Plotholders Progress October - November 2014
The Allotted Month- October –November 2014-10-13
I spent an enjoyable afternoon at my allotment on Sunday with my Mum and Dad assisting .I planted a mixture of fruit trees – apples, plums, sweet and sour cherry and pear about 3 years ago not realising how much they would grow and they were beginning to get too big for the plot and too high to easily reach any fruit from the upper branches ,so I decided that some serious lopping was required.
I also had a go at tidying my fruit cage as a lot of the gooseberry bushes I had planted were beginning to burst through the plastic mesh of the cage. Pruning gooseberries is not a very pleasant task as they have vicious thorns .Tough leather gloves are a must when pruning these bushes.
I had planted all of my strawberries in the central portion of my fruit cage however the growth of the currants, raspberries and gooseberries had smothered these and they did very poorly . My plan is to relocate these to a separate bed where they can be properly looked after.
Jobs for this time of year -
Japanese onion sets can be planted now .These are hardy ,short daylight onions which mature faster than normal onions. They don’t store as well however and it is wise to plant a small quantity .
Garlic can also be planted at this time or left until November
Fruit – This is a good month to prune your gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants . Autumn Raspberries need cutting back to ground level .
Vegetables – it is possible to sow a hardy lettuce such as Arctic King in your greenhouse to provide a salad even in the coldest weather
Protect Brussels Sprouts against wind rock by earthing up around the roots and heeling in is a good idea.Where leaves are starting to yellow a bit, apply a high Nitrogen liquid feed.
Digging over - clay soil can be roughly dug and the frirst frosts will help break up the large clods.
Manure used ground to replenish the nutrients used up by this year’s crops.
Composting – now is a good time to empty and turn over the contents of your compost bins . This allows well rotted compost to be taken out and partially decomposed waste to be returned.It is a good idea to vary the layers of soft garden materil with woodier waste material and spriinke some lime or compost activator over each new layer to ais decomposition.
This is a good month to clean and disinfect your green house to remove any possible pests which may overwinter
J Greenfingers
I spent an enjoyable afternoon at my allotment on Sunday with my Mum and Dad assisting .I planted a mixture of fruit trees – apples, plums, sweet and sour cherry and pear about 3 years ago not realising how much they would grow and they were beginning to get too big for the plot and too high to easily reach any fruit from the upper branches ,so I decided that some serious lopping was required.
I also had a go at tidying my fruit cage as a lot of the gooseberry bushes I had planted were beginning to burst through the plastic mesh of the cage. Pruning gooseberries is not a very pleasant task as they have vicious thorns .Tough leather gloves are a must when pruning these bushes.
I had planted all of my strawberries in the central portion of my fruit cage however the growth of the currants, raspberries and gooseberries had smothered these and they did very poorly . My plan is to relocate these to a separate bed where they can be properly looked after.
Jobs for this time of year -
Japanese onion sets can be planted now .These are hardy ,short daylight onions which mature faster than normal onions. They don’t store as well however and it is wise to plant a small quantity .
Garlic can also be planted at this time or left until November
Fruit – This is a good month to prune your gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants . Autumn Raspberries need cutting back to ground level .
Vegetables – it is possible to sow a hardy lettuce such as Arctic King in your greenhouse to provide a salad even in the coldest weather
Protect Brussels Sprouts against wind rock by earthing up around the roots and heeling in is a good idea.Where leaves are starting to yellow a bit, apply a high Nitrogen liquid feed.
Digging over - clay soil can be roughly dug and the frirst frosts will help break up the large clods.
Manure used ground to replenish the nutrients used up by this year’s crops.
Composting – now is a good time to empty and turn over the contents of your compost bins . This allows well rotted compost to be taken out and partially decomposed waste to be returned.It is a good idea to vary the layers of soft garden materil with woodier waste material and spriinke some lime or compost activator over each new layer to ais decomposition.
This is a good month to clean and disinfect your green house to remove any possible pests which may overwinter
J Greenfingers