[Big DParticipant]

Hi Charles

No, it is not boggy. We are on clay soil but on a south facing slope so it drains well. In fact it has gone hard on top although nice and damp underneath but definitely not boggy.

I was over the plot this afternoon and see that another allotmenteer 4 plots away has a similar thing happening on her sweetcorn. It is very strange!

I tried giving the sweetcorn a foliage watering with sequestered iron and seaweed this afternoon and will see if that makes any difference.

I can’t believe too many nutrients have been washed out with the recent rain but definitely something is happening.

[Big DParticipant]

Hi Charles

One plant turned completely yellow very quickly and I have pulled it out, two or three others are starting to have the tips of their leaves turn yellow. This attack seems to be happening very quickly, in a matter of a couple of days. I live in Essex where we have had nearly record rainfall in June and wondered if might be connected?

Everything else is growing well except blight which has wiped out everyone’s potatoes and tomatoes on our 6 acre site.

I grow organically and no dig so never use weedkillers. I can’t think of anything different this year except the weather.

Thanks

[Big DParticipant]

Thanks Charles, I will apply the leaf mould now and harvest the celeriac as you suggest as there are always hungry creatures waiting to eat the veggys!!

[Big DParticipant]

Hi Rhys and Charles

I grew them in the open on a raised bed on my allotment with no protection at all – using the no dig method of course.

We did have a very dry, hot, sunny period for a long time until recently. We couldn’t push canes in the ground as it was so hard! Why not give them a go next year and hopefully you will get a lovely crop too.

They are still coming and I am making more passata! I am now bringing the under ripe tomatoes home to finish on the window sill, it only takes 2-3 days. As I had such full bunches of tomatoes and each tomato is quite large, they are all touching each other and some are a bit buried so thought it best to finish ripening this way giving the others a chance to see the sun – when it comes out now!!

But who knows, next year will probably be different again!

I started the harvesting earlier this year with losing all my broad beans to a sudden appearance of a swarm of black fly then I lost my garlic and onions to white rot so not a good beginning. But, since then everything has gone well. It seems each year the weather favours certain crops and not others and it is a surprise or challenge every year.

This is the first year I have had the allotment fully cultivated and managed to get a Commendation for it!

Give it a try Rhys next year and I hope you get lucky with the weather. It is worth trying but I always had in the back of my mind that I would probably get blight so it was a bit unexpected that it never happened.

Good luck and let us know how you fare.

[Big DParticipant]

I live in Essex and haven’t grown tomatoes for about 3 years due to blight each year but this year I though I would try again. I had five plants, two of which were San Marzana, Italian plum tomatoes, which I have never grown before, and what a revelation! I have had so many and they were so large even though we had so much dry weather. I am busy making passata like crazy to keep up! So far the tomatoes are holding up against blight. Evidently Italian chefs only use these tomatoes for passata!! If you haven’t tried them, do give them a go next year as they make delicious bolognese sauce.

[Big DParticipant]

Hi Sue

It was so sickening to read about the loss of your allotments after all that hard work and in such a lovely place. It makes me so angry the way people are so dismissive of allotments in this way.

Our allotments are just over 200 years old and a private charity all this time but it hasn’t stopped three of our boundaries of old hedgerows, trees and all their wldlife from coming under threat from our next door neighbour! When a housing planning application was put in on the neighbour’s site for 10 houses (too many for the size), the local authority would not put the boundaries as part of a planning condition and in fact said they would discuss and agree with the developer only (and not include the allotments in the discussion) once permission had been given! They wanted to carry out work on four trees actually on our site too. We even had to fight the ownership of our access path but luckily it was registered with the Land Registry so we had proof. We fought this application off but another will be coming along again.

It is so disappointing that we always have to keep fighting for our allotments and other people do not appreciate the many contributions they make.

Sounds like you are making good headway with the pots though and I wish you well with them and the wildlife in your garden. Well done Sue.

[Big DParticipant]

Hello John

I am very sympathetic as I lost my garlic to white rot a couple of weeks ago and today found my spring planted onions have it too! It is such a blow. I had already planted my leeks in the same bed so I think I will now move them as far away as possible and hope they stay clean. It is the long term effects too that are troublsome.

It is a good idea to clean tools, gloves, boots etc that might have come in contact with the onions to stop it spreading.

