PLANTING OUT THE PUMPKINS / ALLOTMENT GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS

It's alive I've got a hole Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to my allotment diaries. My name is Emma. These are my allotment diaries Thank you so much for tuning in. I've been away camping for a week. I Made it I survived We're all a little bit ill because it's actually a bit colder than we thought it'd be at nighttime But the daytime was beautiful We went to Somerset and we were about 45 minutes from Lyme Regis and it was absolutely beautiful there No Wi-Fi, no phone signal. So literally off-grid for like five days Absolutely incredible and because so much of what I do is online in order to get myself offline I actually physically have to go somewhere where I can't even access the internet because my life is just online and I mean aren't all Of our lives just online right now. So I need like a physical Reason I can't go online to stay offline and camping gives me that so it was honestly amazing Also in my last video, I did launch my merch official Official whack-it-in merch very exciting times. Thank you so much to everyone who ordered a t-shirt I'm still coming to grips like getting to grips with the site that I'm using. So the site I'm using is tea mill It was the site that I found that offers the lowest price for the t-shirts. So I love them I've got them in a range of different colors. We've got them for men women children A lot of you have ordered them for your kids as well. So sweet So lovely and like I said, I'm still getting to terms with the site and last weekend It was free delivery for every order So if you didn't pay delivery this weekend, you were supposed to not pay delivery because it's like a promotion They didn't email me that promotion so I couldn't promote it But I found out how to how to figure out where the promotions are and stuff and I will make sure that I get back So not this weekend, but the next weekend there'll be more free delivery on everything So I'll let you know and but I apologize for that. I'm still getting to terms a little very exciting Thank you. If you ordered a t-shirt, I hope you enjoy them now I'm back here after what five days the wait no longer than that So the last time I was here was last Friday before last so it's been a week and two days since I've been here It's all alive. Like I can't tell you Normally when I leave my plot it goes crazy. It goes absolutely crazy. Everything dies. It's just horrendous this time. I don't know what I've done It's alive. It actually looks better than when I left it and that never happens guys So I was so worried everything would die. It really hasn't look everything's live Alive, do I even have carrots down here? I do still have some carrots growing amazing All of this over here alive look at my cosmos look at all the flowers coming up on here Absolutely, beautiful. I didn't know this is like a different colored cosmos. So every flower is like different. How amazing is that? I've never even heard of that before Potatoes doing really good and we've got more cosmos over here, which is all flowering Fantastic. I've got my Broad beans. These are really tall now. Absolutely brilliant. I have a couple of sunflowers still alive I mean the fact that I have some flowers alive just tells you what different year This is this year is so much better than last year last year. Everything dead this year alive. Look at my runner beans Absolutely amazing. The germination has just kicked off. It's kicked us all kicking off over here Absolutely amazing. I was gonna put French beans in here, but I don't think I've actually got room for both now They might have to go over the archway as well. And then look sweet corn is alive It's all alive, I can't believe it I don't know if it's gonna get much bigger or do anything But the point is it's alive right now So we'll just go with that at the end of my plot. This is where I was so worried. But look at these cornflowers They're massive and actually getting little flower buds on them. Oh my goodness. They've got so big Incredible and then I've got like more cosmos down there. We've got cornflowers Who cares and look look sweet peas sweet peas that are so tall I'm gonna have to retie them or something. Absolutely insane I can even see a few flowers a few little flowers. Oh my goodness. So exciting. They're doing so good Obviously, this is where I made my new path last time and look how well it's done at keeping the weeds at bay That would have been an absolute nightmare. That would have been all grown up over here over all of the raspberries, but it's not Absolutely brilliant if you're new to my channel and you can hear the absolute surprise in my voice that my allotment plot is still alive after Going away Welcome, that's what I'm like. Everything normally dies. This is not a channel for a living allotment plot This is a channel about dead allotment plot where I kill everything but for some reason it's all alive Right polytunnel. This is the thing I was most worried about It's alive The weeds threw me off a little bit I wasn't sure but look alive Alive. Oh my goodness. I have tomatoes growing Alive. Oh alive, but very very small. He didn't get much bigger. Did you might need a bit of a water? They've done really well. There's loads of weeds in here though So I need to sort that out. So few jobs to do that. I can see around the place but on the whole alive So it is time to finally plant out my Jack be little pumpkin plants, which are a smaller Little pumpkin they probably go to about that big Does that make sense so you can kind of hold them in your hand and they are perfect for climbing Pumpkins and climbing over an archway or over a trellis or over a fence or anything really because they don't get too big So they don't weigh the plant down. They're also natural climbers They love to go higher and higher and pull themselves up and because they have little tendrils on them which wrap themselves around Anything really like wire or sticks or fences anything really and pull themselves up So they're a great pumpkin to grow over an archway here