Allotment plots in Baldock
Small packets of Sunflower seeds are now on sale in the BALGA shop (three seeds for just £1). All money received will be going to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Ukraine. The Sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine so, in addition to raising funds, growing them will help to show support for the Ukrainian people.
On Saturday 30 October from 10am to 3pm, Baldock will have its first Ecofest where people attending can chat with local experts about reducing food waste, growing your own, upcycling and crafting and recycling and composting.
This event will be on the High Street with a variety of stalls booked. BALGA will be there to promote growing your own vegetables, herbs and fruit, answering questions and giving advice on the subject to those attending.
As all of the other harvests are coming to an end, it’s a good idea to start clearing your plot and planting some Autumn onion sets, shallots, garlic and flowering bulbs for a Spring display.
The BALGA Members’ Shop has the following varieties in stock as of 7 October 2021.
As you can see, we now have elephant garlic in stock at £0.70 per clove. Elephant garlic is ideal for roasting with potatoes and vegetables as it has a more subtle flavour than traditional garlic.
It’s a good idea to plant some tulips and daffodils now for a colourful display in Springtime. Why not come to the shop this Sunday (10 am-12 pm) to buy your Autumn planting bulbs, shallot and onion sets and garlic.
I know it’s a little too early to think about Christmas but if you fancy serving new potatoes up with your Christmas dinner, now is a good time to plant seed potatoes. There is no need to chit the seed potatoes because they will grow rapidly in the warm soil. They will be ready from September/October but you can leave them in the ground until Christmas Day. Make sure you earth up in October after the first frosts to protect them from any further hard frosts. I tried it for the last couple of years with great success and I know Mick (Chairman) does it each year. It’s a great way to enjoy fresh potatoes on Christmas Day!
We have plenty of Markies available. Markies is a great variety for making chips with a yellow skin and flesh.
Seed potatoes are currently half price at £0.50 per kg. You may have pulled up onions and garlic and this a great way to fill the empty space. So why not come to the members’ shop this Sunday (10am-12pm) to take advantage of the half price seed potatoes?
The member’s shop will go back to opening 10am – 12pm from the first Sunday in October (4 October). We are continually listening to government guidelines so please observe a social distance when you visit the shop to keep everyone safe.
The autumn onion sets, shallots, garlic, tulip bulbs and daffodils will be available from 4 October 2020 at the BALGA Members’ Shop.
We have two new varieties of onion sets this year called ‘Senshyu Yellow’ (yellow onion with white flesh) and ‘Red Winter’ (red onion). Senshyu onions are a large round onion with a white flesh inside with a mild flavour that would go nicely in a salad. Which? Gardening magazine rated Senshyu onion as number one autumn planted onion during their testing because the onion had one of highest average onion weight and good resistance to bolting, pests and diseases. They gave it an overall rating of five stars. Equally recommended by Which? Magazine was the red onion called Red Winter because it came third best onion and the best red onion. Red Winter is a good quality large onion that can taste quite sweet. Red onion sets are prone to bolting but this particular variety has excellent resistance to bolting and pests and diseases. We also have one variety of shallots called ‘Jermor’ that has a shiny brown skin with a pinkish flesh. This is a good sweet variety to try.
We will have two varieties of garlic called ‘Cristo’ and ‘Vigor’. Cristo is a softneck variety that produces large white bulbs with a strong flavour. Vigor is also a softneck variety and it produces a large white skin with purple bands and huge number of cloves per bulb. We also have a limited number of garlic bulbs that have been grown by an allotment holder in Baldock for over 40 years, and since garlic adapts to suit the soil it is grown in, it is now quite at home.
Unfortunately we have had several reports of different vegetables being taken from tenants’ plots over the past few days at North Road allotment site. We are taking measures to improve the security where there are wooden straining bars. However, please be extra vigilant at both allotment sites and report any suspicious behaviour to your site representative. Please make sure you lock the gate and scramble the code at North Road allotment site and close all gates at Clothall Road.
In the past, I had not been successful with onions or leeks because of the allium leaf miner. The adult flies appear from March to April and September to October and will feed on the leaves of your allium plants before laying her eggs. It attacks all members of the allium family. You can tell the female fly has fed on your leaves because you will see lines of white dots on the leaves on your alliums. The eggs will hatch and become larvae (small maggots) that will tunnel in the foliage, stems and bulbs of the allium plant exposing the plant to diseases and rotting.