I am wondering whether to crush some uninfected garlic, mix with water and water on the infected bed. The theory is to trigger the fungus but it can’t grow as there are no plants. Evidently, once triggered, it can’t grow again. Another idea I read, was to chop up uninfected onions and spread over the bed, again to trigger the fungus, but it will not be able to get a hold as the onion bits will wither and die. Might be worth considering. Has anyone tried this?

On the bright side, the strawberry harvest continues to be fabulous!!

Black fly seem to be rampant in our part of Essex – even on my parsnips and another plotholder’s beetroot as well as the usual beans!

[Big DParticipant]

Thanks for the advice Charles. I learned my lesson from last year when I had some lovely ‘Atumn King’ carrots but they had all been attacked by carrot fly so I was determined they wouldn’t get them this year!!! I used a simple barrier of 2′ (60 cm) which seems to have done the job. I will definitely do the same next year.

[Big DParticipant]

Hello

I was interested to read the comments on getting started on a large area of possible couch grass. I wondered if you had thought of using a tarpaulin which is a lot cheaper than Mypex. I had a large extremely over-grown allotment as mentioned on previous posts and found Mypex was going to be a bit expensive but discovered you can buy tarps which are cheaper. I managed to buy two in a deal online and covered the lower half with just tarps while I worked on the top half using the no dig method and manure. I ran out of steam to get more manure for the lower half.

After some months, I turned back part of the tarp and thought it had not worked as the grass was long but as i went to pull it, it just came off with no roots attached. I think it had outgrown itself under the tarp. There is no sign of re-growth. If you have the energy and enough manure to put on, covering with a tarp should work well.

Big D

[Big DParticipant]

Not as good usual as there were spaces – probably for the same reason you mentioned. The previous show, Harvest Festival, two weeks before,was a disappointment as it was only in the small hall (the large hall is now rented out to a local school) and consisted of exhibitions of large vegetables and only one nursery selling items. We probably will not be going to this one next year – more time on the plot instead!!

Big D

[Big DParticipant]

Hi Charles

We get the manure from a local Riding for the Disabled stables and we know it is good as the manager has an allotment on site and uses it himself and have checked that that it does not contain aminopyralid. It does contain straw and other bedding which I think is based on paper, so all in all, good stuff.

We stacked our first 21 bags of leaves this morning with more to come. I feel it is like putting money in the bank for spending later and knowing it will be there when we need it! A great feeling of satisfaction!!

I shall look forward to a good crop of carrots and parsnips next year!

Thanks for your support Charles which is most welcomed.

I missed you at the RHS show last week!!

Best wishes

Big D

[Big DParticipant]

Thanks Charles – that is good news and a lot of lovely leaf mould eventually!

When this has turned into leaf mould, would I use this instead of manure or just on the carrots/parsnip areas?

The manure worked well apart from the carrots and parnsips although that could have been the weather as I know people locally sowed 2 or 3 times and still did not get them. I think you were right and that it was not completely rotted down. But, all the other veg did well with the manure.

The bonus this year was that it kept the weeds down with all that rain in spring compared with friends’ allotments that had not covered their soil and had to start again. It also protected the soil from all the rain. Have already started adding 1″-2″ layer this year as I am sold on the no dig method!!!

Big D

[Big DParticipant]

Hi Charles

I can get a very large supply of newly collected leaves and they are bagged in black bin liners. Can I keep them in the bags if I put holes in them or do they need to be exposed to the air. My leaf compost area isn’t big enough to cope with all these leaves but it seemed a waste not to take up the offer!

Big D

[Big DParticipant]

Many thanks Charles – she will be pleased to hear that there is no double digging required!!! I will pass your comments on.

[Big DParticipant]

Hi Charles

A friend of mine has taken on a new allotment and when trying to harvest her new potatoes, she discovered her foot sank about 8″ as the ground was full of water by not draining away. The rest of the plot had drained as it is on a long slope. I had a look at it today and it seems the previous tenant landscaped the very long allotment but must have taken off the top soil of a lower section to add to the new upper section leaving the yellow clay sub-soil with a very thin layer of top soil where the potatoes are planted. She is wondering what to do. I have suggested double digging to break up the sub-soil but not sure what to advise for the thin layer of top soil. Should she buy bags of compost or top soil as well as adding manure for next year?

Big D

[Author]

Posts