Monthly tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: With autumn well underway , October is usually a month of shorter days and chilly mornings. For an allotment gardener it presents a good time for lots of lovely winter digging! Getting your plot ready for next season.

Harvesting: Pumpkins and squashes should be harvested now. There is a risk if left too long into October that they may become spoiled by rat damage. Green tomatoes if any suitable ones remain can be put in a box to complete their ripening. Early leeks will be ready for lifting now because they are less hardy than the later cultivars.

Main crop potatoes must be got out of the ground before the end of the month. Harvest the last of the peas and runner bean crops for this year and keep on harvesting chard, spinach, carrots, celeriac, lettuce and oriental vegetables.

Sowing and Planting: Sow winter lettuce and a couple of short rows of winter hardy peas and broad beans towards the end of the month to provide you with an early crop next spring.

Plant out spring cabbage and overwintering types of onion and garlic. It is also a good time to plant rhubarb crowns.

General: Rough dig over heavy ground and leave it in lumps or ridges to be broken down gradually by the winter frosts and rain. It is best to keep off the soil if it is wet or frozen.

Keep an eye on your more tender plants in a greenhouse or poly tunnel. It may be necessary to give some insulation with fleece, bubble sheeting or newspaper (several layers). Wrapping the pots in bubble wrap will also help insulate their roots.

Clean and clear the plot of spent crops and take down crop support poles, taking the soil off the bottom of them before storing them somewhere cool and airy to use next year.

Stake brussels sprouts and broccoli plants to avoid them being blown over in strong winds, it is also worth dragging soil up around the base of the plants to give them extra support.

Monthly tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: September is an excellent time to take stock and review your successes and failures for this season and make plans to ensure that next year will be an improvement on this one past. If you are still developing your allotment you will have plenty of time to prepare the ground whilst making your plans.

Harvesting: Onions and potatoes will need to be got out of the soil before the cold, damp days of autumn arrive. Both will need to be stored somewhere that will keep the frost out. Onions will store best where there is good air circulation and potatoes in the dark to prevent them from turning green.

Harvest apples and pears as they become ready and pick the late seasons strawberries and raspberries to keep them producing fruit. They will keep cropping right until the first frost.

Cut courgettes and marrows regularly because they will be finished by the end of the month as will outdoor tomatoes.

Sowing and Planting: Now we have shorter cooler days it is the perfect time to sow the seed of Oriental vegetables. They will germinate quickly and are hardy enough to withstand the cold of winter and will provide a steady supply of fresh leaves well into the spring of next year. Also make a sowing of hardy winter lettuce and spinach.

Plant out early sown spring cabbage and protect with netting or fleece.

General: Complete the summer pruning of soft fruit bushes, apple and pear trees. Continue with their training and tying in.

Feed all late crops with a general fertiliser e.g.. pelleted chicken manure.

Dig up and compost any plants that have finished their season.

Clear the soil of spent crops and leave it rough dug over for the winter. It is also a good time to sow winter grazing rye as a green manure. It can be dug back into the soil as part of your spring preparations.

Pests and Diseases: Wasps can be a nuisance at this time of the year attracted to decaying fruit. It is good to remember that they are also the gardener’s friend because they are major predators of aphids and caterpillars at this time of the year.

Blight affected potatoes and tomatoes must not be added to your compost heap because they will risk spreading the disease in future seasons.

Elder Stubbs Vegetable Show: Details of the categories of vegetables, flowers and other items are noted in the the link to the Elder Stubbs Vegetable Show typed in blue below. Click on the link to open the page. Other essential information with timing of when to bring your exhibits, the cost etc. are also included.

Invitation to Vegetable Show 2017

The Elder Stubbs Vegetable Show 2017

The Elder Stubbs Festival starts at mid-day.

The Festival is organised by Restore providing fun and entertainment for all the family as well as promoting their work with helping to assist their members who are recovering from mental illness. There will be live music, an interesting range of food and beverages provided by stallholders and from Restore, lots of children activities including face painting, sailboats, pony rides etc. (The described list is based on previous years activities which may change). Community groups also take the opportunity to promote their activities with which they are strongly connected.

