Allotment.
 

As there has been very little talk about anything over the last few days, I thought that a mention of the produce of the allotment might provide a response, to date, I have picked twenty-nine pounds of strawberries, (true), five pounds of Blackcurrants, also true, I have been harvesting new potatoes for many weeks, I never ever weigh them, but Mrs. Taddy has not needed to buy any this year, I still have to dig up the main crop Potatoes, and to be honest I am not looking forward to it at my age but it will have to be done, I also have to lift and dry a hundred and twenty onions, I am getting tired just thinking about it but never mind, three or four,(or more) pints of real ale after I have harvested them and I
think that I should be o/k.

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Taddy…you need to get a stall on the Market.
It might pay your power bills.

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we have an allotment but grow nowt apart from grass lol we just use it to sit in the sun.:)

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Thought that was a rare occurrence in UK? :D

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What, the Allotment or the sun?

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The Sun. :)

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it is thats why we sit in it.

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It's good to know that Cashy is keeping, not losing, the plot, as somebody told me recently.

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Update on the onions, lifted them today and there are a hundred and sixty, I did not realise that I had planted so many, never mind the real ale is going down a treat ;);)

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Raw oniogs & real ale, wouldn't want to be down wind of you! :D

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Raw oniogs eh, if you tell me where I can buy the seeds for them I will have a go at growing them Dave, :tongueout

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Taddy I wish you lived near me, I would be happy to be a paying customer. The strawberries in the supermarkets here might be huge but they're also tasteless and dry. If there is any taste to them at all it is tarty. Never sweet. I think they are force-grown or whatever.

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No. Too much Red-Tape & wasting time with Council Jobsworths.


Have you thought about donating it all to 1 or 2 Food Banks?
I believe they're very popular these days and there will never be a shortage people who can't afford food. They'll be glad of it.
You could maybe even post a Sign outside your Home & give it away yourself. Too much effort or Council bureaucracy?

There'll still be places who'll take it for free. Who doesn't like free stuff?

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[QUOTE=skuta;1267652]No. Too much Red-Tape & wasting time with Council Jobsworths.


Have you thought about donating it all to 1 or 2 Food Banks?

Many of these people who "cannot" afford food "can" afford to pay £10/£12 quid a packet for cigarette's and £3-00p plus for a pint and what about the growing band of young and not so young "smackheads"?

If I can put my head down and ar-- up in order to dig, sow and cultivate my own food at seventy five year's of age then why should I give it away to the people who think that the rest of the population owe them a living.

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By the way I do give some away to friends and relations.

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Although that is a kind thought, Skuta, and I am all for helping those who really are less fortunate, I don’t see why Taddy should give the results of his months of work away. I know that if I was a neighbour I would certainly be happy to pay for lovely fresh vegetables and fruit. Why shouldn’t Taddy earn a bit of cash for all the work he has put in, whether he enjoyed doing this or not. I am sure that none of the produce will go to waste, and some of it could be frozen for Mrs Taddy to use at a later date.

Is there a Farmers’ Market there? If there is then that could be the answer.

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Don't beat about the bush mate, if you've got something on your chest just put it out there why not? :D

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Taddy, there is absolutely no need for you to feel you have to justify what you do or don’t do. It’s your business and no one else’s, however well-meaning others might be. Enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labour, you have well and truly earned them. Mrs Taddy is indeed fortunate to have a good supply of these brought right to her door.

I hope you receive a suitable reward – tut! tut! I meant maybe an extra bottle of your favourite tipple.

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[QUOTE=dotti34;1267665]

I hope you receive a suitable reward – tut! tut! I meant maybe an extra bottle of your favourite tipple.

Oh Dotti, Where as years ago I could expect my suitable rewards maybe two or three times a week nowadays they come once or twice a month, (if I can manage it that is ! :hehetable

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Outrageous! If I was you I'd be demanding Chips for tea at the very least twice a week! :D

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Quite right! After all it's his hard work that supplies what goes into it.

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My hard what that goes into what ? this is supposed to be a family site,

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Taddy….I think that the ‘hard what’….was hard work.
It is not an easy job looking after growing things.
Seeds do not plant themselves…neither do spuds and onions leap out of the ground and into your barrow.
Nor do slugs commit suicide rather than eat tender young shoots.
Taking care of an allotment is a lot of BAS (britches ar$e steam) and I would not be giving it away either.
Charity is all very well but a hungry belly makes a good worker.

