[SuazMember]

Thanks for your reply, Charles. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know what’s happening in adjacent plots as neighbours on either side are on semi-permanent vacation in the summer months (though looking over the fence I can spot some brown patches on the beetroot leaves next door)… I’ll see if I can talk to one of the other plotholders on our site. It’s also possible that I didn’t allow for the improved water-holding ability of my soil after a year and a half of adding both animal manure and compost, and ended up overwatering some crops. Last year the soil soaked up huge quantities of water, it’s possible that this year I needn’t have watered so much. In general, insects have been much more of a problem this year, from spittlebug on the spinach to greenfly and aphids on the outdoor tomatoes and chillies. About the only plants in radiant health appear to be the carrots and parsnips I’m growing under mesh. As regards the leafminers in particular, they appear to be doing most damage to the celeriac and the broccoli leaves. The broccoli appears to be growing strongly regardless, so I’m hopeful that it will outgrow the leaf-mining eventually, but the celeriac is looking sad after losing so many leaves. Yesterday I noticed ladybird larvae on the plot so I’m hoping that they may help although I don’t know if leafminers are part of their diet.

[SuazMember]

That’s good to hear because it means I can use my current batch of comfrey and nettle feed on my other needy plants and still have time to make some more for the tomatoes.

[SuazMember]

Thanks for this Charles. It’s reassuring to know it’s not infectious. I did water them a lot in the early stages but then they took off and I lapsed thinking they were growing well enough of their own accord. Big mistake! I know my soil isn’t the most water retentive either. I noticed when cooking the leaves that compared to shop-bought spinach they were taking ages to wilt.

[SuazMember]

The earliest, sown in early April, are in 5″ pots. I repotted the biggest one today into a 6″ pot and was planning to do the rest tomorrow. They are about 20cm tall measuring from the base of the stem, no flowers yet. There is no yellowing, only some purple to the underside of the first set of leaves. The upper leaves are a bit crinkly, I’m not sure if this is normal for tomatoes. I have to visit my local garden centre to see what young tomato plants look like as I haven’t really observed one close-up before! Some of the seed I sowed (all different varieties) didn’t develop properly or showed stunted growth, so I’m worried about the possibility of a virus.

The ones that did grow are now sitting on a south-facing windowsill and I’m planning to move some to the balcony when it’s warmer and possibly also take my chances by planting some in the ground on the allotment.

[SuazMember]

Sorry, no, I’m talking about spinach and lettuce growing on an allotment bed outside. The spinach were sown 3 seeds to a module in early March and planted out in April. They are now grown to the point where the outer leaves are nearly touching. The lettuces are much smaller but they seem to be going through a growth spurt in the last few days. I checked the lettuces today and thankfully they seem unaffected by the mildew. Phew! I think I might try the chamomile and milk spray suggested by James Wong in Homegrown Revolution. However, I read elsewhere that this works best in full sun and there are showers forecast for tomorrow.

[SuazMember]

Hi Charles, I have some comfrey and nettle liquid feeds on the go and I was wondering at what stage I need to start feeding my tomatoes in pots? They are growing in West Riding multi-purpose compost. Thanks.

[SuazMember]

Ah, is that what those nibbles are? Thanks for letting me know, I’ll look into it now.

[SuazMember]

Hi compostpope,

Yes it was the green waste compost I was mainly concerned about but that’s because the soil itself is more of a known quantity: what little of it there is (only a couple centimeters in places) is very stony and surprisingly dry-looking. It almost looks like grey dust when it hasn’t rained for a while. Having said that, it’s mainly the well-dug, previously cultivated parts that look parched. I planted some broad beans on newly cleared ground and it surprised me to see how much more moisture retentive the soil in that part of the plot was whereas when I tried to water some planting holes in one of the previously cultivated beds I almost had the impression of pouring water into a bottomless well.

I believe most of the other allotment holders on my site are growing organically. A lot of people buy manure from the same source as I got, others visit local stables and bag up the free stuff to take away, and at least one person I spoke to mixes spent hops available free from the local brewery with garden compost to reduce soil alkalinity as spent hops apparently are slightly more acidic than other types of compost.