Every year Restore staff, members and volunteers work really hard to put on the Festival.

For stall information please contact Rachel Wastie on 01865 455839 or Rachel.wastie@restore .org.uk

 

Crop Rotation

Vegetable Varieties to consider

 

 

 

 

 

Monthly Tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: A time of the year when the short days combined with Wintry weather conditions will make any progress outdoors difficult. If soil conditions are not too wet then it is still beneficial to progress with weed control. It is a good time to catch up on any inside jobs and peruse your seed catalogues to plan for next season. Make an assessment of last season, which crops performed well and which did not.

Consider whether to progress to an organic growing system which will entail a crop rotation which even with conventional growing practices will greatly reduce the risk of pest and diseases.

Look over any produce that has been put into store. Look out for any vermin and signs that they may have been present. Inspect all produce thoroughly, diving down to the bottom of sacks or containers. Remove anything that is damaged or diseased and recycle it through the local council bins.

Vegetables: Sow: There is nothing to sow now but take the time to check over the contents of your seed tin. Some of the packets may be a lot older than you thought. Remember that seeds have a natural shelf life. Check the “sow by” dates and any that are more than 3 years old, bin, and replace with fresh new seed. It is important to do this because as the seed ages it takes more time to germinate and in some cases it may be completely dead. In the New Year you will want quick germination to give you the best start to producing the earliest crops.

Produce in season: Winter and Savoy cabbage, Winter cauliflower, kales, leeks, parsnips, Oriental vegetables and Brussels sprouts.

From the store: Potatoes, onions, shallots, garlic, carrots and beetroot.

Fruit: Apples, late cooking pears.

Monthly Tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: November weather can swing from crisp sunny days filled with blue skies, to dark damp clinging mists and fogs, and frost and rain can be expected in between.

Plan A must be to get as much of the Winter digging completed as possible. This is especially important on heavy clay soils (best to rough dig the soil leaving it in large lumps to break down over the Winter).

If you are planning to order manure it is best to do so before the wet weather begins and the paths then become too wet for vehicle access.

Spreading the manure: Some prefer to spread when it is frosty so wheelbarrows don’t get bogged down and compact the soil. Another view is to cover over the manure heap until near Spring time to avoid leaching nutrients when wet.

Plan B is to to clear and clean the plot of spent or diseased crops. Take a chance to shelter from the cold and wet and give the shed if you have one a good sort out. Check over the bean poles and netting to make sure that they are clean and safe to use again next year. Check stocks of string and garden line and buy new if it is starting to perish.

Vegetables: Sow – If the soil is in good enough condition, sow the hardy round seeded cultivars of peas to produce an early Spring crop. Hardy broad bean seed – Aquadulce Claudia can also be sown and as well as producing an earlier crop it also suffers from considerably less damage from black fly compared to spring sowings. Both will need some protection from the worst of the heavy winter rains, cold icy blasts and freezing soil.

Plant out: Garlic cloves and overwintering onion sets before the soil becomes too wet and sticky. These will struggle if the soil becomes too wet and heavy. On fine days transplant earlier sowings made in containers of broad beans and hardy peas – they will need protection from the worst of the bad weather and they will also benefit from being planted where possible in a sheltered spot.

Collect up all the yellowing and fallen leaves off the brassica plants.

Produce in season: Winter cabbage, kale, leeks, celeriac, parsnip, salsify, scorzonera, spinach, oriental vegetables. Root crops can be more easily lifted from frozen ground if covered by a 3 inch mulch layer of compost or straw. Stored vegetables could include beetroot, carrots, potatoes, onions, shallots, garlic.

Fruit: Clear the soil of weeds and fallen leaves under and around fruit trees and bushes (this reduces the risk of potential future disease problems). Complete any winter pruning but not on frosty days when the wounds will be damaged through freezing which can set off rots.

