Anyone with an allotment?

I’m think partner plants

Ah well, in that case dark and cool will stop them growing a bit but they should just sprout and be a bit further along when you plant them. You can leave them in the ground a decent while and they store great once you’ve dried them out.

Having complained about no free mulch or manure at our plots I remembered a tonne of wood chips got dumped on the plot next to me and neither plot nor chips have been touched for over a year (may have been dumped by the council when they took down an elder). So I helped myself to a barrow full and mulched the onions which are struggling a bit in the dry soil. Stuck in three rows of earlies and planted a few garlic cloves from last year’s crop which were sprouting hard. Be interested to see how they go.

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Mostly weeded today

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Please, give me half an hour before showing my plot up. 😞

Looking good, though. 😉

Likewise lol

More asparagus in. The beds now full to capacity. More onions in with the carrots. Planted my early potatoes too.

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Put some more earlies in buckets my second (experimental) plot yesterday. 4 per bucket, used spent compost with potato fertiliser added, then covered with leaf mulch to stop drying out. Tried some in an old sack as well as I still have loads to plant. Might invest in more buckets.

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I missed this, bad timing on my part. Your Broad Beans are looking good there, be good to see how your bucket spuds come along too.

Thread needs more full plot pics IMO, my 2 above I take every visit with a vague plan to timelapse at some point, hoping Google photos AI suggests it as it gets more intelligent.

I was only joking ;) Your plot looks great. Mine will get there in time.

The broad beans have been a bit of a disappointment, tbh. Planted 30 and only 14 viable plants right now. About 8 or so never germinated and another 5-6 seemed to get munched or broken by something, think that part of the plot doesn't get enough light, maybe? Hardneck garlic seems to be doing pretty well. Softenck i put in later are struggling. The elephant garlic I've planted for the allotment competition actually looks quite good. At least I should have something to show for the competition, last year only 4 lettuce plants germinated and every single one died.

I'd use a drone for mine but it's too close to houses.

Got 5 x 25kg bags of free ericaceous compost that need collecting in SE25. Anyone interested? P.S: Ideally before Saturday as we have to move out and cannot see myself planting that many blueberries anytime soon 😅

Good offer! Worth posting in the gardening thread, too. Camellias, Azeleas etc need erricaceous soil too.

I’d have this lot in a heart beat it’s about 70 miles out of the way

Thanks guys, I will post in the gardening thread and locally too

Really interesting point at the end of this video about tomatoes sending out extra roots from their hairs. I was not aware and might try adding compost in stages this year. https://mobile.twitter.com/geraldstratfor3/status/1510905864831569924

There was a bit on Gardeners World last year I think about pinching out toms and then replanting those pinched out bits, very interesting.

Yep, you need to get the side shoots. You can take them off and replant very easily.

I got about 4 new plants pinching out side shoots and repotting them last year. All produced fruit though were quite late in the season.

Last undeveloped bit of plot now getting sorted, including new mini pond, hoping it'll attract more frogs or toads as slug munchers.

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I got hold of flat rockery stones via freecycle. Pond looks reasonably edged now. (This was done Thursday).

Also popped in to see a buddy's allotment in Cheltenham yesterday, the whole site as well as his plot was next level allotmenting, amazing views of the hills too. No pic though.

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Nice touch, ponds should be more of a thing on allotments

This has inspired me to put a pond in our allotment. The dig will be commencing on Thursday evening. I’ve got some pond lined at the plot already. No idea where I’ll find the stones though. Are there alternatives to edging a pond?

Are there alternatives to edging a pond?

With liner I think it needs something to help it look tidy & to hold the edges down. Someone else may well know better though.

Ta, most plots here seem to have ponds, good for slug-eaters & bitey flies. I fitted a basin pond last year but this one in this spot was daughters wish ever since we got the plot.

Sorry I meant edging it with stones.