The new allotment

[featherstick]

Be consoled that the more you cut off the runners, the more berries you will get.

[Decaff]

would it be acceptable to pick the berries from another lotties bramble bush? Hmmm I didn't even think of that! Love making bramble jelly and have the attachment for the Kenwood to squish them and remove the seeds! It would save us a trek to our yearly bramble gathering at the bird sanctuary, 18KG picked one year and the most amazing jelly made from it all.

[Decaff]

Lovely day today, was concerned that the snow, hail and frosts would have killed off the onions and garlic but they are coming along fabulously.

Potatoes in the grow bag have started to sprout, 9 in there and another 2 spotted in the raised bed!

Planted out the courgettes and pumpkins, topped up the soil around the potatoes and we dug in more manure and compost into the raised bed. Covered the pumpkins with a cloche to help protect if any frosty nights ahead! Got a big pot ready for the strawberry plants to go in.

Tomorrow will be starting off the butter nuts and leeks, now there is room in the propagator.

Feeling chuffed that things are growing already!

Met another chap who came over and gave us a composting bin! How lovely was that! We scooped up our compost pile and out it in.

Life is good

[Decaff]

Being new to this kind of thing, I've been watching what the other lotties are planting and I noticed a lot of strawberries being planted on various plots along with more potatoes and pea/bean poles springing up! With all that in mind I got 6 strawberry plants and 6 tomato plants (two varieties), planted up the berries in a big pot, forgot the blasted tomato bags so will have to go back tomorrow for those. Got spring onion seeds, pepper seeds and lettuce seeds which I'll do tomorrow.

Wilko had some lovely trough planters which were highly rated online so got 3 of those, one or two for carrots.

Weeds are coming at a rate of knots so pulling them out every day.

[featherstick]

Wilkos gardening stuff is generally really good, I've been impressed over the last couple of years.

Just put a few more strawbs in the back garden myself : )

[Decaff]

Wilkos gardening stuff is generally really good, I've been impressed over the last couple of years.

Just put a few more strawbs in the back garden myself : )

Love strawberries, fond memories of picking as a kid on the PYO farms that used to be around.

B&Q have a good deal on compost at the moment, huge 250 litres for £7.99, I couldn't lift them thanks to my knackered hands so going with Mr D tomorrow to get a few, will need for the carrot troughs.

Gardeners here cut the grass earlier this week, we now have a bag or two of cuttings in the compost bin!

[Decaff]

Did the carrots in two troughs and fleeced over the top to stop carrot fly, made a bamboo wigwam, netted and planted peas, sown spring onions and lettuce seeds, put tomatoes into grow bags and a bamboo frame for them to climb.

Was surprised to see that the strawberry plants have grown already and more flowers on them. Onions looking good, garlic now has couple of inches growth on them.

Swede seeds have germinated on the windowsill already and are about three inches long!

The water tank had overflowed due to the ballcock falling off and we had a river running to the bottom of the plot and a bit of a pond situation, Mr D fixed that and it was drying up when we left. Mr D is preparing the ground for the shed he wants to build.

[featherstick]

I'd keep the grass cuttings for mulch. I watered two patches on Saturday - spuds and strawbs. Spuds were dry again on the surface by Sunday, strawbs were still lovely and damp because they'd been mulched with straw. Similarly in the garden at home, the mulched beds stay much damper much longer.

[Decaff]

I'd keep the grass cuttings for mulch. I watered two patches on Saturday - spuds and strawbs. Spuds were dry again on the surface by Sunday, strawbs were still lovely and damp because they'd been mulched with straw. Similarly in the garden at home, the mulched beds stay much damper much longer.

We have put in the compost bin, there was a delivery of wood chips from local tree surgeon and we mulched between the beds and around the strawbs, smells lovely when you walk on it.

Went round tonight and two tomato plants have been eaten, one of each variety gone! Put slug pellets down.

Two butternut squash seeds germinated overnight on the window sill, one is already two inches long

[Catweazle]

Are you growing any Sunflowers ?

Versatile plants.