Take the opportunity to tidy up damaged and snagged shoots and branches by cutting back to clean healthy wood.

Produce in season: Apples, late pears, quince and medlar.

Pests and diseases: A quiet time of the year but still worth inspecting all plants especially those growing in cloches or in polytunnels/greenhouses. Rodents could be troublesome in their search for food and shelter.

 

Monthly Tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: If you are on holiday during this month, its worth asking a neighbouring plot holder to keep an eye on your patch, as no doubt everything will come into season all at once and need picking.

Harvesting: Keep up with the harvesting of all vegetable crops and keep up with the p;icing of runner beans to maintain cropping well into the autumn. Continue with the lifting of potatoes. Prepare to lift onions towards the end of the month. Wait until the tops begin to fall over as this indicates that the bulb has stopped swelling. Dry them before ‘stringing’ and putting into store. These bulb will then keep until next March.

Start to thin apples and pears down to one or two fruits per cluster. The apples and pears will soon begin to colour up. The plums and damsons will be in full flow so harvest regularly.

Harvest soft fruit. The late fruiting raspberries will be cropping well by now.

Sowing and planting: Make the last of any outdoor sowings to provide a late harvest for this season, radishes and lettuce will still produce a crop.

Monthly Tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: July is one of the driest months (though this does not appear at all likely this year), so watering can be essential. You will have noticed moisture retaining benefits of having incorporated manure or organic material into your soil last Winter/Spring.

To improve the soils ability to soak up water, hoeing and cultivating regularly to break up the soil and removing weeds will help with this. Watering is best done in the cool of the evening or early morning.

Harvest: Keep up with the harvesting of all crops because the allotment is now in full production. Lift early potatoes and carry on earthing up the rows. Harvest garlic and shallots as the foliage becomes yellow and strawy. Pick the first of the early tomatoes. Lift Autumn planted onions for immediate use. Continue to pick rhubarb until the end of the month and begin to harvest the main crop of your strawberries. Start to pick plums, early pears and apples.

Sowing and planting: Start sowing the seeds of of the overwintering crops of kales, spring cabbage, radicchio, chicory, spinach beet,  and a hardy type of onion to mature in the early summer of next year. Now is the best time to sow the main crop of carrots to avoid attack from root fly. Continue with successional sowings of beetroot and lettuce. Follow instructions on the back of the seed packet and sow every 2-4 weeks for a continuous supply of crops.

Plant out the last of your marrow, pumpkins, squashes, overwintering cabbages and leeks. Cover with netting to protect them from birds.

General: Start to draw the soil up around the base of Brussels sprouts and sweet corn plants to encourage extra roots.

Pests and diseases: This is the start of the potato blight season, and if the weather is wet and humid then your crop is likely to be at risk. Crop rotation with keeping potatoes away from where previously grown for at least 4 years will help if blight or other diseases  have previously been a problem. An infected plant will have a blackening of the leaves and develop a wet watery rot – infected matter should be binned or burned. The potatoes in the ground can be saved if the tops are cut back to ground level and removed before the rotting gets into the potatoes in the soil.

The main pests are aphids, cabbage white butterflies/caterpillars and pea moth. Aphids can be controlled to some extent by spraying with soapy water. Badly infested plants should be removed. Crops will gradually see the benefit of predators – ladybirds and hoverfly larvae as the season progresses which feeds on the aphids and some chemical sprays can kill these natural predators. Cabbage white butterflies can be kept at bay with a suitable fine meshed cover.

Monthly Tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: Usually the risk of frost has passed by now, and with longer days comes more sunshine and time to be in your allotment. If the weather is dry , then water your seed drills well before sowing any seed – this way the young plants will develop a good root system.

Harvest: Beetroot, broad beans, cabbage, cauliflower, early peas, lettuce, rhubarb, spring onions, radish, spinach can all be harvested now. Lift the earliest potatoes towards the end of the month and continue earthing up the rows of your other varieties. June is the end of the asparagus season, so stop cutting and give the plants a top dressing of good compost to help build up the crowns for next year. Start to harvest the first of your soft fruits.

