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Re: Allotment

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 1:50 pm
by om15
I haven't spent as much time at the allotment as I should, I have cleared number two plot and part of the original plot, I have laid a strawberry bed of twenty plants, dug in a compost bin full of almost decomposed compost and covered with a mat.
Still have one row of spuds to lift, I have been lifting about 8 to 10 good spuds per plant, have carrots, parsnips, brussels coming along nicely, last few cabbages ready to lift. I have planted a dozen or so foxgloves around the edge amongst the hedge plants, plus the seeds from this year's plants will self seed, insects love foxgloves.
One of the boundary fences is on its last legs, so there is a vague plan that a couple of us will replace that this autumn, the expenditure will have to be approved at the annual meeting, nothing is done in much of a hurry.

The vines did a mild crop of grapes which I shall leave for the birds, also left the last of the raspberries for them. My plan for next year is to grow more varied and interesting things, producing hundred weights of spuds and cabbages for the two of us is just not working.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2019 4:35 pm
by Ex-Ascot
It is a disaster here. We can't water from the lagoon and the borehole is full of iron. The garden and lawns are dying, all the vegetables and salad stuff has died. The fruit trees are living but not producing. Interestingly enough our rape is doing OK. This was a request to be grown by our housekeeper. Local knowledge?

Re: Allotment

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 6:22 am
by Ex-Ascot
Very little cropping but 114 plantains today from one bunch.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 4:26 pm
by Ex-Ascot
Did a walk around the fruit and veg area this morning. Two flowers on bananas. Lemons on a few trees doing quite well. The late planting of butternut squash seems to have paid off. If he keeps watering we should do quite well. Already a few babies and many flowers. Everything else in shut down. A fair old disaster.

The above turned out to be bananas so everyone was very happy.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 12:28 pm
by Ex-Ascot
Butternut squash still doing well but growing up the side of the shade netting. Have told him to release them. It is only the seedlings that seem to get eaten. Looks as if we may have a good crop if the idiot remembers to water them which he doesn't. After 8 years we have oranges on one tree. The rind is splitting. Apparently too much water. I have told him not to flood them. White man was right. A few lemons and bananas and that is about it. A bad year.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:34 pm
by Alisoncc
Ex-Ascot wrote:
Fri Feb 14, 2020 12:28 pm
Butternut squash still doing well but growing up the side of the shade netting.
In Oz we call it Butternut Pumpkin, but same thing. Lumps of BP dipped in EVOO and cooked in air fryer, fabulous. So sweet more like dessert than dins. A few months back a neighbour went out West to visit rels. On return had a gunny sack full of BP's, shared them with me. They all ended up inside the air fryer.

Alison

Re: Allotment

Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2020 11:46 am
by Ex-Ascot
Alisoncc wrote:
Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:34 pm
Ex-Ascot wrote:
Fri Feb 14, 2020 12:28 pm
Butternut squash still doing well but growing up the side of the shade netting.
In Oz we call it Butternut Pumpkin, but same thing. Lumps of BP dipped in EVOO and cooked in air fryer, fabulous. So sweet more like dessert than dins. A few months back a neighbour went out West to visit rels. On return had a gunny sack full of BP's, shared them with me. They all ended up inside the air fryer.

Alison
Thanks for that will give it a bash. So given the overall cost of the air fryer that will be just about 30 euros a lump. Unit cost slowly coming down. I think that chips are now only 10 euros each.

He has released them now from the cage. They are much happier. Maybe another couple of weeks if the little bugger remembers to water them.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:54 pm
by Ex-Ascot
We normally give all our excess banana plants to a small specialist garden center in town to sell for a local animal (domestic) charity which we both support. Closed at the moment due to lock down. Our main plantation was getting overgrown and we have had to move some teenagers. The main plantation of about 30 is for production. When we move them to the main garden it is just for ornamental purposes we just bang them in with little soil preparation and do not expect fruit. Five years ago we started off with just 5 plants. Have just counted 65. We must have given at least 20 away if not more.

More rape in and produced seedlings within a few days. Unauthorised our chap chucked in some squash seeds. All seedlings eaten by birds. Complete waste of seeds. Idiot. Got some more seeds and under supervision he will sow under nets.

