Anyone with an allotment?

Shame, I had one offered to me by someone I work with but during lockdown they got out in the garden a lot so decided to keep it. In response to your hot bin question most of them seem to be a kind of high density polystyrene, wondered if that insulation board I see discarded in skips would do a job but never tried.

I never see the insulation board in skips when I need it

Had some strawberry plants arrive - currently potted in my kitchen. Will they be alright in the ground this late in the year? Better left in pots in the tunnel?

Sprouts for Christmas dinner were lovely, a few woodlice and worms needed removing first. Onions and garlic doing well and the first broad bean seedlings emerging.

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The mice are getting my broad beans. Going to have to bring some on in pots at home I think. Once the plants are established and the bean isn't a tasty snack for mice they should be ok I think. I hope!

We started beans and peas at home, beans are looking pretty strong but the peas were all had by mice over the last couple of weeks, even though they were in cut down bottles and fleece

Some ground work this weekend. About 50 bags of woodchip and 40 of manure shifted on to site. Could probably do with about the same again before long!

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Small allotment wins, a few roots for roasting. Leeks are rusty so won’t be much left after cutting it out :(

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Something's eaten all of the new leaves on my cavalo nero :(

Pidgins? They’ve been at some of our old purple sprouting we left in.

Could well be. Found a few new leaves discarded on the ground so something that takes the whole leaf off. Older leaves are nibbled too but not as bad. Don't think I'll be getting many more harvests at this rate.

Seed potatoes going very cheap at wilko today. £2.50 for 2kg

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Went down to our plot earlier and the compost bin I’ve using has been visited by some fairly big ‘visitors’.

I want to build a hot composter out of pallets but not a clue what to use as insulation. Naturally it needs to be free or as close to as possible.

🤔 beginning to think I haven’t done the best job saving my Apache seed potatoes from last year. Are these goners, given I was going to plant them in March?

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I'd keep them and stick them in the ground. As long as they haven’t gone mouldy or anything they should be fine. Just be careful not to break the shoots/roots as you plant them.

If you expose them to natural light the shoots will darken and toughen up.
They will still be fragile but if you are careful you could try the 'long shoot ' method of growing them.
I did it once years ago deliberately.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/plant-potatoes-1footlong-sprouts-74282.html

I'd keep them and stick them in the ground.

Straight away or wait a bit?

Cheers, will have a look at that later.

Wait a bit, depends how wet the ground is, but mid-end of March would be OK for early crop.

The method was in this little booklet which I've still got somewhere - will dig it out.

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Cheers, that’d be grand.

will dig it out.

did lol

Found it !

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Wonderful. Thank you very much. I may not plant as many as I intended but will definitely give it a go.

More shit shoveling today. A good way of keeping warm in the snow.

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