@Gardengirl.. you can achieve the same effect by ramming soil or sand instead of concrete. You would be able to get a very clean slice down the edge of the path and still get very solid job. Concrete is not a cure all, I haven't cemented in any of my projects at home unless absolutely necessary.
I've just started getting duck manure from my neighbours hopefully another good addition to my compost, I'm in negotiations with Mrs Wilderbeast to add a 2nd row of bins which bring me up to 12 pallet bins 😃😃🤯
Seed order arrived yesterday and Charlotte potatoes due after Christmas. I have quite a collection of very large (50lt) would these be big enough to do potatoes in ? I was thinking of putting them in the greenhouse where they would get extra protection against the frost for early starts, any thoughts welcome no idea if this is a good idea or not ?
@Wilderbeast , hello , I have grown potatoes 🥔 in sacks at home and start them off in greenhouse which works well , then put them outside when weather improves One year did try growing them for Christmas , unfortunately we had a few bad frosts and the soil was frozen and when defrosted the potatoes where mush , you win some you lose some !
Went to allotment yesterday , dug up some leeks not that big , these haven’t grown so well this year , the parsnips where the biggest I have ever grown and cut some chard Started burning 🔥 prunings
@Wilderbeast yes you can grow spuds in a large pot or barrel. Use a first or second early. Put no more than 2 tubers in, cover with compost, when tops show, add more gradually until you are couple of inches from the top. When you harvest tip the whole thing out.
The potatoes in potato sacks were disappointing this year in numbers. They were earlies , so this year will try lates instead. It's always a case of trial and error, whatever you grow.
You never get a really big crop but if you're limited for space or want them very early grown under protection they can be worthwhile. Look for trials run by Beechgrove the Scottish gardening programme, I'm sure they will be on iplayer.
Hi guys.. I’m also new to allotmenteering and just got my key last week. I do plan on growing carrots.. I’ve read a lot about carrots not liking rich soil - but is this with regards to nitrogen specifically?
I will be digging up some beds this month and I intend to mulch the surface with well rotted manure and cover with weed membrane until spring - my plan is to do this for the beds intended for my dahlias, sweetcorn and squash.
Should I simply dig the bed for the carrots and not mulch with any manure? Or should I rake in some high potash fertilisers? Do carrots not like ANY fertilisers at all or just the nitrogen rich ones (such as manure)?
I’ve considered the no dig method but decided against it due to the large quantities of compost needed in addition to the need to build raised beds.. which adds a lot to cost, plus given this will be a temporary communal plot I may well move on to a different one the year after..
@celcius_kkw if you look on the Charles Dowding website it does show building the beds without any sides, it's actually his preferred method. Mind that doesn't solve the large compost needs at the beginning with 6 inch needed, it's not such a lot after the 1st year. He recommends an inch layer every autumn. Best luck and enjoy the allotment
@Wilderbeast - my largest bed will be for the dahlias so it probably needs an even thicker layer of compost as the underlying layer probably won’t break down completely by spring.. speaking of large amount of compost - do people ever get them delivered to the allotment site? How do people do it?
@celcius_kkw , a local stable delivers horse manure to a our allotments free , they are pleased to get rid of it Also local tree surgeons deliver bark/tree shredding free and we just help ourselves Both very well used
Posts
I've just started getting duck manure from my neighbours hopefully another good addition to my compost, I'm in negotiations with Mrs Wilderbeast to add a 2nd row of bins which bring me up to 12 pallet bins 😃😃🤯
Seed order arrived yesterday and Charlotte potatoes due after Christmas. I have quite a collection of very large (50lt) would these be big enough to do potatoes in ? I was thinking of putting them in the greenhouse where they would get extra protection against the frost for early starts, any thoughts welcome no idea if this is a good idea or not ?
One year did try growing them for Christmas , unfortunately we had a few bad frosts and the soil was frozen and when defrosted the potatoes where mush , you win some you lose some !
Started burning 🔥 prunings
Also local tree surgeons deliver bark/tree shredding free and we just help ourselves
Both very well used