The seed packet says sow thinly. What does that mean?

Imagine how big the final plant will be and how far apart it will need to be from its neighbour.

It’s always easier to thin things out – things like carrots are best sown as thin as possible as pulling them up creates the smell of carrots which can trigger carrot fly to appear!

Grow onions next to carrots to help avoid this anyway! The smell of the onion puts them off.

To sow thinly you need to be careful. Put seed into your palm and sprinkle on carefully with your fingers. Tiny seeds are very hard to do.

I love beetroot!
This isn’t in very straight lines – I don’t use a line when I’m sowing, I’m a bit more freehand. For some things that’s ok – but sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between weed seeds and the seeds you want to grow. A proper straight line allows you to see which is which more easily.

Sow regularly so you can keep picking it rather than it getting big and woody! The smaller ones cook quicker too. You can microwave them too rather than boil!
Eat cooked in salad or make a chutney with it!

I was given some cabbage and cauliflower plants. One is starting to look good already!
It’s next to some rats tail radishes so the picture is a bit crowded.

I’ve got three types of peas on my allotment. Normal ones, a mange tout and Carouby de Maussane sugar snap / mangetout type.

Carouby de Maussane is a tall growing mangetout variety with attractive purple flowers. Large pods up to 11cm long. Good sweet flavour. Height150cm. Very pretty flowers. You could add this to a flower border very easily and people would love it!
Probably not one to mix up with sweet peas though as you don’t want to be eating the sweet pea pods!

Different approaches to starting a new allotment site.

Breaking new ground is hard. If you’ve got problem weeds like couch grass
then you have several different options.

Weedkiller isn’t everyone’s first thought. It’s often thought
of as dangerous and unnecessary. However it can be an effective way of killing
weeds on a new plot. Follow instructions carefully.

Cover in weed fabric for a year. You’d have to plant above ground though
in raised beds. This is an expensive option.

Dig and rotavate: Weed as you go along. The couch grass will still be there
and it’ll be hard work.

Dig, weed and rotavate. Painstaking work. But in theory brings better results.
Unless of course weeds keep growing in from the edges and any paths you leave.

The no dig method has been used in a couple of places by people for potatoes
so it’ll be interesting to see what crops they get.

We’ve had all these options and more used on our allotment site.

My personal method is to break the soil by digging, remove some of the couch
grass, rotavate – or get someone else to do it for me – and then
re-dig and remove more couch grass. It’s not foolproof but by removing
as much couch grass as possible you start off better. I have got a huge compost
pile though of weeds removed from my plot. It’s breaking down nicely though
so I should have tons of top soil to return to my beds. Which method do i think
was least effort for best results? Almost certainly the weedkilling!

We’re planning a big riddle to make it easier to riddle out way through
it.

I’ve also been reading about solarising weeds in black plastic bags.
Things like dandelions which I’d normally throw away!

Even if your summer has been a wash out so far that doesn’t mean it will stay like this! We’ve been promised good weather from the end of the first week in July.

If you’re not that optimistic then you might find it’s time to plan your autumn crops. Take lessons from other more experiences plot holders. When they start planting in the autumn ask what they’re planting!
Broad beans, garlic and shallots are all worth considering for autumn planting. It’s too early to be buying them yet though – so bookmark this page and come back to it nearer the time.

Autumn planting vegetables at Thompson and Morgan

1. Broad beans.
The plotholder on my site has already picked his broad beans and eaten them! Mine planted in spring still aren’t ready.
This autumn I will be planting a row of them on my plot. I will also plant some in spring too though! I love broad beans!

2. Shallots. It’s said that you should plant shallots on the shortest day and harvest them on the longest. That’s that sorted then! It gives them a longer growing season and they’re hardy enough to survive a winter!

3. Salad leaves
Includes lambs lettuce, spinach, mixed leaves! You can try lettuce under a cloche or in pots in a greenhouse. Be brave!

More allotment thefts – it’s bad news to have thefts on allotments.

What can you do to reduce thefts?

• Make the site secure
  Get fencing and gates to keep people out. This isn’t always possible on some
  sites though.
• Ask neighbours to keep a look out.
  Your site neighbours should be the eyes and ears for the plot!
• Ask plotholders to keep an eye out for suspicious behaviour.
• Keep the gate locked at all times.
  How many people could wonder on to a big site with a spade in hand and not
  be challenged?
• Think about property marking your tools. Engrave or stamp your postcode
  on to them.
• Speak to the local crime prevention officer.
• Install shed alarms.
• Chain tools together. It’s harder to carry a fork or spade away if it’s
  attached to a wheelbarrow.
• Look at getting some smart water to mark property. Display signs to say
  things have been marked with it.
• Watch out for second hand gardening items being sold.

rosy apple aphid on apple tree

Cure by washing them off.

I’ve been out with my camera this week! Am impressed by the bees on the broad beans. They can be hard to spot!

My spuds mulched with grass clippings are starting to flower. They’ve done really well!

Of course it’s the digging up that will be the true result!

They were laid on top of a couple of inches of fresh lawn clippings. The spuds were then covered up with lots of lovely top soil. They’ve had some grass mulch on one end of the bed and straw on the other. Because they are quite close together there’s no weeds apart from a dock I found in the corner of the bed where there wasn’t any leaf cover.

I will be videoing the digging up of these potatoes!