Xann Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Designs in moss. Instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 about a third of the way through the great broad bean glut of 2015 planted plenty just to fill a bed, whole lot came up trumps - the chest freezer out the garage coming in to its own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 14, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted June 14, 2015 Bloody hell, ours are only just started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) Yep, we've left as many in as possible but they were going to go over if we left them any longer. Is it as simple as that geographical distance thing? We've got a fairly moderate climate around here, we're in view of the coast and about as south as South Wales gets. So we can do the November planting out and leave them over winter. You're a bit further north. There's almost always one crop that fails and one that goes bumper every year. Runners are also planted out and a good foot up their sticks. Courgettes got planted out today, and so did the sweetcorn. Tried a gooseberry too, that was an experience, they are at least a month off being ripe. Properly bitter. I'll need to net them off as they get closer to ripe as the birds just have a knack of stripping them the day they click over into sweet. Edited June 14, 2015 by chrisp65 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 14, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted June 14, 2015 Interesting about the gooseberries. Last year ours (and the neighbour allotment's) were going fine, and then, overnight, they vanished. Almost hard to believe it was birds. This year, I've netted them. And yes, they look to be a couple of weeks behind yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I've even see pigeons getting in on the act once the fruit has gone sweet. Pigeons! The fat thick kids of the bird world. The crows and blackbirds tend to prefer the red currants and the grapes. I've sat a distance away and watched them systematically take a bunch of grapes one by one. The other thing the crows love, sweetcorn. I'd presumed it was mice until I caught them one day. They'll land on the stalk and weigh it down, with the other crow on the ground waiting for the free food to drop down into range. Strip back the leafy wrapper and go the full Disney with my bloody sweetcorn. Last one, I presumed the crows were trying to take my frogs or goldfish, but on watching for a bit longer they were simply arriving with dry bread and dunking it in the pond to make it edible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 15, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted June 15, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 3, 2015 Author VT Supporter Share Posted July 3, 2015 Anyone know someone who does driveways? Want to get mine tarmac'd. Obviously I'll just phone round and get quotes from companies, but would be happy to give the work to a VT contact if there is one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted July 3, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 3, 2015 Anyone know someone who does driveways? Want to get mine tarmac'd. Obviously I'll just phone round and get quotes from companies, but would be happy to give the work to a VT contact if there is one! Off Topic? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 3, 2015 Author VT Supporter Share Posted July 3, 2015 Anyone know someone who does driveways? Want to get mine tarmac'd. Obviously I'll just phone round and get quotes from companies, but would be happy to give the work to a VT contact if there is one! Off Topic? Well not really, but I should have been more specific! It is currently a front garden. I want to get rid of it and replace it with beautiful asphalt. Couldn't think of a better thread. There was a VT Tradesman thread at one point but I couldn't find it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Pm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 picked the first of the broad beans last night and they are now in the freezer, the remainder will be picked on monday. Its only me that eats them and I suspect I will be eating them till christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 I don't think I can eat another courgette or bother to look for another way of cooking a courgette. I'm done with courgettes. In other news, this year's garlic is an absolute wipe out, all disappeared. This year's french beans are looking a bit pathetic. Blackberries appear to be heading for a glut year. We're two or three weeks in and they are gigantic, black n juicey. Just like I like my men. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 18, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted August 18, 2015 Midseason sitrep: GOOD - Asparagus Salad leaves Herbs Onions & shallots Brassicas Courgettes First early spuds Strawberries Raspberries Blackcurrants & redcurrants Gooseberries BAD - Peas Main crop spuds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Hhmmm, a distinctly mediocre year for us. Our patch is nearly twice the size of a standard allotment and it's proved a bit much getting the time to work it. We also had some biblical rains through the winter and they appear to have washed any decent soil and goodness away. A lot of work to do in the autumn. Get some good shit back in the ground ready for next year. We go again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) Just lifted main crop potatoes and it's a decent harvest from the one row I had (three King Ed seeds and half a dozen Red Desiree seeds).Filled about one and a half of those 25 litre plastic trug thingies. Edited September 7, 2015 by snowychap 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 7, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted September 7, 2015 I'd like to correct my 'bad' assessment of the main crop. The tops looked blighted, so I chopped them and dug up the spuds (Charlottes). They are excellent, and lots of them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) First crop of apples from the garden - and in getting these we've discovered we've got eyed hawk moth caterpillars. Huge great things the size of my little finger with a 'horn' at the end. Apparently they like apple trees and willow, we have them both so the feckers must be loving life at the moment. Edited September 19, 2015 by chrisp65 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted April 25, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted April 25, 2016 I need advice on buying a strimmer for the allotment. I have a dirt cheap cordless, which is OK for edging the garden lawn but useless for longer grass or extended time usage. I'm thinking of going for a petrol model, but I don't want to spend much over a hundred quid, or over-spec with something that is designed to clear jungle. Anyone got any relevant experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Avoid the brand name Sovereign. In my experience, every stereotype about cheapo chinese tat applies to sovereign. Weird non-standard unavailable parts, rubbish build quality, overheats whilst dripping petrol. So dangerous I bent it and threw it away rather than give it away. Other than that, fine. We've currently got a bottom of the range Qualcast petrol strimmer which does the job ok, nothing special and nothing bad to note. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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