Anyone with an allotment?

I'm using strulch, not had any issues with it yet

4 foot I’d say. I’ve taken the lowest leaves and the side shoots off so far. But they are very leafy.

Plot 2 is starting to take shake. Dahlias and peony’s are in. I now have to free beds for cut flowers but I’m at a loss as to what to put in. My wife like quite big and bold flowers. She loves a hydrangea but water them in the summer is a nightmare.

Get some big blousy chrysanthemums. These are mine from last year. You can probably get away with late varieties. I've just planted some from https://chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk

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Oooo good shout. I like those.

Very leafy

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^ ace, I've neglected to feed my home tomato plants and they're the anti of the above. Operation salvage just begun.

In other news, cucumbers. Much excitement.

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I’ve taking the plunge and cut them back. One of the tomato’s had gone a bit brown so that’s gone in the bin.

I normally plant way too many tomato’s and they fail every time. Only planted 8 this year, 4 per raised bed. And they seem happier.

Chillis seem to be doing well too.

Me and my good lady cut back a patch about 4x10ft and now need to build a bed and figure out what to put in there. Any suggestions for what can go in now?

Is there still time for potatoes?

Is there still time for potatoes?

Maincrop? If you put them in pots and can move them into your greenhouse when it gets frosty you can get a crop up to nov/dec.

As I start to harvest the odd spud and tater it’s opening up a few gaps here and there. Anything I can whack in now to fill the space?
In other news we’ve decided we’re going to attempt to take on the plot opposite us. The current tenants only come once a year and strim and then don’t return til the following spring, apparently they’ve been getting away with that for over a decade. It’s got good fruit trees which have been neglected for years so would make a great extension for us. It’s definitely worth asking at least…

You can sow some pak choi or salad leaves, think you can just about get away with beetroots. I'm just about to plant some more runner beans out.
There's also still chilli plants kicking about in shops.

New guy next to me has hardly done anything with his plot, hoping he gives it up next year so I can double up.

Found this they/their/them at the flower plot

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I did gem lettuce and beetroot after potatoes last year. Added a bit more compost to help them get going but they did great.

Great news, def got salad seeds knocking around. We’ve already got more beets than we need but will try some radishes.

We grew beetroot last year and it all got eaten by mice and voles

Whoa, you weren’t kidding about the tomato leaves! I think you did right chopping some off. I expect a minimum of 6 vines of toms per plant and most of these seem to emerge in the top two feet. I’ve experimented by letting the main stem split into two and I’m quietly pleased with the increase in sets per square foot.

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Are those special tomato growing pots?

Not really, they’re Airpots. I find they’re pretty good for toms as they have a raised bottom so the roots aren’t sat in water. Plus the whole air root training theory seems to work from my anecdotal experience, I bought one of their job lot packs.

Thanks, just not come across them before.

I’ve only seen them used for clandestine indoor farming, so to speak.
I’ll get some pics in the week but the pot grown berries I’ve just planted out are looking a bit peaky, might be lack of water but wondering if they’d benefit from a good layer of strulch or similar on top? I understand they’re usually happy to be treated rough but want them all to get a good start in life..

Interesting, what's the logic to them not being sat in water? Is it that the soil risks gets waterlogged and then drowns/suffocates the roots?

(I ask because we have a gro-bag reservoir and the roots inevitably follow the wicking fabric and then spread out into the reservoir)

Can I get a recommendation for summer and winter strawberries.

Preferably big fruit, heavy cropping

Got pretty bad mildew all over my pumpkins. What do we think would happen if I just cut off all the leaves? Would they grow new ones?

Don’t think they grow new leaves if you cut off the old ones. I tend to just live it it. If any leaves get really bad and wilted then lop them off but it’s pretty common in pumpkins/squash/courgettes in our climate (particularly at the moment) only year I hardly got any powdery mildew was last years heatwave/drought.

I think it started in the dry spell, but I've slept on it and worried they'll now infect my squash as it's so bad. I'll spray with bicarb first as a less drastic measure. The fruit are actually already pretty decent but I think they're ornamental pumpkins (can't actually remember) so I was hoping they'd last until Halloween.

I’ve got a powdery mildew issue on the north facing side of our garden - courgette’s get mullered every time. I tend to cut off the affected as I don’t want too much getting back in the soil but I think it’s a lost cause. I still get a decent crop so kinda live with it.

First time growing pumpkins in our plot and I didn’t realise how nuts they’d go, totally underestimated their ability to wander and how spiky they are!

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