Today due to the heavy rain outside I decided that I would look up new idea's for next year and look at what success and failures I have this year so far.
Problem: This year I lost a lot of sweet pea plant's as a result of them not being planted out. These were planted to late in the spring so this mean't I was limited for time. I also as I have realised that I sowed too many and would have not had enough space to plant them.
Action: I am going to sow less Sweet Pea plants and I will space the Sweet Pea plants 8 inches apart instead of the 4 inches that I was going to plant them this year. The sweet pea seeds will be sown into black polythene pots (which I believe I have in the Greenhouse already) in September/October and overwintered in the Greenhouse down the allotment, or into a cold frame (If I buy a new one). I have worked out that if I were to put the Sweet Peas into Allotment 2 then this would mean that 23 plants would be needed for each side (46 in total) (based on a 15ft row).
Problem: This year I sowed a lot of brassicas at the start of the year but didn't sow any towards the end of spring. The ones that were sown were then transferred down to the Allotment but unfortunately due to lack of time and space, only about a third of them were planted into the Allotment and unfortunately this piece of the ground wasn't manured at all so this resulted in poor results. I also tried to cram in the Brassica's into a too smaller space so this will need to be resolved.
Action: This Autumn I will put on some manure to the parts where Brassica's will be next year (On Allotment 2). I will also sow some Spring Cabbage (End of July and into August) to be planted where Onions and Shallots where this year. I will also sow some Cauliflower seeds which should be ready in January. I have also decided that the Brassica's from Autumn to spring will be planted from right to left so that it allows for space to become available quicker for next year. I will also look at the possibility of sowing some Cauliflower seeds in October in order to allow time for other seeds to be sown earlier next year however this will mean they will take up space that I may need next year so will decide on this closer to the time as these could be sown in January/February. I will also allow more space between the Brassica's as this will then allow the one's I do have to be of a better quality.
Problem: Allotment 2 got a lot of weed's on it especially during the summer. Where compost bins are down the bottom of the Allotment, the weeds are beginning to appear as this piece of ground is unused due to being to close to the hedge.
Action: Due to new rules having been brought in by the local council, the ground up by the compost heaps will need to be covered by weed membrane to stop the weeds from appearing and this will be done during the late summer and into the autumn (weather dependent). Allotment 2 also had a lot of weed's come onto it as it's the first year that it had all been used so this will be dug over once again during the winter and some parts manured. Also due to the Potatoes that were planted and the dry conditions hoeing could not happen as regularly.
Problem: When planning the amount of space for Potatoes was calculated incorrectly. This mean't that when I went to plant the potatoes they took up a lot more space than planned and therefore changed the whole plan of where all the other vegetables where going to be put.
Action: Once all potatoes are up, will decide which grew the best and will pick these/some of these varieties to grow next year. Will also decide if it is worth growing earlier to late main crops or to just grow a a couple of them. This will be decided when a plot plan is done for 2016.
Problem: A lot of time took up due to sorting out raised bed's around the greenhouse and tidying up around this area.
Action: For the end of 2015 and into 2016, there won't need to be a lot done to this area because this has mostly been done. However it will need a slight tidy up at some point and also some more wood bark is likely to be needed. The wormery will also need to be looked at to see if this could be used.
Problem: A lot of time was spend taking up the fruit trees out of the Allotment, potting these up, moving the Polytunnel and generally tidying up.
Action: The fruit trees are all in pots now so this will not need to be done again. The Polytunnel has also been moved but this will need to be more stabilised on Allotment 2 to out weather the Winter. The allotment will also need to be cleared of rubbish more often to keep it from building up.
Problem: The Greenhouse not being used during the Spring and Summer as well as the Polytunnel not being used and Coldframe too small so not all plant's able to hardened off correctly.
Action: The Greenhouse will be used more during the Winter and Spring to over winter vegetable plants. Also it will be tidied up so not to store so much into it so it can be used more as a Greenhouse. The Polytunnel will need stabilising before being mulched in the Winter and being used more next year. Also it could be looked at to plant some vegetables to over winter and use next Spring. The Coldframe will need fixing (Panel of glass missing) and a purchase of another cold frame might be done to allow more space for harding off of plant's.
Problem: Autumn sown onions were in the way when making plans for this year and also were looking very poor in the spring. Also too many of these were sown so this mean't not enough space for other vegetables.
Action: Most of the Autumn Sown Onions will not be planted this year because of the poor results and also because it's better for these to be sown during Spring. However there is a possibility that one or two rows may be sown but this hasn't been decided yet. Garlic and Shallots will be planted during the late autumn and early winter as per usual.
Problem: Once again the raised bed's were overcome by weeds and under-utilised.
Action: Look into possibility of turning the raised beds into nursery bed's in order to start some of the vegetable seedings in. Also cover these over during the winter to stop the compost from sinking.
Success: The Redcurrants, Blackcurrants and Gooseberries have produced well due to the pruning that was done earlier during the year.
Action: These will need to be pruned back hard again during the winter to allow for the same success of fruiting next year.
Success: The whole of Allotment 2 has been completely dug over
Action: As a result of Allotment 2 being completely dug over it mean's this will not be needed next year provided it in kept in a reasonable condition. This means that there will be more time for seed sowing and should allow for quicker planting.
Success: The Kelsae onion's which were sown at the start of the year survived in the ground.
Action: Try to sow Kelsae Onion's again for next year but try to get them in the ground earlier and keep them well watered and fed.
Success: Beetroot came up in the raised bed's successfully
Action: Grow more Beetroot next year.
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