Garden And Gardener

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Archive for the 'allotment' Category

New vegetable seeds for 2018 from Suttons

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

25 new types of vegetable seeds from Suttons available to grow in 2018

New for 2018

 

Tomato Seeds – Red Zebra £2.99

Spinach Seeds – F1 Rubino £2.99

Spinach Seeds – F1 Comred £2.99

Radish Seeds – Diana £2.49

Pepper Chilli Seeds – Pearls £2.99

Pepper Seeds – F1 Cardinal (Purple) £3.49

Onion Seeds – Purplette £1.99

Lettuce Seeds – Rossa di Trento £2.99

Leek Seeds – Chefs White £2.99

Herb Seeds – Basil Round Midnight £2.99

Cucumber Seeds – F1 Zipangu £2.99

Carrot Seeds – F1 Fire Wedge £2.99

Cabbage Seeds – F1 Sunta £3.49

Cabbage (Collard) Seeds – F1 Sweetie £3.99

Beetroot Seeds – F1 Bolder £2.99

Broccoli Seeds – F1 Monclano £4.99

Bean (Dwarf French) Seeds – Cannellino £3.49

Bean (Runner/Butter) Seeds – Czar £3.49

Seed Potatoes – Kingsman £4.99

Seed Potatoes – Golden Wonder 1kg £4.99

Pea Seeds – Blauwschokker £2.99

My allotment

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

Allotment covered in nasturtiums

This yeah my allotment looks really green. You can’t see some of the paths because the nasturtiums have took over. They’re looking really lush and green and they have spread and spread.
I should be out there clearing them away but the flowers are full of bees – both bumbles and honey bees so I’m leaving them as is for now.
When the first frost wilts them I’ll go and pile them up on my compost heap – which is also covered in them.
I quite like their ground cover aspect but the leeks might not feel the same way.

Next year I’m going to pull them all out in July and then see my plot more empty at this time of year. I imagine I’ll get a lot self-seed again like they do. Which is fine. I wouldn’t mind one of two plants but I think they’ve got a bit crazy now. On the bright side they are edible and you can use the leaves and flowers in salads. They are very peppery though so you don’t need many. They might be good in a saag but I’ve never cooked any yet! Maybe this year.

The stick with a bottle on is just a short cane. There’s a borage plant there that’s doing really well too.

Protect your allotment property

Thursday, September 21st, 2017

One of these might be just the thing for fixing all your tools together. It’ll only work on D handle tools, and items you can loop it through. I will be writing about allotment thefts very shortly and what we can do to help reduce the risk!

Ten years ago, the worst that could happen to your garden was that someone might dig up a couple of your prize geraniums. But now, green fingered thieves are much more cunning and come with machinery able to take a BBQ, lawnmower or your favourite gnome.
Master Lock’s legendary 90-year heritage and continued pursuit of excellence ensures its comprehensive range of security products offer the highest levels of strength, reliability and functionality on the market. The security specialist is so commonplace in the US that ‘Master’ is now a byword for ‘padlock’. The founder of the company even helped the world renowned escapologist Harry Houdini devise his acts  in the 1920s.
The Python adjustable locking cable from Master Lock is 1.8m long and 8mm in diameter, ensuring it can coil around furniture of various sizes. This useful garden gadget is constructed using a 100% steel braiding plus is weather tough and rust resistant; whether it is Mother Nature or a pesky burglar your garden furniture and plants will be safe. Similar to a bike lock, but much stronger, simply loop the sturdy cable around a gas canister or ladder and attach to the nearby fence or shed.
There is never not a perfect time to secure your garden furniture. But if you are going away over the summer or preparing to pack up your garden for the winter months, now is the time to act!
Garden theft is big business in the UK with some £4 billion of furniture, plants, paving stones and wildlife stolen each year, a rough estimate published by The Telegraph in 2016.
Master Lock
Python 8418EURD
£24.95

Cheap seeds at T&M

Friday, June 16th, 2017

Cheap seeds at T&M

Vegetable Seeds


Quick – you only have a limited time to take advantage of our very special offer and buy 10 packets of seed for just £5! Choose your favourites from over 250 flower and vegetable varieties.

To receive your offer, simply add your chosen 10 packets from the selected range to your order and your discount will be applied in your shopping basket. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or promotional vouchers. Your 10 cheapest packets of seed will be included in the offer. Hurry, offer ends midnight Sunday 18th June 2017 or while stock lasts.
mse-10for5-flowersmse-10for5-veg

Shallots

Wednesday, October 12th, 2016

I havested my shallots. The red sun did better than the golden ones. So I’ll be trying more red sun next year.
I’ve pickled them according to a recipe my mum gave me.