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A quick update for Skuta, I have just returned from the "Allotment", with four plus pounds of "Blue Lake" green beans, they actually go by the name of French Beans but I cannot call them that when I have grown them in Lancashire, to me they are Lancashire grown green beans and yes Skuta, I have given a quarter of them to a friend. no offence meant.

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the birds have nabbed my blueberries ... ive only had one from the bush .. the rest have disappeared!!!

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Blueberries are a bush that I would love to grow but I believe they need an acidic soil, I have tried to introduce composted leaves into the soil but it does not seem to have any effect, I have been told that by adding a cup full of vinegar to a gallon of water over the whole bed is a quick way of making the soil acidic, I would love any advice on the matter.

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Taddy, I cannot take the credit for this info…it was Googled.
It seems that ammonium sulphate is needed to acidify the soil for blueberries.

My sister in law used to grow lemons(out in Oz)…..she used to save pee to pour on the roots of the tree….she said that this made for very good juicy lemons.
Yes…I know…too much information!

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Margaret, we had a lemon tree at the bottom of the garden which for some 40 or more years produced so many lemons that we were able to keep family and friends well supplied, as well as satisfying our own needs. We never needed to do anything to it except water it, but I will say that if we were having any sort of get-together we would encourage the blokes to go and ‘water’ the roots of the tree rather than use the loo, the men’s ‘equipment’ making it easy for them to do so. That tree produced the juiciest lemons you could wish to have.

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Marge, Dotti, thank you ladies your posts have given me something to think about, but I will not be trying to grow Lemons in Accrington ! there are enough of them already, they go by their other title of "Town Councilors,"

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I hope that you get some of the fertiliser that allows you to grow blueberries, they are really beneficial to health and they taste good too.

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Thanks Marge, when I used to wander the fells around Clitheroe with dog, gun and ferrets forty odd years ago, (with the local farmers permission) I might add, in the spring and early summer I used to leave the said gun and ferrets at home and just take "Rags" one of the best little rabbit hunting dogs that I have known and sadly missed, and we would wander across "Birdy Brow and Longridge Fell picking Billberries/Whinberries, which Mrs Taddy would turn into tarts. Blueberries are of a similar species and probably the nearest that I could artificially Cultivate, if you don't try you won't succeed is a mantra I have Always believed in.

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Bilberries are a bit more tart….and I remember going up over the tops of Todmorden…..towards Gaddings dam…over the moors.
I took a jam jar but ate as many as I collected….as my blue tongue and teeth would confirm.
You could not eat those in secret.
I saw some punnets of these delights recently…priced at £7.50.

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i grow my blueberry bush in a pot .. its got ericaeous compost in it and its grown plenty i get a bag of it from wilkos. according to what ive read .. if you can grow azaleas then you've got the kind of soil to grow a blueberry bush ..

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taddy this is my blueberry bush .. now there is quite a lot of new growth on it .. if you want you can try to take a cutting and grow it on .. and at least ive found some tomatoes on the seeds i threw in some of the pots .. :p

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Shillelagh, why are the "Blueberrries" in picture three "Green"? (only jesting). as for taking a cutting, I do have three blueberry bushes on the allotment but they are not very healthy because of the soil but thank you for the offer.

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you could maybe try this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDieChbjlaU

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Thank you for that, it is really informative, as it happens I have a friend who is a tree surgeon so I have no problem obtaining differing kinds of woodchip, I shall certainly try turning over one of the allotment beds and adding pine tree woodchip this autumn and planting my blueberries into it this, watch this space next year for an update. again, Many thanks.

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good luck taddy xx

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Oh dear, nearly September, for the next couple of months I will be turning over all the beds (vegetable I may add), with a garden fork, with me being a high priest of the "tight arses" religion, there will be no mechanical cultivators involved. I will then have to spread a liberal amount of what is ejected from the rear of farm animals that has been quietly steaming away since March/April and then cover all the beds in black plastic in order to allow the worms and other beneficial organisms to do their work.

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Good for you Farmer Piles! :D No doubt thirst quencing Ale will be on hand during your endeavours? ;)

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Oh, you had better believe it, I am already on my 3rd pint just thinking about it.

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I do not envy you that task Taddy….

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Any time you fancy putting your "wellies" on and getting your hands dirty whilst bending and exercising your back muscles, just give me the word and I will pick you up and you can "Assist" me.;);)

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Taddy, I can sure you that I would be a hindrance.
I have not got Green thumbs….in fact I can make silk flowers die.

