Allotment

[om15]

My shed is being delivered on Friday, then requires modifying with gutters, water butt, additional coats of preservative, reasonable quality fitted carpet, a stone step at the doorway.
Progress in that spuds are planted, onions and garlic doing ok, as are 6 raspberry bushes. The three grape vines are showing signs of life, but the plot is still mud at the moment, I will take some photos next week, possibly at the shed warming party, all welcome but bring your own cider.

[Alisoncc]

Be happy to attend when you install the still. Or if we are talking cider, the scrumpi barrels.

Alison

[Ex-Ascot]

Summer crops just about over. One bed of squash/marrow left, maybe another two weeks to go. Lemons doing well as are bananas/plantains. First two oranges and one clementine almost ready. After our last house sitters devastated one sweet potato bed we may have another one about to produce. Some standard spuds are growing OK. Winter seed planting starts next week. It will be controlled remotely from Greece. Had my chap raking and weeding between the beds yesterday it all looks very neat. Fit for an AOC's inspection. Just need to paint all the netting posts white. Last largish marrow picked at 3 kgs again. Don't think that this variety grows much bigger than this. He gets the big marrows for his mother to feed to the multitude of his siblings.

Slowly, slowly after four years we are getting there.

[om15]

Shed now incorporated in the plot, bit of internal carpentry this afternoon, visit to Wessex Carpets in the morning for some lino, more carpentry, then if next week goes well a plant up of everything in pots.
Less challenges than you Ex A, is the soil good there or do you need to enrich? You have exotic droppings to add to your compost.

[Ex-Ascot]

Less challenges than you Ex A, is the soil good there or do you need to enrich? You have exotic droppings to add to your compost.

Wot soil? It is desert, only sand. Have to dig out the veg beds a foot deep and mix 1:1:1 sand, compost, cow dung or goat droppings. The land benefits from the nitrogen produced by the numerous acacia trees. We also chuck on a bit of fertiliser.

[Alisoncc]

Om, they live on the edge of the Kalahari, which is not known for the fertility of its soils. Do remember lots and lots of cattle there, especially on the road between Maun and Francistown. Thousands there was. Healthy looking to. None of the sleeping sickness from the Tsetse fly they would get up North.

Alison

[om15]

Alexander McCall Smith must have used poetic licence, I imagined it to be more fertile than desert, his heroine liked gardening with some success.
Excitement on the allotments, sun is out, stuff going in, becoming very social and everyone is throwing off the winter blues.

[ian16th]

Om, they live on the edge of the Kalahari, which is not known for the fertility of its soils. Do remember lots and lots of cattle there, especially on the road between Maun and Francistown. Thousands there was. Healthy looking to. None of the sleeping sickness from the Tsetse fly they would get up North.

Alison

Them cattle are a source of much of the cheap beef we get in SA.

Their hides are also the source of the leather car seat business in SA. Besides the local car industry they supply Mercedes Benz and BMW in Germany.

[Ex-Ascot]

Om, they live on the edge of the Kalahari, which is not known for the fertility of its soils. Do remember lots and lots of cattle there, especially on the road between Maun and Francistown. Thousands there was. Healthy looking to. None of the sleeping sickness from the Tsetse fly they would get up North.

Alison

Reminds me of a tourist in a bar on the edge of town asking how far away is the Kalahari desert. The answer being under your feet mate. We are not on the edge we are in it. Last walk around this morning with the gardener and then we are orf to olive tree country.

[om15]

Allotment update.

this is what it looked like in January

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and same view today.

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[om15]

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[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

Wow! like the new garden shed too

[ian16th]

Wow! like the new garden shed too

+1
.......but an old railway carriage would have suited Uncle Mort better.

[limeygal]

Wow Om, you have been busy. New shed looks great. Veg looking good too

[om15]

Under pressure to do jobs at home, so will just keep this ticking over for the summer and will get a second plot in the autumn to prepare for next year.
Lot of work and expense to get this far, each cabbage has cost about three hundred quid plus labour so far, there are parsnips, celeriac, grape vines, raspberries, earlies, second earlies, main crop, lettuce, cabbages (various) shallots, garlic, red onions, ordinary onions, leeks, sweetcorn, cucumbers and squash in that small plot.

[Ex-Ascot]

It is all sounding good OM15. Spoke to our chap last week he said everything is going well with winter crop. We will see in three weeks.

[om15]

Heat is not helping, chiraic has bolted and looks like the sweetcorn has too, spuds are looking good, absolute glut of cabbages, brussels are full of sprouts. Have pulled the shallots and some onions, have peppers and kale for next round of growing.
Need to have half a day weeding and tidying up, it is rather scorched and barren.

Here are shallots for storage.

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[Ex-Ascot]

Did a walk around this morning. Not good. First time we have tried to grow in the winter, supposed to be less bugs. However the francolins are digging up the sweet potatoes and the squirrels are eating the bananas. Squashes doing OK but that is about it. Too cold. We were told that this was the best time for rape but it hasn't worked. All the shade netting cages are up so we will just re-seed in the spring. If you don't try you never know.

[om15]

How low does the temperature go in your winter, would you be able to try conventional UK crops in winter, onions, broccoli, cabbages and so on?

I have cleared onions, garlic and two rows of cabbage, second crop planted, kale, celery, peppers and broccoli, have a dozen or so winter cabbages in pots ready to go in when the spuds have finished.
Despite the odd weather we are having I have managed by watering and mulching to have a productive first season so far.
Found a specialist shop in Dorchester that sells little known vegetable seeds, so will be more adventurous next year, maybe less cabbages and more fennel has been suggested by the head chef.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Newbie here, started this year; just trying to read myself in. I have dug a small plot and have some potted stuff also.

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Main plot: parsnips, winter butternut squash, pumpkins, courgettes, lettuce. Leeks and more parsnips to come

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Pots: toms, plum toms, cherry toms, herbs (assorted), bell peppers

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My neighbour's having a go at barley this year, he's quite ambitious

All this is the work of my mum, who's a dab hand and showing me what to do. I do...what I'm told, mainly digging.
Any advice gratefully received!