Sowing and planting: Successional sowings of beetroot, kohl rabi, lettuce and winter cabbage seeds can all be done now – follow the instructions on the back of the seed packets, but it is worth starting them off in trays and then transferring them outside after a couple of weeks. Sow every 2-4 weeks for a continual supply of produce.

Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, celeriac, courgettes, outdoor cucumbers, French and runner beans, leeks, pumpkins, squashes, sweetcorn, outdoor tomatoes, can all be planted out into their final position now. As with all young plants water in carefully and protect from birds with netting.

General:

• Hoe at every opportunity to remove weeds and break up the soil. This allows water to soak down into the earth.
• Train in climbing beans and continue to put in support for your peas. Water along the rows of peas to swell the developing pods.
• Carry on with thinning out of seedlings of earlier sown crops.
• Don’t allow plants growing under glass to dry out or overheat.

Pests and Diseases: Watch out for aphids (black fly on broad beans and greenfly on various crops) and thrips on brassicas – You can spray the plants with soapy water (diluted washing up liquid) or squash the flies between your thumb and finger. Insecticides are available including one based on rapeseed oil.

Broad beans – If blackly are collecting at the tips of the plants often made noticeable by lots of active ants, you can reduce the risk of infestation by pinching out the affected tips of the plants which can be composted.

Carrot fly is a particular problem between May and September – when female flies lay their eggs. The problem can be reduced by growing resistant varieties (eg. Flyaway and Resistafly). Low flying female flies can be deterred by covering with a horticultural fleece or placing 2 feet high barriers around the plants. Biological control with nematodes can be bought from mail order companies.

Cabbage root fly attack the roots of brassicas. Female flies lay their eggs on the soil by the stem of the plants. If this has previously been a problem when transplanting the young plants, place a piece of carpet or cardboard around the base of the plant to create a collar, this will stop the flies from laying their eggs on the soil.

 

 

Monthly Tasks: Elder Stubbs Charity allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.

Overview: May is often thought of as the first month of summer but it marks the end of Spring. It is a month when we can be caught out by mini droughts and heat waves, which can be the biggest threat to any young plants that have recently been transplanted into the open ground or newly emerging seedlings.

Be sure to monitor watering and with young transplants if they look to be flagging from the heat of the sun or drying winds give some shade or wind protection.

May can also be a month with disastrous late frosts and it is helpful to plan for suitable protection where necessary. Heavy rain or hail may also create problems and again where possible provide protection.

Harvest: Sprouting broccoli, cabbage, spinach, rhubarb, spring onions, early sown lettuce, beetroot, radish and peas. Cut asparagus regularly to maintain supply.

Use up the last of the leeks. Clear away any old or finished crops and dig over the soil and prepare ready for the next crop.

General: Thin out whilst still very small, the seedlings of beetroot, carrots, lettuce, onions, parsnips, turnips and always water along the row to settle the disturbed seedlings back in, once the job is completed.

Put up poles for runner and climbing French beans. Support peas and broad beans before they become too tall. Start to earth up potatoes especially if a frost is forecast (covering with grass mowings can also be a useful protection).

Keep hoeing between crops to control weeds and create a “dust mulch” to preserve precious soil moisture. try to water in the cool of the evening if possible using a watering can to direct the water around the root area of the crops.

If you can get it, put some straw under the developing strawberry fruits to keep them off the soil and try to avoid watering them overhead to reduce any problems with mildew.

Start to remove the side shoots on tomatoes.

Pests and diseases: Look out for blackly on broad beans (active ants are a good indicator), grewnfly on peas, lettuce, cabbage root fly, carrot fly. A low toxic remedy can be spraying the affected plants with soapy water (diluted washing up liquid)  or squash the flies with your thumb and finger.

Broad beans – Black fly infestations can be reduced by pinching out the affected tops of the plants where the blackly collects.