Watch out for you tender plants tonight - 3C forecast overnight which could mean a touch of ground frost. Looks like the beans out on Kent House Road site are a goner and last night wasn’t as cold…
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Is it really forecast to be that cold? I thought it was closer to +3, which is still cold! I have 5 rows of Charlotte potatoes up but not sure I can earth them all up (well I can’t so will just have to risk them!).
Either way I am fleecing my tomato plants (as have done this week) in the greenhouse, and have some tealights with some terracotta pots to see if that helps. A couple of the toms already appear to have some damage but hoping most will get through, and the others recover as it looks like it’s getting warmer.
Sorry that is my bad habit of using - instead of ,
it is 3C tonight but that is still cold enough to produce a frost at ground level…
Debating whether to bring in my tender stuff from the garden poly…
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I’ve still been bringing in all my tomato and squash seedlings at home each night - I think it’s worth it as it should only be for another 2-3 days and it’s been a fair bit of work getting the to where they are now! I’ve not even taken them back out today!
We didn’t pay enough attention to the forecasts. Just covered over our potatoes and courgettes at the allotment. The potatoes took a bit of a hit last night or the previous one. Slightly blackened tips- but I think they will recover fine. Not so sure about 4 courgette plants we put out last week. I’ve fleeced over them but they may not recover. - growing some backup anyway.
Just back from checking on my potatoes, tops not looking amazing but bottom 23rds seem fine- just have to hope they survive tonight!
Copper beech maybe?
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More of a shrub than a tree. *Cotinus coggygria Smoke bush
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@Dave_Benson looking at your posts on the forum, you have an impressive talent for identifying plants and trees! Are you a horticulturalist by trade?
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Lovely trees aren’t they?
I have one out front and it is impressive - big ones are expensive too.
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Thanks very much, and, as Chris said, impressive!
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So nice to find this chat 
! We are fledgling gardeners and just built some raised beds. We want to grow veggies and would like to get a big bag of organic top soil to fill the beds. When we’ve had a look online we see mixed reviews and thought it would be good to hear what local gardeners have used! Does anyone have any recommendations of where to get soil that would be suitable for a veg patch?
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Hi there,
I have several spare tomato plants (I think Gardener’s Delight and Outdoor Girl variety) I have been growing indoors. They range from about 10cm-50cm. Unfortunately I am running out of space for them - would anybody like one or more for their allotment/garden? Pickup on Wastdale rd or I could drop off if nearby.
Many thanks
Hi @Cheddarbird
I don’t need any per se but someone at my allotment lost all theirs at the allotment in the cold, a d someone else was isolating so didn’t get started so if you have any spare I’m happy to collect and hand over to both.
Thanks
Al
I suppose it depends how big the beds are. I’ve always just put compost and sometimes manure (latter mainly for squash but some root veg do not like it) . You can order bulk deliveries online, I’ve seen a fee people getting mushroom compost to add to existing soil but not sure how it works if it’s the only thing in the bed.
So how much do you need and what veg? Shannon’s have them and so will other diy centres though availability is hit and miss (or was last time I looked).
How exciting. I used to have raised beds in my last house and they were very productive. We haven’t the space now. I can’t remember how we started them off. My husband made them, but the garden had been a sheep field before we came along and never cultivated, so we planted a huge area with Kerr’s Pink potatoes the first year, just to break up and condition the heavy soil. A TV gardener I was working with had warned me to expect those first season potatoes to be riddlled with wireworm from the grassland. But they weren’t. I didn’t have a single wireworm. The potatoes were the best ever.
I think you’re very wise to go for a recommendation for soil suppliers. We bought in a lorry load of topsoil for our front garden here and it came with the most annoying weed. You can’t go wrong with Shannons, even if it is a bit more pricey than some.
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Great - when can you pick up?
Does anyone still want any tomato plants.
I have spare, they aren’t huge but they are in pots and ready to be potted on or planted out. They are a variety called Tamina
HI @DevonishForester did you try any of the recipes for garlic scapes? I have bought some at last, but they they look tougher than I’d expected and I’m not sure whether I should cut off and discard the flower pod. I was thinking of maybe blanching them then frying in tempura batter, as the Garlic Farm suggests. But they look a bit hard for that.
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