Use red english shallots if possible.
Peel and top and tail them. Wash thoroughly in cold water a couple of times and then dry them off. Place the shallots in a large china bowl and cover with salt. Leave for a day covered – use a plate if you don’t have a lid for the bowl.
Wash off all the salt and rinse under the tap. Dry them carefully. Pack them into jars tightly and add a pinch of pickling spice – but not too much! Add the pickling vinegar which has been sweetened with demerara sugar to taste. Ensure the shallots are all covered and then lid the jars. Place in a dark cupboard and leave for 3-6 weeks before eating.

pickled shallots

Tomato harvest

Monday, October 10th, 2016

I’ve had a good year for the greenhouse tomatoes. The outdoor ones succumbed to blight rather quickly, and although the sungold lasted a bit longer than the big tomatoes, they too went over very quickly.
homegrown tomatoes

I’ve left the plants there as there are some ripening still, with some green ones. I will leave them a little longer, but it’s getting cold at night now. I’ve shut the greenhouse door now to try and conserve the heat of the day.

My plan for winter will be to empty the greenhouse of all plant material, wash the glass and then add some muck to the beds. I might dig out some of the dry dusty material and make sure it’s packed with muck. The muck then gets to rot down before spring when it’s time to replant the greenhouse.

Gardening goods

Tuesday, July 19th, 2016

Bang good Gardening Goods

Garden Tools
Seeds
Watering & Irrigation
Growing Lamps
Garden Lights
Animal Repeller
Garden Power Tools
Water Gardens & Ponds
Garden Pots & Planters
Garden Landscaping & Decking

Suttons Seed tape offers

Tuesday, March 15th, 2016

SuttonsFeed a family of 4 for up to 26 weeks (depending on how hungry they are!). Sutton’s have developed a new range of seed tapes that make seed sowing and crop planning easier than ever!

Sutton’s top quality seeds are pre-spaced in a biodegradable tape which can be simply rolled out, covered with soil and watered. What’s brand new and exclusive to Suttons is our amazing collection which allows you to feed your family for a season.

Quick & easy! Sow veg seeds in seconds perfect spacing every time! Each collection contains 2m tape of each of ten varieties.

SIMPLY ADD A PACK TO YOUR BASKET THEN USE THE OFFER CODE TAPE16 TO JUST PAY P&P

Delivery will be £4.99 after using the code!

What can you do on the allotment in February?

Tuesday, February 16th, 2016

If your allotment plot is soaking wet still, then don’t walk on it. Don’t dig it, don’t stand ankle deep in the mud crying either, the salt tears are no good for the soil.

It isn’t much better if it’s frozen solid. Leave it alone. You’ll damage soil structure and kill worms, as well as wear yourself out trying to dig frozen ground.

If you needed to dig now then you missed doing this in autumn. You’re really best leaving the soil alone when it is damp and cold. It will recover better if you’ve not pulverised it under your boots.

Tidy the greenhouse, but don’t start sowing seeds unless you’ve got somewhere warm to keep them. If you like to heat a greenhouse then make sure it’s full – some people do a layer of bubble wrap or plastic inside to make it warmer, but another alternative is to use a small plastic greenhouse inside the big greenhouse. Using a blowaway indoors is probably one of the better uses for them. They’re too vulnerable to the wind outside and even tying them down doesn’t help as they’ll get ripped apart by the wind, with just whichever bit you tied down remaining after a storm.

I quite often feel left out as I read on FB that people are busy sowing loads of seeds. I comfort myself in the knowledge that very little benefits from being sown this early unless you plan on keeping your greenhouse warm for the next few months. Dead seedlings aren’t expensive but they are a waste of time. Leave things for a few weeks until March is well upon us and start then. The weather will still be cold, but it will be time to start a few seeds off under cover.

Leeks and sprouts are usually first I think for me, so I’ll post photos of the trays I’m going to use for starting leeks this year. They’re deep polystyrene veg boxes I scrounged from the greengrocers. They should allow a good depth of roots and that should mean thicker plants.

Allotment rents go up in Alderley Edge

Wednesday, February 10th, 2016

Rents on allotments go up in Alderley Edge (Well only on some to bring them up to 15p a meter square.)
That’s still loads less than Oldham’s 24p a meter square.
http://www.alderleyedge.com/news/article/13130/new-rents-for-allotment-holders-agreed

All allotment holders will pay 15p per square metre for the year. The plots vary in size which means that the cheapest will cost about £25 per year whilst the dearest is about £43 per year.

There will be no reduction for senior citizens and the water charges will be passed on the Alderley Edge Allotment and Gardens Society (AEAGS) separately, they are not included in the 15p per square metre.