So at the end of last year I thought I would protect my plants using insect mesh to stop the allium fly laying eggs on my allium plants. Back in October last year Monty Don on Gardeners’ World said to try planting onion sets in modules in the greenhouse as it will give the onions a head start and avoid cold and wet weather. I knew the allium fly would be unable to access the onions in the greenhouse over winter so I gave it a try.
In April, when the soil had warmed up, I decided to plant the onion plants out. I knew the allium fly could lay her eggs in April so I covered it with insect mesh (which is available at the BALGA Members’ shop).
Finally, it was a success! Have a look at the picture below:
Remember, there is no chemical available that will stop the allium leaf miner so it is best to use insect mesh in March-April and September-October. Perhaps you can try starting your onions in modules this year? It could give you a head start to the season next year and harvest onions early than usual!
Miles
Spring is here with warmer days, lighter evenings and daffodils and tulips blooming. April can be a busy month with seeds to sow and jobs to do around the plot. The lighter evenings also help as there is more time to work in our gardens or plots! April is also a good time to cut the grass and weed regularly and plant perennials for the summer months.
If your daffodils or tulips have finished flowering, now is the perfect time to deadhead the old flowers. This is important so all the energy can go in to the bulb to produce good flowers next year. You should also allow for the stems and leaves to die back naturally. Once the foliage has died back naturally, you can lift it and store it dry and plant it again in the autumn. Of course, if you would prefer, you can leave them in the ground. I plan to lift mine to make more space to grow other crops.
Now is a good time to plant out second earlies, salad and main crop potatoes. Some seed companies suggested waiting to plant main crop as there is no rush to plant them out. You can dig a trench 6 inches deep and place the seed potatoes inside the trench about 12 inches apart and 3 ft between the rows. Main crop potatoes should be spaced at least 18 inches apart to ensure larger potatoes. Or why not try the no dig method? To do this use a dibber to make a 6 inch hole and drop the seed potato into the hole. Click here to find out more information about no dig potatoes. Potatoes are hungry plants and it’s best to plant in well-rotted manure or compost. It might be a good idea to add fish blood and bone, which can be found at our members’ shop for £0.70 a kg. Click here for more information on the fertilisers we sell in the members’ shop and how to use them.
Sweet peas can be planted out in the middle of April. Sweet peas like rich soil, so it’s a good idea to plant in rotted manure or compost and provide them with support to get them off to a good start and you will be rewarded with many flowers.
Now is a great time to harvest the first of asparagus. We’ve had some cold nights, especially at North Road allotment site and its important to protect the asparaus spears by covering it with a fleece. If you want to plant asparagus, April is the last month you can do this. Dig a V shape trench about 8 inches deep and 30cm wide. Create a mound of compost about 7 inches high along the bottom of the trench for the crowns to rest upon. Cover the roots with soil and press firmly and water well. April is the time to harvest spring cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, kale and any remaining leeks you have.
Grass paths or lawns will need to be mowed this month. Resist the temptation to cut quite low, like you would in the summer. It’s much better to mow the lawn quite high to even the grass and when the weather warms up next month, you can cut lower. This will result in a greener and healthier lawn.
Now is a good time to prune cherry and plum trees as they’re growing. You should do this once the leaf buds have opened. Click here to find out how to prune plum trees. Click here to find out how to prune cherry trees.
You should also harden off young plants before planting them outside. Bring the plants outside in the day when it’s warm outside and bring it back in again at night. This will allow young plants to slowly accustom to lower temperatures. Alternatively, cold frames and cloches can be used by opening them in the day and closing them at night.
Now is a good time to plant flowers such as lilies, gladioli and dahlias. Make sure you have good drainage, especially if you’re putting the bulbs in pots or containers because they may rot. Bulbs are usually planted down three times their height and one bulb apart, but it’s best to check the instructions your bulbs came with. Make sure you plant in compost or well-rotted manure. Why not stagger your planting to enjoy blooms all summer?
April is a good time to get ahead and start your seeds. I’ve already sown courgettes and pumpkins indoors and chard and spinach outdoors. See a list of seeds you can sow this month. Click here to have a look at the sowing and harvest chart.
Sow indoors
Sow outdoors:
Click here to see a full list of seeds you can sow this month.