Got some beetroot seeds yesterday. Why do they never tell you approx how many seeds in a packet. We counted them - 1,000. With the spacing required that will hopefully produce for us (two seeds to a hole) about 330 beets in an available plot of 1.5 x 8 mtrs. we will stagger planting 110 each month for three months. will have about 250 left over. Loads of goat ***** gone in. Very good for nitrogen.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 3:21 pm
by ian16th
Ex-Ascot wrote:
Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:54 pm
We normally give all our excess banana plants to a small specialist garden center in town to sell for a local animal (domestic) charity which we both support. Closed at the moment due to lock down. Our main plantation was getting overgrown and we have had to move some teenagers. The main plantation of about 30 is for production. When we move them to the main garden it is just for ornamental purposes we just bang them in with little soil preparation and do not expect fruit. Five years ago we started off with just 5 plants. Have just counted 65. We must have given at least 20 away if not more.

More rape in and produced seedlings within a few days. Unauthorised our chap chucked in some squash seeds. All seedlings eaten by birds. Complete waste of seeds. Idiot. Got some more seeds and under supervision he will sow under nets.

Got some beetroot seeds yesterday. Why do they never tell you approx how many seeds in a packet. We counted them - 1,000. With the spacing required that will hopefully produce for us (two seeds to a hole) about 330 beets in an available plot of 1.5 x 8 mtrs. we will stagger planting 110 each month for three months. will have about 250 left over. Loads of goat *sh*t* gone in. Very good for nitrogen.
You realise of course that beetroot cures AIDS!
It must be true, an ANC Cabinet Minister told me.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:41 am
by Ex-Ascot
Now we are watering from the lagoon instead of the borehole things are picking up. Mid winter so no great production. Rape is doing well after the re-seed. Think the bugs that got them have died off with the cold. Squash not happy either growing very slowly. Beetroot seem OK. Never grown them before so not sure about thinning. Will experiment, we are doing a staggered crop. Bananas still suffering from the iron in the borehole water but should pick up. Many lemons developing.

The big success is our worm farm. Haven't checked on numbers but getting a small tub of liquid fertilizer every day which goes onto the veg so the colony should be increasing.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:30 am
by ian16th
Love the galvanizsed watering can!
Can you get a matching mop bucket?

Re: Allotment

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:56 am
by Ex-Ascot
ian16th wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:30 am
Love the galvanizsed watering can!
Can you get a matching mop bucket?
Dunno Ian. Just typing this as our housekeeper has passed me with her plastic one.

The beetroots should be ready by now. Dug up two. Nothing, just roots. Taking off the bigger leaves which of course can be eaten which should promote growth below. Research shows they don't like nitrates. The borehole water is full of them so is the soil. Perhaps another veg off the menu. The soil is basically sand of course. Asparagus loves sand but not heat which is a shame.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:13 am
by Ex-Ascot
The squirrels are drinking the liquid fertilizer coming out of the worm farm ~X( Bit concerned they are going to grow massive and retaliate for me shooting them.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:14 am
by G-CPTN
Ex-Ascot wrote:
Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:13 am
The squirrels are drinking the liquid fertilizer coming out of the worm farm ~X(
Should make their nuts grow.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 2:45 pm
by Ex-Ascot
Now they are eating our lemons, they hollow them out and leave them on the tree. Just been onto an American site on how to protect the trees. Goes on about them being cute and shouldn't use lethal means. Having shot two in the garden area they are staying out of there. Just seen three in the fruit and veg area. Would I use lethal means for these? Of course not, much.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 2:56 pm
by G-CPTN
My sister moved to a southern UK location and planted strawberries.
Before they ripened, the grey rats picked every berry and stored them.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:11 am
by Ex-Ascot
The horn bills get to our mulberry tree before us.

Re: Allotment

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:37 pm
by om15
Spent an hour or so clearing away weeds from around the cucumber plants and turning the compost bins, I have had lush crops this year, must be all the horse muck that I dig in, here is a radish that I picked earlier,


IMG_2994.JPG
and being checked out by Misty, who has developed gardening interests as well as the need to slay everything in sight.


IMG_2993.JPG

Re: Allotment

Posted: Sun May 23, 2021 10:36 am
by Ex-Ascot
We have just picked first oranges from one tree. They seem to be a cross between oranges and lemons. Mix with root stock?

Re: Allotment

Posted: Sun May 23, 2021 12:02 pm
by EA01
Had a killer year of cherry tomatoes this year....we were giving them away we had so many, picked 2 today from what had grown out of self seeded plants, eaten with self seeded basil....rather yummy indeed.

Carrots Dill & Radish to go in soon...they seem to go ok in winter...