By the way, I really couldn’t believe the difference on seedling growth made by warmth, as Charles said. I visited the plot yesterday afternoon and after a wonderfully warm, sunny day the lettuce had grown glossy new leaves, the beetroot stems had thickened and spinach leaves had grown bigger and more plentiful, so perhaps there is hope yet! The only thing that hadn’t improved was my late-sown broad beans which appeared to have been savaged by birds. Their leaves had all been pecked at, presumably by birds rather than slugs as there were virtually no holes in either the spinach or the lettuce. I covered them up with fleece to protect them. I hope they don’t get too hot under cover and that they manage to bounce back soon.

[SuazMember]

Hi compostpope, yes I did wonder whether seaweed extract would not be faster acting. Having checked the Garden Organic catalogue, this is how they differentiate between the two products:

“The beneficial effects of SM3 Seaweed Extract are most noticable when the plant is under stress, for example from frost, drought, pests and disease. Seaweed Meal serves as a soil improver by building up the humus structure and water holding capacity. It can be applied at any time of the year, and it is particularly beneficial if applied 3 months prior to planting, so ordering in the autumn is a good idea.”

So yes, it would appear that seaweed extract is more of a quick, short-term fix while seaweed meal is more of a long-term soil conditioner that is admittedly more useful when applied in advance of planting.

I’m also wondering about a new product on offer: Worm Wee. Has anyone tried this as a general fertiliser?

I did consider a soil analysis when I first took on my plot but decided it was probably more worthwhile to invest the money in improving general soil fertility. According to the RHS, chalky soils are often poor in nutrients as both manganese and iron can be “locked up” in the soil and therefore become unavailable to plants. Not sure there’s much I can do about this other than enrich the soil with large quantities of organic matter.

[SuazMember]

Hi Ginamccon, interesting that you should mention Mr Muck. They were one of 3 suppliers that I’d considered ordering from and although a much costlier option at least if the manure is well rotted you can use it straightaway. I started off some nettle and comfrey teas yesterday and will look into making some manure tea as well. Thanks for your suggestion.

[SuazMember]

Thanks Charles for a very helpful reply as always. I shall go collecting nettles and comfrey leaves and start making the tea today. There are strong growing nettle plants around already but comfrey leaves are still a bit small — perhaps it is too early to start cutting them? I will also check my local garden centre to see if they have any seaweed meal and comfrey pellets — they are not very strong on organic stuff but I’d rather not be hit by extra packing and postage charges if I can avoid it. I’ll also start collecting some seaweed from the beach as I live near the coast but in my experience it does take a long time to break down. I gathered a bag of mixed seaweed in early January, washed it to get rid of some of the salt, and put half of it on my compost bin (after chopping it up roughly) and half of it on the ground. It dried out hard and took a long, long time to break down on the soil surface. I then decided to rake some into the soil where I’m planning to make my carrot bed and it has just started going crumbly and looking unrecognisable.

[SuazMember]

Thanks Charles for giving renewed hope to my first-time veg growing efforts! It was very disheartening to think that my seedlings were all sick and moribund. I’m glad I won’t need to throw out my newly bought module trays either. Almost everything else I’ve read on the subject advised to discard potentially ‘contaminated’ equipment and bin the compost! As a precaution, I think I might be more careful with ventilation as my south-facing windowsill can get quickly hot when it’s sunny and perhaps also spray chamomile tea on the seedlings from time to time as it’s reputed to held prevent damping off. Oh and takes the lid off the propagator before it steams up too much!

[SuazMember]

Thanks Charles, I replied to your post earlier but for some reason it’s not showing up. I took your advice and swapped the Rondo for the Sugar Snap. Thanks for the suggestion.

[SuazMember]

Hello Charles,

Sorry for hijacking this old thread but I wasn’t sure whether my question merited a new topic. I’m new to the forum and to vegetable growing in general and ordered some organic Alderman seed online with the intention of using it for shoots as recommended in your book. However, it turned out that Alderman was out of stock and the supplier (Chase) substituted Pea Rondo as they had no tall-growing variety in stock. Is this likely to perform as well and be as delicious to eat as Alderman or would I be better off returning the seed and ordering something else?

[Author]

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