are mine. They're about this big now Massive, I know massive. I've never waited this long to plant out a plant before so this is the biggest part I've ever gonna I'm never gonna plant into my allotment plot probably because I'm very impatient But I wanted to wait a while for these ones to get bigger because I don't want them to be eaten straight away I mean they still might be eaten straight away They might still die, but I don't know I feel like the bigger they are the more they can protect themselves a couple of the leaves have actually pulled off Unfortunately, you can kind of see the natural way that the plant wants to grow when it gets bigger like this They're supposed to grow away from the first true leaf, but actually they're not they're growing the same way as the first true leaf So I've always been told you get two seed leaves So you get two seed leaves, which are the first two leaves of the plant So these little ones down here would be the seed leaves you see they look different to the rest of the plant So you see these leaves here? They're like round and this is a pumpkin leaf They're completely different shapes. So the first seed leaves are basically small and round the first true leaf Which I guess would be this one and then it's supposed to grow in the opposite direction of the first tree leaf It's sort of growing sideways To the first tree leaf, but I think when they get bigger you can kind of see what way they naturally sort of want to go They want to go that way Do you know what I mean? So don't bend the plant round try and sort of plant it the way it wants to go and then you won't snap it Anyway, let's get them in the ground. So I'm gonna put two this end one two and One that end and then what I'm doing is I'm actually growing some baby booze at the moment So I'm gonna have a couple of baby booze on this side and maybe one baby boo on that side But I'm trying to be a little bit clever this year because I'm an expert now, obviously There's no dispute in that is there but I'm gonna try and be clever and succession so my pumpkin So my baby booze were only started about two weeks ago They're about that big and then basically what's gonna happen is I'm gonna try and prolong the life of my archway Because we want pumpkins in October, right? Not August. So these will probably give me pumpkins by August Then they'll finish and then I'll still have I still had the baby booze to come So I'm gonna try and be clever, but don't hold me to that because every time I say I'm gonna try and be clever Doesn't work Maybe I should just say I'm gonna be stupid and throw it in and then it'll all grow Right. Here we go. Momentum momentous moment. This is plant knees out. So it sort of wants to go that way, doesn't it? What way do you want to go mate? You need to make up your mind now Where do you want to go? No, this is not That way I think so we're gonna dig a hole Bigger than our pumpkin obviously always dig it bigger Those pumpkins are very hungry plants It's a good idea to kind of bury him a little bit deeper than the soil level So that you sort of almost sitting in a bit of a hole So our compost is so good here. It's so good, right? You're gonna love it here mate Right, so we're taking that Roots the roots Snapped leaf already. I've snapped two leaves already. It's not going Not going brilliant. Oh Cameras wonky. Maybe you're just sulking. She don't want to be out here. I've killed that leaf. You're dead. I'm so sorry Please don't die now. Please don't die. Please don't die. Please don't die The very least you could do is stay alive for me. It's all I want you to do stay alive Look all your leaves are snapping everywhere. What's happening? God's sake why? Just sort of looks really sad to be here and to be alive like Like the other plants have just put him off or something. I don't know what's going on Maybe you'll sort of perk up a bit now I know snapped a couple of these leaves, but you can't hold that against me. Your leaves are very fragile Give me a break. I want you to go that way So for what I do, I've killed another leaf. Oh guys Why am I just killing him? It's me. I'm the biggest predator It's me Why are you dead? Right tie him in sort of loosely like that Sort of knows what way to go now It's up to you now, mate Sometimes I'm just like why can't it just be like put something in and then oh, yeah, that was really good That was really easy. That's gonna live now. That's brilliant Why is it never like that why is it always all I think I've killed him he's gonna die now it looks sad Why can't you plants ever just be happy? Right they're out so I've got to this end here I've tied him in a little bit just to make sure that he doesn't flop over He's a little bit too far away from everything. He needs to grow on his own and then I've got the one One over here as well looking a little bit sad, but the top bit looks okay I think as long as the top bit looks okay, he should be alright I guess because I've never grown I never like planted out pumpkins when they've been this big before I don't really know what to expect. I don't really know if they're supposed to flop over and stuff I kind of feel like they are I don't know why I feel that but I just think maybe they'll just get going I have been hardening them out or hardening them off by the way So taking them outside in the day bringing them back in for the evening. I've done that for about five days That's probably not long enough, but they're gonna have to get on with it The weather is looking fantastic over the next few days. Very very warm. The nights are getting warmer as well I think they're gonna be okay. There we are. The pumpkin archway is officially planted Will it live? We don't know. We hope so But it is always an experiment and I do have more pumpkins growing at home in case they do all die Actually what I might do is put a bit netting over them because like I said birds are one of my biggest Enemies here for pumpkin plants. They love them and they love brassicas too. Who would have thought that pigeons eat brassicas and pumpkins? Not me. I didn't know that before I had an allotment plot. I