I think I’m ready to brave the weather and go and fill some containers with compost. I am going to do a large pot of leeks and split them up and also start some in modules.
I’ve been looking at this leek moth trap kit on Suttons. Could be useful if you suffer from leek moth.

Leek Moth Trap Refill £4.99
Refill for the leek moth trap – Leek Moths lay their eggs near the base of the plants and the resulting maggots quickly burrow into the foliage. This trap uses the scent of the female moth to attract and catch the male moths (set up in early April to trap the first generation, and in early July to trap the second generation).

Leek Moth Trap £8.99
Leek Moths lay their eggs near the base of the plants and the resulting maggots quickly burrow into the foliage. This trap uses the scent of the female moth to attract and catch the male moths (set up in early April to trap the first generation, and in early July to trap the second generation). Pack contains: 1 trap and hanger, 2 sticky bases and 2 pheremone lures.

Leeks are massively greedy feeders, so if your leeks have not done well then the chances are you just haven’t fed them enough. Continuing to feed the soil with manure applications is part of the solution but you’ll also need plant food scattered on. Chicken manure pellets are good. My dad used to recommend watering them in too on some plants. Leeks are a fantastic crop> They do stand a long time on the plot, but are well worth growing.
We sowed some at the community garden in the polytunnel on Saturday.

Leek Seeds – Musselburgh £4.99

Leek Seeds – Autumn Giant 3 Albana £2.99

Seed Tape – Leeks £2.99

Leek Seeds – Atal £2.55

Leek Seeds – Northern Lights £2.49

Leek Seeds – Musselburgh £1.99

Leek Swiss Giant Zermatt Seeds £1.89

Leek Seeds – Lyon – Prizetaker £1.55

Leek Seeds – Neptune £1.55

Leek Seeds – Autumn Mammoth 2 £0.99

Allotment Vandal in Huddersfield is to apologise to plot holders.

Will there be any offer of payment to pay for the replacement glass?

Hanging Stone Road Allotments has been the victim of repeated vandalism and theft in 2015


http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/teenager-who-trashed-berry-brow-8584892

Droitwich allotments have improved the way they handle the waiting list. People are not contacted every year to see if they still want a plot. This means the list has gone down from over 100 people to being just 22. They reckon that people will only have to wait 2 years to get an allotment now!

More here http://www.droitwichstandard.co.uk/2015/02/06/news-Allotments-chairman-wants-to-see-more-plots-in-Droitwich-126427.html

This guy suggests growing two seeds to a module and planting them out a foot apart. Also feed them heavily as they are greedy feeders and need tons of food if they are to grow well.

I always dib a deep hole and pop leek seedlings in. I normally grow them in a seed tray and dissolve the compost away from the roots carefully. This year I will be trying module growing for leeks. They are very hardy and shouldn’t need any heat.

Leek Seeds – Atal £2.55
A pale green summer-cropping salad leek. Great flavour and uniformity.

Leek Seeds – Autumn Giant 3 Albana £2.99
A top quality leek for a long season of production, giving high yields of flavoursome, medium-sized stems averaging 20-23cm (8-9) in length with little or no bulbing. It also stands extreme weather conditions remarkably well.

Leek Seeds – Autumn Mammoth 2 £0.99
A first class strain to eat and to exhibit. Thick, sturdy white stems. Superb autumn leek – harvest from September to January.

Leek Seeds – Lyon – Prizetaker £1.55
Recommended. Long, thick, pure white stems of mild flavour. Excellent for exhibition if sown in January under glass.

Leek Seeds – Musselburgh £4.99
Part of the Sutton’s Seeds Vegetable Heritage Range Good length, tasty white stems. A milder flavour substitute for onions in many culinary dishes. 4 PACKS Thick, white, tasty stems Extremely winter hardy Traditionally popular variety 1919 packet details – Greatly improved stock of Musselburgh leek, far superior to the ordinary strain. Highly Commended, Royal Horticultural Society, 1918.

Leek Seeds – Neptune £1.55
An impressive leek producing flavoursome white stems that are ready to harvest from November to January. Shows good winter hardiness and resistance to rust.

Leek Seeds – Northern Lights £2.49
This British-bred leek is a real stunner in the winter veg garden, the leaves changing from blue-green to an eye-catching deep purple during the winter months. Stands well during cold weather – harvest from December until late spring.

Leek Swiss Giant Zermatt Seeds £1.89
A dual-purpose leek, for baby or full-size harvest. Pulled young it makes a good milder alternative to spring onions. Salad type.

Seed Tape – Leeks £2.99
Goodbye successional sowing! Just sow once and the mix of varieties mature successionally for a super-long harvest period! Harvest for up to 39 weeks! Excellent winter vegetable. Sow April-May. Harvest September-February. 6m seed tape.

Very neat!

Carrots at Dawn: (or Fifty Shades – with parsnips!)

I’ve read the first four chapters of this so far and am looking forward to reading it. It’s a bit sweary to start you off but that’ll give you an idea whether you’ll enjoy it or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3eKc0eFbIA
Lovely project there to create a strawberry planter from a whole pallet.

The Big allotment challenge starts tonight at 9pm on BBC2.
The new series sees nine talented allotmenteers compete to be crowned this year’s Champion but who will dig their way to victory?

Series 2 (2015)
Gardener
Alan
Alexandra
Jo Jo
Lena
Matt
Rekha
Rob
Sandra
Tony

Presented by Fern Britton
Judges Jim Buttress
Jonathan Moseley
Thane Prince

I’ve put together some slideshows of photos from my allotment site.
They’re on The Garden and Gardener youtube channel.

What most people call raised beds, aren’t really very raised. It would be more accurate to call them edged beds.

What are the advantages of raised beds?

They look very neat. They instantly make a vegetable plot look tidy.
Beds are defined which mean you can see where not to step or walk.
It is an edge to strim to.
When made from different materials they can actually allow you to garden without bending.
It is easy to set out to tackle one raised bed at a time when you’re weeding and you can have a great sense of accomplishment by completely weeding one bed.
You can enrich or sieve soil in a small raised bed to help grow carrots and other root vegetables on stony or poor soil.
You tend only the growing space on your vegetable beds and not the pathed areas.
Pathed areas being more clearly defined means you can deal with these more efficiently by mowing or strimming.
Enrichment of soil takes place only in defined growing areas.
Soil can be better than in the ground as it can be easily amended.
Soil is not walked on which is beneficial for the plant roots and soil structure.
Preparation of raised beds means they may be more weed free.
You can harvest more easily in wet weather as you have paths to stand on whilst you pick crops.
Because of the additional soil enrichment you may be able to crop closer.
Soil should drain better as it is above the ground level. This can help on poor soils.
It can be easier to attach netted covers to raised beds.

Weed suppressant covers can be cut to size and placed in beds at the end of the season.

What are the disadvantages of raised beds?

They require materials (usually wood) to make them, this has a cost.
They take time to make.
Wood rots, especially when it’s in contact with soil.
It is a great place for slugs to hide down the side or as the wood helps keep soil damp and if grass is growing on one side this will trap moisture along the wood too, making it a home for slugs to hide during the day.
They will not last for very long and will need replacing every few years.
Any wood treatment to make them last longer is in contact with the soil which can cause contamination issues.
Preparing area for raised beds needs to be thorough else weeds like couch grass can easily get into the raised bed structure.
Weeds still grow in raised beds.