Anyone with an allotment?

We’ll some find out.

Hoes: Stirrup? Push? Dutch? What should I be looking at?

Stirrup is brilliant, wouldnt be without it.

This is a thing of beauty - nice but pricey thread I guess.

https://www.implementations.co.uk/shop/hydra-hoe/

Oof! Not cheap, but yeah, looks great. Thanks for the advice, looking like stirrup is the way to go.

Might give this a try, slightly more affordable: https://www.uktoolcentre.co.uk/products/kent-and-stowe-stainless-steel-long-handled-oscillating-hoe-fsc.html

Onions doing OK. I really need to weed the asparagus bed. I should probably plant some more asparagus seeds now so I’ve got a cross over for this bed lol

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For anyone needing a seedling mat, this pair are a bargain at the moment: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224250777089?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Edit. Not as much of a bargain any more.

.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/15/city-allotments-could-be-as-productive-as-conventional-farms-research-finds

Obviously didn't include my plot in the study, be surprised if I'd made half that. Don't do enough soft fruit.

Although we still have plenty of onions and Garlic we're still eating from July/August: https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16124378/

Christmas veg haul today, plus horseradish

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Ha ha

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Hahaha naughty veg

Finally weeded the asparagus.

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👍

I've been down to the plot on Christmas day morning before and lifted leeks and parsnips.
Brought them home and presented them to the kitchen staff for preparation 🤨

I love that smell of earth and parsnips at this time of the year !

Such a good smell.
Made some horseradish sauce as well.
Have more sprouts to pick, will leave them until Xmas eve.

My sprouts are comically small at the moment. Maybe one might be ok for Christmas but I think it going to be February before most of them are worthy of the pot.

Anyone used nemaslug? What's the best time of year to apply?

I did this year, in spring, and there did seem to be reduced numbers compared to usual

Hard to tell for sure if it's working as unlike slug pellets you don't see slug corpses, they go underground to die when nematoded

Cheers. I'll give it a go around april/may time, the past year was a nightmare for slugs. Did you use a coarse rose as advised on the website?

I only have one rose for my watering can, which id say is probably a medium? Not super coarse. Don't know what exactly constitutes coarse

Don't know what exactly constitutes coarse

Me either really, thought it was a bit of a marketing ploy but copould see it might make a difference. While I'm not keen on spending more money than necessary, I'm also not keen on screwing up my nematology efforts using the wrong rose.

Getting up to 15 degrees next week, madness! Onion sets look to have taken ok. Had some very small sprouts for Christmas Day, in-laws were impressed, though. Planning to get it rotavated soon. Will be trying to gradually switch to no dig from then on.

Thinking of getting a polytunnel this year - where to buy/what to look for?

General plan is to infill a very clay heavy and unproductive spot with rubble and then lay slabs as the base, then grow everything in pots. Any drawbacks to this approach?

Planning to get it rotavated soon

Can you do this in winter? A little reading on the subject suggest the ground would be too hard or wet, unless you have access to a very big machine.