My new Veg growing diary website.

[vegmandan]

Hello.

This is a shameless plug for my first attempt at an online Veg Growing Diary.

I'll be showing my veg growing progress throughout the year ,plus my attempt to beat my personal record weight for growing an onion of 6lb 10oz.

I have a summary of 2007 on there too.

Please have a look if you can.

Thanks,Dan

www.allotment-diary.co.uk











www.allotment-diary.co.uk

[kedigato]

Hi vegmandan and welcome, we are happy to have you on board.

I looked at your allotment diary and it is very impressive, you obviously put a lot of TLC and time into it. It was very interesting to see how things progressed from a bare bed in March to one full of all sorts of veggies in July.

Those giant onions have to be seen to be believed - really amazing! Well done on them and also on all those 1st prizes that you won.

I think you will inspire us all to try harder this year in our veggie growing attempts.

[windy]

Awwww Vegman am I pleased to see you !!! I first attempted veg last year and had a dreadful time Lost all me second spuds to blight, everything else was chomped by slugs.........I could go on and on !!!! Your plot looks great and so neat and tidy!!! Love your website too...do hope you'll be available for advice...I need as much help as I can get

[DAG]

Hi Dan and welcome, just looked at your site, very impressive indeed, surprised you find any time for computing? Wish I had soil like that, just heavy clay where I am!

[Hoodedclaw]

Hi Dan and welcome, i will keep a good eye progress as i plan to get an allotment in the near future, and will be pinching all your knowledge.

[vegmandan]

dag said:

Hi Dan and welcome, just looked at your site, very impressive indeed, surprised you find any time for computing? Wish I had soil like that, just heavy clay where I am!

My soil is very heavy too.
I've added about 6 inches of grit and tonnes of Horse muck over the years and it improves a bit more every year.
Todays post on my web site shows what I have to do every year and todays painful outcome !


www.allotment-diary.co.uk/

[kedigato]

Sorry to hear about your mishap, Dan.

I've had another look at your allotment thread and think I will try beans again this year. Last year I tried both green- and runner-beans. The green beans were the flop-of-the-year but the runners did produce. However, they soon went tough and stringy. Why was this - did we not pick them quickly enough? I shelled the rest and froze the giant beans inside, they tasted very good. What kind of beans did you have?

[vegmandan]

I'm not a fan of Runner Beans personally but you should always go for a stringless variety like "Lady Di" or similar.

I wouldn't ever pick one if its over 6 in long - lets face it you're going to get 20 times more than you're ever going to eat and they're horrible frozen so why not pick them when they're 4-5 inches long or even 3 inches.

I do love French beans though and I used to grow dwarf varieties outside such as "twiggy" as the name suggests they are fine thin beans and very productive,its the same sort as you find in the supermarket grown in Kenya.
Even "tendercrop"or "the prince" are OK but the finer ones are much better.

Now I only grow them in my polytunnel and I grow a climbing variety called "cobra".

Superb variety,you can pick them when they are as long as your finger or wait 'till they are nearly a foot long and chop 'em up but they are still stringless and seem to go on for ever as long as you keep picking 'em!!

Jesus !! I sound like Percy Thrower-- and I'm only 37..

I need to get out a bit more often !!!

[Admin]

Your onions are brilliant ..I used to grow stringless beans with great success too had too many we were sick of eating beans,
Your allotment is brilliant bet it feels great out in the fresh air working the soil..
if you have any slug tips we would be really interested as slugs are a favourite subject round here.

[vegmandan]

I must admit I''m lucky as far as slugs go as I don't have any of those evil little black ones that burrow into the soil,I think they're called "keel Slugs" or something.
I only have the light brown ones.

As my garden is in an extremely exposed site at a height of 200m it does get the very worst of the Yorkshire weather too so any frosts are more severe and this helps to kill the eggs off especially as I always rough dig all the plots over well before Winter starts to expose a few more eggs to the elements.

I used to completely surround all my beds with very sharp grit paths,and this was an excellent physical barrier,now I have put decking down on top of these paths with a gap of an inch between the boards.
This means that the slugs can't travel between boards except by going through the gap and back onto the gravel underneath.
It works well.

I also have a small pond with a couple of Frogs,they'll take their share aswell.

As far as other deterrants there is the copper banding which you can put round areas which gives them a sort of electric shock when they crawl over it.

Then there's the nematode treatment where you water your plot with these little nematode worms in damp weather and they seek out the slugs and burrow into them and kill them.

I have heard that there is a Garlic based spray product or granules that also works.

I've never subscribed to the beer trap method as this just seemed to ATTRACT more that might not have come in the first place.
Lets face it who can refuse free beer ?

I once considered putting a moat round my beds made of guttering connected up and filled with water then placed at soil level.
I suppose it should work ?

Well thats all I can suggest apart from the bad old slug pellets

[windy]

Excellent!!!! Nice one Dan...the sharp grit paths could be a good option for my little raised beds...mmmm, it'll be a bit of hard work but worth it when we can eat some veg that the slugs haven't tried first Was looking at the nematodes but they're very expensive...the grit will be a cheaper option...you wouldn't believe the problem I have with the slimy gits...I'm becoming obsessed and they're not around yet

[Admin]

funny you say your slugs are different to ours as i noticed kedigatos slugs were different to ours i thought it was maybe because she lives in germany..different species ..
Its a bit heartbreaking when they eat all your crops though..I am over run with frogs here so i havnt ben to bad as far as slugs go but i am moving soon to a garden that i dont think frogs will be able to get into..so i may have a problem ..I shall certainly think of the grit myself then..

[Admin]

I have signed your guest book i will put you a link up for your web site in my web site as i get lots of traffic..cant believe how tidy it all is in your allotment..

[vegmandan]

Thanks for doing that for me,very much appreciated.

As for my tidy plot,It's just to stop anything blowing about and ripping my polytunnel - believe me it doesn't mirror the rest of my lifestyle.

My house is that untidy it always looks like it's just been burgled.

[Admin]

I will sort it today i shall put a direct link to your web site from mine ..my house is tidy but my gardening very untidy i leave trails behind me other half goes mental..i turned my veg plot into a wildflower meadow and pond and its like a jungle..fortunately i am moving soon and the next garden will have to be tidy but still informal i may have space for a raised veg planter i need to see the garden again..but i like cottage garden effects and i could allways grow runner beans amongst the flowers as i love that style of gardening..
sounds a flaming mess allready !!!!