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In 2016 I planted Two apple trees, two pear trees and two plumb trees, on my allotment, up until now I have managed to pick maybe a couple of dozen apples, no pears and no plumbs. last Sunday I picked over seven pounds of Damsons, (plumbs) for the first time which Mrs Taddy wanted in order to make Damson jam which was no problem until I had spend over an hour with a de-stoning implement in order to remove the stones before the said Mrs Taddy could convert them into the bottles of jam, i.e. Strawberry, Damson, Blackcurrant etc. I have never been and am not a G-d Botherer but by G-d am I glad that I met her.

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This is possibly the last post on the allotment this year, a "Worcestershire Pearmain" apple tree that was on the allotment when I took it over six years ago has produced a bumper crop this year, i have picked thirty five pounds of fruit which filled four carrier bags, I have given one bag to friends and relatives and Mrs Taddy said that she will use the rest to make and freeze pies and crumbles etc but the thought of the two of us peeling and coring a couple of hundred apples had me dreading the deed.
After looking online, I spotted a "Rotato Express" an electrical gadget that peels all manner of fruit and veg, so as well as the pies and crumbles, Hazel is slicing and freezing or slicing and drying the said hundreds of apples; all we need now is a warehouse to store them in. Your's a happily married Luddite but reasonable gardener.
Taddy.

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As a postscript to my so-called last allotment post this year, I thought that for anyone that is interested I would puff my chest out a Little and list the produce that the said allotment has produced this year.

Plum Tomatoes=3lbs, Green Beans=5lbs, Onions=160, Cucumbers=12, Potatoes=50lbs,
Strawberries= 29lbs, Blackcurrants= 5lbs, Raspberries= 2lbs, Rhubarb= 100 plus stalks, Apples 35lbs
Yours a happy, if sometimes exhausted Chappy, what is the health service guideline? eat your five a day!

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to be honest all we have done on our allotment is relax when its been nice enough, we have an apple tree on ours it gives loads of apples every year.

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Well Done Taddy……look forward to more growing when the season begins next year.

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No, no, no, a simple home made press, big tub & some canister, bit of yeast & away you go! :D:D:D Home made Scrumpy!

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Ooh yes!
I have only had scrumpy once…..it was like rocket fuel…very potent.
I felt like I was plaiting my legs off a pint of that stuff.

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Dave, your comment took me back to the 1980s when our lad was in the Junior leaders' regiment Royal Armoured Corps. Hazel and I went to his passing out parade at 1 RTRs base at Bovington in Dorset. in the evening I called into a local pub where I noticed that they sold scrumpy.
"Good evening, sir" the landlord cheerily asked, "What can I get you", to which I replied I am normally a real ale bitter drinker but I have always had a hankering to taste a pint of scrumpy, no problem sir he said as he pulled me a pint, I enjoyed it so much that after 15/20 minutes or so my glass was empty and I asked for another pint.
"If you have never tried scrumpy before sir, I would be a little bit careful" the landlord said to which I replied, Oh don't worry about me I have been suppin real ale since I was a teenager, "that's ok he answered.
After finishing my second pint I was in need of the loo but when I attempted to leave the bar stool my legs would not do what my brain was telling them although I could think and speak as normal, "Aye that be the scrumpy sir the landlord offered.
Lesson learned, always respect the local's advice when in a strange land. :o:o

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My experience of Scrumpu was in a place called Beer in Devon….and only a pint did it for me.

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Me and Hazel have been there a couple of times, we love the place and raw cider by the way is "Scrumpy" not Scrumpu; unless it affected you like a laxative that is. ;)

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Aye, there are a few anecdotal tales revolving around "Townies" heading to the great outdoors & thinking they know better than the locals be that about the local brew or other country pursuits. :D

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Taddy that was a typo…..if you look on your keyboard the y and the u are next to each other.
I don’t get the ‘laxative’ bit though…you will have to explain it to me.

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Scrumpu, sounds like scrumpoo, I thought that it would be self-explanatory but then again maybe not, sorry.

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I was reading it as Scrumpyou…..so the poo bit did not occur to me.
To the pure all things are pure.

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Well that's me knackered then! :D

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I shall leave an answer to that to an ex British soldier now enjoying the good life in Germany, come on Dave, I have a sense of humour but with never being in the military I cannot match yours.

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Don’t sell yourself short son….’yer blood’s worth bottling’.

