Good morning all, a few allotment home growing tips would be most great fully received ☺

[**bustysinclaire**]

Well, not sure whether I've bitten off a bit more than I can chew but I'm going to give it ago.

I've acquired an allotment very very near to my oh's on my new home it is in a very bad overgrown state so there's a lot of work to be done to get it ready before I can do any type of planting, so it looks like it is unlikely that i will be able to grow much if anything this year.

I have been told that doing a bit at a time is better than trying to get the whole lot up and running straight away, so what I would like to ask is.......

If there are any home growers out there could you give me any tips on what type of things I could try to grow that don't mind being planted late in the year.

Any allotment tips would be most appreciated and one thing I could do with knowing is how to tackle slugs and snails effectively without using harmful chemicals etc.  As I have noticed the allotment next to mine have lost some lovely newly planted young plants already.

[**bustysinclaire**]

 

The ground is parched and cracking.

I'm sure if the wheather had been a bit kinder things would have looked far more lush, but on the whole I have a fairly good crop of most things I planted.

I have lost the peas to the heat and broad beans are struggling now but we have had a couple of meals.

Leaks are swelling and the runner beans are now coming inn thick and fast.

Can't wait for my pumpkins to be ready, the kids are so exited.

[**bustysinclaire**]

hi all

Got some whoppers here, now got to figure out what to do with them, I had five huge cucumbers today all off one plant.

[theelench]

I think you're doing really well to get anything edible in this weather.  Not only is the soil dry and cracked but the air temperature sucks all the moisture out of the plants.

My garden work is definitely drying up and I'm getting time off, not that it worries me much, I don't like working in these high temperatures.

I've tried to add a couple of photos of the playing fields across the road from my flat.  Apologies if they don't come out OK, last time I tried this it didn't go well.

They are comparing this summer to the 1976 heat wave / drought.  I was living in Weston-Super- Mare back then and working in the parks.  First we bailed out the ponds and fountains to water the flower beds, later roped off all the formal lawns to stop visitors grinding them to dust by walking on them.

The weather forecast is hinting that there might be a few thunder-storms early tomorrow morning for this area, but they said that a week or two ago and all we got was a light shower and a bit of drizzle.  Just enough to moisten the pavements before it evaporated in a cloud of steam.  It didn't soak in at all.

[**bustysinclaire**]

Hello quibono, photos are fine, and yes the grass is like that everywhere here too.

I've been watering every day, takes me about an hour or so. Thankfully the water is on tap right at the bottom of my plot so i'm very fortunate it is less work than some.

We so need the rain.

I was 18 in 1976 and a sun worshiper just fresh from school so not a care in the world lol.  Apart from getting so sunburnt on my back it cracked and blistered. I learnt my lesson then. 

[theelench]

In '76 I was 23 and working in the Winter Gardens on the sea-front..  I've always had to be careful but working outside every day built up a tan slowly.  The main draw-back was back then I had shoulder length hair which got sweaty and covered in dust every day. 

Attitudes were very different then and the parks and beaches were full of people sun-bathing no matter how hot it got.  One visitor I remember had obviously had too much to drink and fell asleep on the brown grass.  As he started to turn bright red the Park Manager tried to rouse him but his only response was to grunt and swear a bit.  The police were called.  They took one look, poked him with a toe to make sure he was alive and told us to leave him lying there.  "He'll wake up when he gets too hot" was their verdict.  We moved a broken deck-chair to shade his head and did so.

One thing recommended at the time for gardens was "Dry Wells".  Make a pile of stones as big as possible near to plants that need water.  They heat up during the day and during the night as the air cools moisture condenses out on them and trickles down onto the soil.  I have no idea how effective it might be but it might save you some water carrying.

The forecast here for today is possibly some thunderstorms later.  Unfortunately if they are isolated they usually fall where the ground rises in Broadstairs, St Lawrence and where I live at Westwood.  Unfortunate because few of the gardens that I work in are in those areas and they will remain dry.

So I'm off to work soon and will be finished by eleven, which will suit me very well.