Finally, winter is beginning to recede, we can now begin to sow seeds and plant outdoors. However, we must take in to consideration the weather we had last year. With the freezing temperatures and snow from the Beast from the East! Traditionally, March is a good time to plant out your first early potatoes that have been chitting away. It’s best to do this at the end of the month but check the ground is not too wet and take in to consideration anything Mother Nature has in store for us.
If you have bought some onions and shallots from the members’ shop, now is a good time to plant them out. Make sure that you cover them with netting to protect your onions and shallots from the birds. I have learnt the hard way! They love to pull them out of the ground! If the ground is too wet, it might be better to plant onions or shallots in small pots or seed trays with multi-purpose compost in a greenhouse or in a cold frame to get them started.
If you have not bought your onions or shallots sets yet, we still have some in stock that you can buy any Sunday 10am-12pm at the members’ shop. Click here to find out more information on our current stock.
If you have over wintering brassicas, it’s a good time to give them a feed of sulphate of ammonia. Sulphate of ammonia is a fast-acting nitrogen fertiliser which encourages leafy growth. This is particularly useful for the brassica family as well as lettuce, spinach, rhubarb, leeks and onions. I added one handful (45g) per square metre, mixed it in to the soil and watered it.
Sulphate of ammonia is available in the members’ shop for £0.80 per kg.
Seedlings can get quite leggy if there is not enough light at this time of the year. It’s good practice to wait until mid-March to start sowing your seeds, unless you have a grow light.
In March, you can sow the following seeds outdoors:
Sow undercover:
Sow indoors
March is a good time to prune your roses. Roses can be pruned quite hard to promote vigorous growth. You can find some good advice on how to prune your roses here. Once you have pruned your roses, give them a feed with rose fertiliser to give them a head start. We sell rose fertiliser in the shop, click here to see more information.
As the start of the new growing season approaches, we thought we’d start a new monthly round up of jobs you can do on your plot; starting with suggestions from some of the seed companies.
Whilst it is always tempting to sow seeds because the seed packet tells you to, local knowledge and keeping an eye on what Mother Nature has in store, are much better barometers for knowing what to do and when.
We’ll start this month with Marshalls Seeds’ monthly update, which you can read here. Do bear in mind all the seeds companies are giving us advice…but also trying to sell us their products! However, you can usually pick up some useful tips…and a recipe or two!
Kings Seeds’ blog post for February includes several flower-based jobs including getting your dahlias ready for re-growing if you dug them up over the winter. While Thompson & Morgan’s post is nicely split into the various categories of gardening, including jobs for your fruit garden.
If you’re looking for a useful website with lots of monthly tips and recipes, you can’t go wrong with Allotments & Gardens. See their list of jobs for February here.
Most will agree though, that veg plants like chillies, peppers and tomatoes can be started now. All these need a good amount of heat to help the seeds germinate, so a warm room or heated propagator is what’s needed. I’m about to get mine started as soon as I’ve warmed up my seed compost which has been stored outside. However, I’ve also been lucky enough to overwinter a pepper plant which is already flowering and producing fruit!
Whatever you are sowing, most companies recommend you sow your seeds in a seed compost rather than multi-purpose and we have two types in stock in the members’ shop – Clover Seed Compost and Levingtons F2 Seed Compost.
There hasn’t been too much going on down the allotment for the last couple of months …… even been too cold for weeds and just a bit too wet to work!
In the meantime I have been puzzling over no-dig potatoes. How does that work? My initial solution was to avoid the problem by not growing potatoes this year. However the gardening fraternity are a generous lot and by April I had been asked to grow a row of spuds for a friend.
Up in Weston, the farmers also use no-dig but on a far larger scale. As it happens they are trialling no-dig potatoes this season, so of course I wanted to know how they went about it.
Translated into allotment terms, we start with some levelled ground and place our chitted potatoes on the surface at the usual spacing.
Next comes a layer of manure or compost or both.
On top of this is a layer of straw. This will benefit from a good soaking once it’s in place.
The top layer is grass cuttings – obviously not from grass treated for weeds & moss & such like ! The grass will rot down, and whilst its doing that, it stops the straw blowing about. Thinking ahead to pigeons etc. picking through all those layers, I covered the whole lot with some pea-netting.
Apparently this method will produce potatoes that are a better shape and more regular sized that traditional cultivation. It also avoids stabbing your crop with the garden fork, because you don’t dig them up to harvest and should mean that rogue tubers don’t get left behind in the soil.
We shall see!
Annie