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You do not need to be in the military to develop a sense of humour Taddy.
You just have to have lived a varied life and view it as a crazy experiment.

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What a cracking answer, keep it coming, By the way Marge, I don't know whether you fancy a few apples but if we are both still around this time next year then let me know and I will drop you of a few, or even more than a few.

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I hope we will both be around this time next year…..and if we are….then that would be lovely.
Didn’t Eve tempt Adam with an Apple?

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If you're wanting something with a high alcohol content! :D:D

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Tads mate, humour comes in many forms & I do recall you've placed a few chuckleworthy quips on these pages. :)

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So, what is Marge tempting Taddy with? another homeless ferret maybe. ;);)

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You’ll have to wait and see Taddy…and I will too.

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anyone got any idea on how to ripen strawberries? :D ive had a second crop of strawberries on my plants in the pots .. and as you can see .. theyre not turning red and it is a bit late now for them to turn red ..:D:D:D

by the way the photos were taken yesterday (monday)

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Put a banana near them….I am not sure if this will work on fruit still growing, but it works on picked fruit Jen.

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Marge could be spot on with her comment, it certainly works with growing Tomato's, I use Banana skins in the greenhouse every year. works a treat but don't waste good banana's only use the skins

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still have roses coming out!!!! its november!!!!! :D

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November the 8th, just mowed the lawn for the last time this year. Never done it as late as this!
Cheers

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I have only put my central heating on at the beginning of this week…and then only because my other half has just come out of hospital.
I was hoping to get to December!

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Same with me Marge, only put it on today,

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I thought that I had finished with the allotment for this year until I realized that I had sown some Parsnips and forgotten they were there, I dug them up earlier this week and Mrs Taddy turned them into Parsnip Soup, what a revelation, I love any homemade soup that Mrs Taddy ever makes but this one has to be the (creme, de, la, Creme), OK, maybe the spelling is not perfect but after a few, (maybe more),Hobgoblins, what does it matter, I will certainly sleep well tonight.

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I said that I would be back to bore you with allotment tales this year, well here is my first installment, I have today just planted two hundred and sixty four onion sets in seed trays in order to let them obtain a decent root growth before I put them into their final bed on the allotment, plus I have got early and main crop potatoes "chitting", yes that is spelt correctly with a "C" and not an "S", also in seed trays, ready to plant in a couple of weeks or so. (now Hobgoblin Time).

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Today, Planted forty peas, in pots, plus forty six "Huncoat" Climbing Beans in pots, O/K they are called "French" beans on the packet but we have never, ever( been), (a pun), friends of the snail eaters, so if I am planting them in Huncoat and picking them in Huncoat, then they are Huncoat beans.
Putting them in pots is the easy bit, in another month or whatever, when they have developed a decent root growth then I shall have bend my seventy six year old back and replant them into their final bed on the allotment, just the thought of the task is giving me a thirst for a Hobgoblin (or) three.

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ive planted two blueberry bare roots bushes .. got them from poundland .. stuck them in pots and fingers crossed they'll grow!!!!

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I have twice attempted to grow Blueberries from bare rooted cuttings and have had no success at all up to now, best of luck with your two.

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Hi Taddy hope you spelt that one right with the"H"and not a "N" (I do know it should be K)

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Glad to have you back pal but the above post is a bit beyond my comprehension, you will have to explain it to me I am afraid.

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(HOBGOBLIN) Does this help

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I can understand how it would sound by spelling it with an "N" but where does the K come in ? or is it me being more than a bit thick ? if it's too naughty to post on here then please send me a P.M. Regards, :confused:

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Going to risk planting some Duke of York, (no not prince Andrew), early potatoes this afternoon, I have already put a few bottles of the Ruby liquid to one side in case my three score year's and sixteen body is in need of some refreshment on my return! (OF COURSE IT WILL).

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Taddy, I am exhausted just thinking about planting all those vegetables. I would take my hat off to you if I wore one. It must be great to have your own vegetable store when the fruits of your labour are harvested. As it is I envy all you people who can grow things whether of the edible kind or for decoration. At least the succulents my grandson collected for me are doing well but that’s because I leave them strictly alone. A friend gave me another three and said to just stick them in the ground because anyone can grow them. She fibbed.

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Planted one hundred Onion sets, i.e. immature Onions last Sunday, only one hundred and sixty four more to plant plus early and maincrop potatoes, Peas, Huncoat climbing Beans, Parsnips and Plumb Tomatoes, Oh my aching back but it will be worth it come reaping time, (I hope).