[**bustysinclaire**]

Thank you for the moisture tip, i wouldn't have thought of that. You need all the water you can get when there is such a short supply xx

It is so hot today i don't think i have ever experienced it quit this bad before, it sure feels like it's out done 76 xx

[theelench]

I hope it works, I've never tried it myself but have seen it recommended a few times over the years.  Apparently the bigger the pile of stones the better.

[**bustysinclaire**]

Well thankfully I don't need to try it yet, we have had some welcome rain most of the day yesterday and believe more of the same today.

I'm sure I heard my pumpkins say thank you. Xx

[bankhaunter]

If you had listened carefully, you might have heard a sucking sound.

The cracks in the soil could be thought of as a good sign, it shows that the soil is not sandy and will hold more moisture, particularly with organic matter added.  When I did have a garden the soil was heavy clay and would have cracks a couple of inches wide.

[**bustysinclaire**]

I'll have to go have a listen bank.  Might be loader now we have had a good downpour.

The cracks were huge and deep. We di have clay, hence the towns name Redditch, Red ditch.

[bankhaunter]

There is an old saying,

'Clay soil may break your back but sandy soil will break your heart'.

[**bustysinclaire**]

I can relate to that bank, it got my back this time round, well worth it though.

Home made courgette an lemon cake with one of my whoppers of a courgette.  I didn't even realise there was such a cake untill a friend said she'd make one with a courgette I had gifted her.

 

sorry I wasn't brave enough to show my ugly face with cheesey grin xx

[**bustysinclaire**]

Hi all.

I know big isn't always best but I was away last week and the plot had a lot of natural watering and everything has gone berserk.

My carrots are huge, Ive had hundreds of cherry tomatoes so given loads away and my potatoes are finally doing ok so I dug up one plant to see what I get. Never grown carrots before either.

I'm getting lots of everything except my peas. 

[bankhaunter]

That's reminded me of many years ago when the local small shop occasionally sold vegetables grown in nearby gardens.

I purchased 1 lb of carrots and got just one carrot.

[**bustysinclaire**]

haha, that must have been one big carrot xxx

I've also got 5 mahoosive butternut squash, I picked them as I didn't want them growing any bigger. I have left them in the pollytunnel though so they can change colour. I'll take a picture when they have.

[margaret*e]

Peas are something that seem to have fared badly all over this year with our interesting weather..

We've got a bumper crop of pears and apples in the garden but still a bit on the small side.

[theelench]

It's good to see Busty's getting some returns for all her work despite the "interesting" weather.

Around here apples are fewer in number and much smaller than usual.  Pears not much better although they may swell now we've had some rain.

I've an idea that peas can be a bit finicky even with good growing weather. 

[**bustysinclaire**]

The seasoned growers on our allotments did say they don't ever have success with peas. Mine did start off really well but died off half way through the heatwave, they got watered the same as everything else.

I did assume it could be something in the soil not quite in balance.

The hail did a lot of damage too.

[theelench]

Hail !! I didn't see any of that around here.  Just as well as one thing that kept flowering well through the heat-wave was the roses, they would have been badly damaged by hail stones.

Peas and beans are all from the same family - Leguminosae.  They all have symbiotic bacteria that live in nodules on the roots.  These take nutrients from the plants but in return produce and release nitrogen into the soil which benefits the plants (Chemical-free fertiliser).  Some are quite specific as to which type of pea or bean they will accept as a host.

If anything is out of balance it could well be that there is just not enough of the right type of bacteria.  Your plot was pretty neglected, covered in grass and likely had few of the "wild" varieties of Legumes to keep the bacteria active.  Try growing your peas again next year in the same place.  Once they are in the soil the bacteria will persist for a few years hopefully giving your plants an immediate boost as their population increases again with the next crop. 

A tip I was told for Runner Beans might also help build-up the numbers.  Don't pull your finished pea plants out by the roots, (if you haven't already done so) cut the foliage off but leave the roots in the ground - you're not removing any of the bacteria that is there.  

[bankhaunter]

Talking of peas, back in June I had a meal of 'posh' fish and chips at a pub, it was garnished with a few tips from pea plants.

It was quite tasty.