bad and it really is impossible to make fertiliser without oil then this might be one of the only ways to keep it going.

That and the bodies of the rotting zombie chavs.

[fifthcolumn]

Blight:
If you're really careful and you spot it happening early enough, simply rip out the offending plants and dispose of them as far away from the other plants as possible.

Possibly my grandfather's three natural companions for potatoes also help, I don't know.
They are Oregano, Garlic and Horsetail (yes, the weed).

Personally I lost maybe a handful of potatoes to blight and I didn't even use seed potatoes, just sprouted ones from sainsburies.

[Eternal Sunshine]

That and the bodies of the rotting zombie chavs.

LOL I'm loving this image.

Our galic is growing really well too - planted 2 weeks ago and not minding the cold (so far). Thanks for the warning Renewable Candy - reminds me it's not spring yet. There are supposed to be some hard frosts this weekend.

[RenewableCandy]

That and the bodies of the rotting zombie chavs.

LOL I'm loving this image.

Sadly our compost "dalek" isn't big enough for the obese chavs of today

Our galic is growing really well too - planted 2 weeks ago and not minding the cold (so far). Thanks for the warning Renewable Candy - reminds me it's not spring yet. There are supposed to be some hard frosts this weekend.

I've just contradicted my signature line ...

[Eternal Sunshine]

My OH is outside making greenhouse staging out of old pallets at the moment.

We'll be ready to get planting very soon. Going to do some less hardy things in the house on the window sills (tomatoes, chillies & pepper 1st I think). In the greenhouse I reckon we could plant some carrot seeds now.

Does anyone know how warm pumpkin & squash seeds like when germinating? Should I start them inside or in the greenhouse?

[Keela]

Pumpkin and squash inside - but I'm not starting mine for a bit.

I've started onions, peppers and tomatoes so far. (And a few herby things like parsley.)

These all stay on the windowsill in the kitchen until germinated and then move out to the unheated greenhouse. (However I do use fleece cover and also set them on polystyrene rather than directly onto the aluminum shelving.)

Leeks will be started once the windowsills free up. Two good forums for all this stuff: www.allotment.org.uk or www.downsizer.net

Sally

[Eternal Sunshine]

Great, thanks for the advice Sally.

I used to go on the Grow Your Own forum The Grapevine: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/index.php but don't have enough time at the moment to do anymore forums.