Thursday 3 March 2011

Improvments on the allotment for 2011

Well I have a few things that I thought I could improve on for the next growing season...which is now the one that is rapidly meeting us so I thought I would share them with you.

Firstly I found that my Aubergine didn't do any good at all and that is probably because it was too cold so this year I will try again but plant it in the greenhouse.

My Grapevines have been moved to a permanent place outside of the greenhouse, I was worried about doing this initially but someone with vines a few plots over gets a good bunch off theirs so I have put mine up as a border between mine and the next plot with a good fencing structure for support...now only time will tell.

I had a great crop of runner beans last year as always but my fencing system was a little off as I didn't have enough upright posts and the beans all trailed along the bottom wire and climbed together around the main posts which whilst not being a problem for the beans themselves made them very difficult to pick and lots were missed. I have now put in plenty of upright poles to hopefully combat this problem and I have also put a row of slabs along the fence to make harvesting a little cleaner...I can spend quite a lot of time looking for my beans and I thought this would make it a little easier. I will also plant them the other side of the fence this year so as not to disturb the crops so much that are planted in front of them!


the runner bean fence with added uprights to improve climb of plants.
The improved bean fence with the path in place!

Lots more pots have been bought for the gravel area around the greenhouse and this is going to be 'The Salad Bar'. All of my salad is going to go here...firstly as it will help prevent slug and snail damage and secondly as it means no matter how wet it is I will be easily able to harvest only what I need as they will be easily accessible and I do prefer my salad 'just picked'. I am going to grow some baby carrots in these tubs too. The only salad that will go into the plot will be my beetroot.

I am hoping for more success with my parsnips this year and so I have sown them into peat pots in the greenhouse to be planted out if they come through...every year so far I have wasted space by planting them directly into the ground...I have also tried 'chitting' them first without much success...this way if nothing happens with the seeds then I won't have wasted the space on the allotment.

I have planted all my Pepper seeds into pots covered with fleece in the greenhouse. Although I have always had peppers it has never been a great harvest and I am hoping that by sowing a little earlier I will be in with the chance of a better crop.

Oh and I am definitely more organised this year. I have all my seeds sorted and everything is looking good...I am even planning ahead for where stuff will go and I hope that this along with all my other new quirks and strategies will give me an excellent season ahead!!

So what improvements have you made for 2011?? Or are you just that great that you didn't have to make nay tweaks this year?

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8 comments:

  1. It took me three attempts before I grew an aubergine. Good luck with your's this year. I haven't thought about tweaks yet, I shall make them as I go along I think.

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  2. With all the improvements you've made a foresee a good year for you :)

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  3. No improvements yet as its to wet to do anything on the plot or even in the garden - working in mud isn;'t ideal. If you smear some vaseline around the pots it seems to stop slugs climbing up the sides. Just a ring not the whole pot. The other thing is to keep them away from anything else the skugs can climb to access your plants - like the side of the greenhouse.

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  4. I am moving my garden to my moms. I would love to grow some salad in pots here how big do the pots need to be. My hubby and I grew some last year I tried to tell him we needed something deeper to put it in and he thought I was wrong. It was only a few inches deep.

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  5. Oooo lots of progress Tanya! :) The excitement is beginning to get too much for us all!

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  6. Thanks Jo...I know now that even if I don't succeed this year I should still try again next year...any tips??

    GLA.. I find the gravel has been an excellent deterrent for the slugs and snails but I do have one side of the greenhouse which is backed up to grass so thanks for the Vaseline tip.

    Carries...if you are growing cut and come again greens then a shallow pot is fine...but if you want to grow lettuce pants then you need something a little deeper...just experiment with different things...the younger you are going to pick the plant the less soil it will need for it's roots. Just get some various sizes...I have several different depths. In deep troughs of about a foot- foot and a half you can even grow baby carrots and celery, the best thing is to decide what you want to grow...then purchase your pots accordingly. If you want some more advice then just ask...always willing to help.. :-)

    Craig...my progress always seems VERY minimal when I see what you have accomplished over the last few months!!...Or maybe you were being sarcastic?? I could perhaps understand why..lol

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  7. The only tip I can think of is to start the seeds off early as they need a long growing season.

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  8. Sounds exciting! I think I may try sowing parsnips in the greenhouse for later planting out. I'm starting from nothing so the year will be one of experiments and learning and hopefully enough success to mitigate the many inevitable failures.

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keep it clean...keep it relevant...I look forward to reading your comments!!