Anyone with an allotment?

Enjoy!

Soils looks in amazing condition. View not too shabby, either.

Cheers, looks like fun. Considering buying some rootstock this winter and giving it a go.

It's worth having a go. Course was via https://www.theorchardproject.org.uk/ might be something local to you?

Nice few hours up the plot today. Lifted the 4/5 remaining Sarpo Mira and a pot of Cara spuds, too. Cara were clean as a whistle, sarpos had a fair bit of scab and slug damage, noticed a couple of wire worms, too. Nothing that can’t be dealt with using a peeler though, they’re certainly big enough. Added some fresh AD and compost to one of the beds and put in about 45 onion sets. Will do more when I have time.

Cheers. What’s the gig with bud grafting rather than sticking a whole plant on some rootstock?

It's just a different way we were told, more common in summer / early autumn, spring grafting is the big stick version.

There are two main techniques for grafting fruit trees – whip grafting, where a short piece of scion wood is attached to the rootstock in late winter/early spring, producing a single stem one-year old tree by the following summer. Bud grafting occurs where a single bud is attached to an actively growing rootstock in the summer time. Whip grafting allows the tree to develop more quickly because it uses a larger piece of the scion wood, however, bud grafting produces a straighter tree and a stronger union.

https://www.theorchardproject.org.uk/guides_and_advice/how-to-graft-fruit-trees/

I should get to try whip grafting too this winter all being well.

Penultimate chilli haul of the year. Pretty pleased with how we’ve done. Would love to overwinter them but can’t be arsed to dig them up. Hopefully enough for a jar of chilli jam.
Got elephant garlic and some more onions in today as well.

1 Attachment

Filled the last of the bags we’ve been offered, the 7th I think—“community payback” drag them to be taken off by the council. Apparently we’re allowed a fire once a year on Nov 5th, so that’ll hopefully see off the pile of bramble stems. Some onions have gone in, next steps are putting some anti-weed cover down & more rooting (tubering?) out of couch grass. Will take a normal hoe down for weeding next visit too.

1 Attachment

Still getting courgettes mid October…

1 Attachment

Wildflowers not giving up either

1 Attachment

Nice selection! I’ve still got two squash I’m not picking yet and some tomatoes I’m hoping will get red (well, purple) enough to pick and ripen at home.

I feel your blank canvas pain, in fact our council have been in touch (unprompted!) to say ‘sorry it’s so unkempt, here’s the town warden’s details who will help with the removal of debris’. Two 2m wide strips cleared, another 4 to go.
How big is your plot?

1 Attachment

Got my winter Onions (appx 100) & Broad Beans (appx 36) in yesterday, plus planted some mini Leeks which had sprouted on the flower if they grow properly that'll be a bonus.

Edit: My bean/sunflower structure has collapsed too.

4 Attachments

Went down to the plot yesterday. You could barely get in the green house. The tomatoes have gone crazy with foliage

Hadn’t been up for a few weeks, as it was really just squash ripening. Turns out we were beaten to these by the birds and bugs

1 Attachment

No onions left at the site shop sadly, gotta remember to sort that

How big is your plot?

Approx 25×5m ie half widthwise of an old school plot. The bit at the back is riddled with old carpet, nettles and bindweed so that’s not really useable, will be toad refuge

https://youtu.be/oV4PKWzOJ8A

Love a good toad, they always seem so unphased when discovered.
Ours is a half plot dissected the other way, I wondered if you’d just made it thinner to clear in stages.
I find all the different rules and regs of various allotments interesting - like we can have bees, bonfires in incinerators as long as the wind direction is away from the nearest houses, every plot has to come with a crown of rhubarb but no sheds or permanent structures (boo). All trees have to be fruiting and kept under two metres. Which puts us in a dilemma as there’s a 4M willow squarely our plot ^ which I guess had self seeded. I don’t want to be the guy who shows up and chops down a tree but it does cast some shade and it will only get worse. Need to find the head of the AA and get his opinion.

Bees and rabbits are kosher, fires are not, except for Nov 5th. Buildings must be no bigger than 6’ in any dimension. Nothing planted that will not yield produce within 1 year (! No fruit bushes?), no trees directly into the soil—pots are OK. Etc etc etc.

You’re right about talking to the committee; having said that, the chair of ours gave my wife this sturdy squash which I think might be fighting talk.

Willow is a weed, take it out without prejudice.

1 Attachment

Are your plots run by the fucking Amish? Some of this stuff sounds insane.

plots run by the fucking Amish

Edit: Newham Council.

Like all these sets of rules it’s a palimpsest of sensible precautions/risk reduction, countermeasures vs specific piss-takers from the past and authoritarian knob-ends (including council functionaries with their own motivations) taking liberties. Making at least polite acquaintance with the committee can grease a lot of the wheels. I’ve been on an allotment committee before, and it’s just plain weird.

I've decided to expand from just growing potatoes every year and plant some Rhubarb!
Pretty excited by this TBH.
3 Timperley Early crowns have now gone in on top of 200l of homemade compost.
I'm sure they'll do just fine but struggling to see how you can get lush plants from wizened crowns :)

1 Attachment

Seem to remember when our rhubarb went in that nothing should be harvested in the first season. Hard to resist the temptation :)

I need to split my rhubarb, has gone bonkers this year (3rd year)