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I pulled up half-a-dozen weeds today, but to be fair to myself they were big ones….

Joking aside, Taddy, I am in awe of the amount of effort you put in to your allotment, which results in your very own good supply of fresh vegetables. I bet they taste much better than the shop-bought ones. Well done you.

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Many thanks for that Dotti.

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ive finally thrown some peas in one of the pots, carrots in another, sweetpeas in another .. and sitting on the windowsill is 4 little pots with tomato seeds in .. the cherry kind not the big ones ... i like them better. thinking about throwing some broccoli, salad leaves, spring onions in the other empty ones yet ..

the blueberry bushes up to now are still alive i think ... theyre now out in the back garden ..

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Jen you will be able to trade some veggies with Taddy at this rate.

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i doubt it Margaret .. it all depends on how they grow ... last year i got 3 carrots, 10 spring onions and i was having fights with the birds over the strawberries and the blueberries .. i did get quite a lot of tomatoes tho but they werent turning red .. so eventually i picked them and brought them in .. and finally they started turning red in the warmth .. i eat the last of them at christmas!!! so will see what happens again this year .. all these are just grown in containers in the back garden ..

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[QUOTE=shillelagh;1272040]sitting on the windowsill is 4 little pots with tomato seeds in .. the cherry kind not the big ones ... i like them better.

Same with me Shillelagh, I only grow plum tomato's, (more taste), I keep some of the previous years crop, let the skins rot and plant the seeds in compost until well grown and then replant a dozen into 10" pots in the allotment greenhouse, I was still picking them last year at the end of November.

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latest update ... the peas are growing .. the tomatoes are growing ... the carrots have shoved their heads up above the soil, ive got a couple of strawberry plants that have flowers on, mi blueberry bush has got loads of flowers and the bees are loving it ... but ... the salad and the spring onions something has eaten em .. they started growing .. and all of a sudden theyd disappeared ... so i planted some dwarf runnerbeans in a pot as theyve shoved their heads just above the top of the soil. Now the other blueberry bushes i planted i dont know exactly if theyve took .. im fingers crossed one has ..

by the way .. i have lilies in pots as well .. i was out last night watering em all .. and spotted the dratted lily beetle .. so a warning theyve come out of hiding .. picked em off and squashed em .. stood on them not with fingers ..

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[QUOTE=shillelagh;1272585]latest update ...

by the way .. i have lilies in pots as well .. i was out last night watering em all .. and spotted the dratted lily beetle .. so a warning theyve come out of hiding .. picked em off and squashed em .. stood on them not with fingers .

Oh, you are awful, I am glad that I go by the name of Taddy and not Lily.;);)
In regard to things growing I have really struggled this year, I bought some of this new "Peat Free" Compost in February, planted climbing beans, Brussels, Tomatoes in seed trays indoors, of which none germinated, I tried again a month later, again no show, as a last resort I re-sowed them in good old peat based compost and "Eh Up", I finally have lift off, it will be in late June before they are large enough to transplant and put in their final positions but hopefully they should catch up.
Unfortunately with my health and my good ladies health sadly declining I don't think that the allotment will be a viable proposition next year; I am typing this after returning from Beardwood Hospital after having a (Brain Scan) and before anyone else says it, Yes they did find one but I will have to await the results to find out in what condition it is in. :confused:

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just planted my tomato plants outside!!!! fingers crossed they'll carry on growing :D:D:D ..

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an update ... i now have an aubergine .. and heres photos of them all .. theres loads of blueberries ... :D

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[QUOTE=shillelagh;1272711]an update ... i now have an aubergine .. and heres photos of them all .. theres loads of blueberries ... :

Well done Shillelagh, do you need acid, i.e. Ericaus, (I know that's not spelt right) compost ?

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[QUOTE=taddy;1272712]

the aubergine is in multipurpose compost .. according to the rhs website ... and when a flower appears feed them with tomato feed every 2 weeks .. supposed to be grown in a green house or polytunnel but with the heat at the min its outside in full sun :D ... at the min im ok for ericaceous compost .. thats for the blueberries and i throw a bit at the azalea once a year ...

https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/au.../grow-your-own

by the way if you need any netting poundland has some for £1.50 ive just wrapped the blueberry bush in it .. ive ran out of bird seed .. i aint giving the birds a treat ... they can wait till i go shopping tomorrow!!! :p