Re: My allotment

Picked my first Caul to day as well as first sweet corn.

I think as Sweet corn is a more Tropical fruit it was not so effected by this lack of water or heat.

Rain yesterday but ground is still bone dry and still having to water...lucky that my site has an access to water.

Dug first potatoe but was a waste of time.

Most strawberry plants are dead.

Ps lost all my spring onions.

Will not try Christmas Potatoes this year.

Re: My allotment

Such a shame after we go to the trouble of preparing the ground, planting, growing, weeding, watering . . . and then you lose much of it.

So disappointing this year, and the drought isn't done with us yet either.

Re: My allotment

One great love of my life IS a dish of fried home grown tomatoes and bread and for the last week are having them for supper

With this weather they almost a month early in ripening so if lucky will have 6 weeks before the blight hits and I will pick a bumper crop.

Also eating my sweet corn easy tp prepare and nice to eat.

Planted the last of the leeks...very slow this year.

No Christmas potatoes this year as the Main crop of potatoes are well behind so will leave a couple of plants in for Christmas.

A couple months off before planting Onions Garlic and Winter Cauliflower but hopefully some rain so can start working the ground in the next couple of weeks.

For the first time for years had no white rot on my onions...have used Jayes Fluid to kill the spores so don't know if it was that or the very dry summer.

Inundated with Plums this year am sick of them but none as in the past years have any little bugs in them.

Apples are small as well as the pears so am leaving them till September

One bit of good news is the UJ type bully on the site is leaving he is one nasty type and ran roughshod over everyone else but mostly the Asians and Women and have made some very nice plot holders to leave.

Re: My allotment

Galty, this is probably a daft question, but when you use Jeyes fluid on the soil, it is such a strong smell, I don't understand why that smell and taste isn't absorbed into what ever it is you are growing?

Logic says it can't be absorbed, else no one would use it, but I wonder how long it takes for such a strong disinfectant to disappear from the soil?

It must stay there for a long time, because you said it is still killing the white rot, so I think I might worry a bit about using it where food crops are growing?

Re: My allotment

I had white rot all over my allotment for years was losing over half my onions.

I put highly diluted JF down in the Autumn so it overwintered killing the spores.

Had no white rot this year.

PS it is illeagle to put on the soil

Re: My allotment

I never knew that!

I just tried to google it and it seems it is something to do with EU regs.

Re: My allotment

And the fact that the manufacturer did not apply for a pesticide license after the ruling by the EU.


BUT it worked so up theirs.

Re: My allotment

Surprise,surprise, but then aren"t most things?

Re: My allotment

Just had a tip which I think I will try and its legal I think if it is in this day and age

Last few Years after the first two truss of Tomatoes started growing and being able to pick Have had the Blight strike around the start of September as the air cools and the humidity increases.

Told to Spray the plants with a Baking Soda and water mix.

Supposed to make a film on the leaves that stops the spores infecting the plant.

Re: My allotment

Here you go Galty.
Apparently we're supposed to mix a bit of vegetable oil with it to:


Quote:

Step 1: Mix 3 tablespoons baking soda with 1 gallon of water.This is the baking soda we use: Arm and Hammer Pure Baking Soda.

Step 2: Mix in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or cooking oil of your choice. This helps the spray to stick to the leaves.

Step 3: Mix in 2 drops of dish soap to help emulsify (mix) everything.


It explains more fully here:

https://migardener.com/prevent-kill-...w-baking-soda/