had no idea. I thought they just ate worms I think this might be a bit thick It'd be better than nothing if this is all I can find I was hoping for more of a net because it's gonna get warm And I don't want to roast the pumpkins to death. I might have a net outside somewhere. I'm always falling over nets, aren't I? Always tripping over them. This is the kind of net. Yeah, that's the kind of net I was thinking of. Okay This is just to get it going. This is just to get it going. So what we'll do Make sure that net goes right to the end there If I can give you any advice as someone who's done this for about four years now and killed everything Always assume the worst. Always assume it's gonna die. Always think Sonic's gonna get it Protect it with your life That's quite a good net. I'm happy with that net. It's ugly. It's annoying It's not whimsical and pretty and beautiful like I want it to be but I tell you what if it keeps them alive I'll be happy and then as soon as they get going and they're like up to here I'll take all that net off and I'll think yeah, you're gonna be alright But what I'll do is I'll leave a net off of that one and I'll just see see what happens Because I do have some baby booze coming. So so protected watered in That's all we can do for the pumpkins What I'm gonna do now is a bit of weeding because I did such a good job Actually before I went on holiday, I did such a good job and the plot looks amazing So now I'm just gonna go around and keep on top of it all I'm so proud of myself. I'm so proud like four years It took me to get to this point where I don't I'm not complacent with it all four years But I got there I Been waiting for about an hour now and I've reached my weeding limit I have to try and remember that I'm gonna be here pretty much every day this week so I can get most of it done But sometimes I just go on I go a bit crazy and I want to get like the whole plot We did straight away, but I know how it makes me feel when I get home I'm like, oh, I don't want to go back there for a while. So trying to pace myself I'm gonna end it in the polytunnel and just do a little bit of weeding around here sort out my tomatoes Give it a good water. I don't know how interesting the vlog this is gonna make me just weeding everything This is the reality when you go away on holiday And you have an allotment plot It's just so much to do when you get back So the string on this tomato has not worked and tomatoes fallen over which is exactly what I did not want it to do And it's got some damage to the stem So I hope he'll be able to repair himself. He looks quite healthy on the top fingers crossed, but this is just snapped off Just not worked at all. And then as I've gone up here, I've got a hole in my window Which is really frustrating. I don't know how that would have happened Unless an animals tried to get in or something. That's really annoying. So I've got this is the first damage I've got to this polytunnel is this is the first year of my polytunnel. No second year second year So this is the first damage I've ever got to it, which is a little bit frustrating. I think actually I Just stake him. I think I'll just stake him. I'll just sort of wrap him around at the moment I don't have any scissors on me surprise surprise surprise surprise I've lost my scissors again Right, you're just gonna have to sort of figure it out mate. I don't know what to do I don't know what to do with you. I'm not that good a gardener. So You could have died in anyone else's garden. They might have been able to save you. I don't know what to do You're on your own. These water things that I made are empty now Let me feel the ground see if it's yeah, it's wet in there. So And they do look like they've been well watered somehow, I think these might have worked I think they might have worked So I might actually just fill them up again and just leave them in here Yeah, and stop them from drying out. I think they've worked Sorry guys Had it just now, but I'll immediately lost it Right looks better in here now that didn't take long just to get it in into ship shape I think it was just a few weeds growing through so I'll quickly just go you through go through what I've got growing in here Because it's all doing. Okay, we've got a few tomatoes dotted about that doing All right, to be honest if these die being cute and actually most shops now even supermarkets are selling really cheap tomato plants So I'll just pick up a couple more and put them in. I think they're gonna be okay But if they're not I'll buy some more doesn't matter Here is my kohlrabi Someone said it's gone over and it won't bulb now, but it does look like it is starting to bulb up Which is what I was looking for So I'm really hoping it will be okay. There's a little tomato in the middle there, which is okay as well This here is some kind of brassica. It could be a cauliflower could be a Cabbage, I'm hoping it's a cauliflower because I like those and then we've got some more tomatoes Garlic which is just doing fabulous I have this kale and I think it might be ready to harvest a bit Might take a little bit home for lunch and just see how it how it tastes really because I've never grown kale before And I do have some more that I've sown. I'm saying from seed at home right now, which I'm excited about And then this is the big mystery So I thought this was a cauliflower or a cabbage, but look what it's doing So, what is that that looks like a kohlrabi or something or a turnip or a Something or other I don't know, but that's definitely not cauliflower or a cabbage So if anybody hasn't any idea what this plant could be it looks fantastic Let me know There we go, then at least I don't have a hole in it right So I'm gonna leave the vlog there. I hope you enjoyed it today. I've also got so much to plant out I've got French beans coming. I've got other squashes. I've got courgettes. I've got some more sunflowers I have like so much stuff that I'm growing at home It needs to now come out and I put it off for a while just because I wanted the weather to get better I wanted to wait for things to be bigger and stronger and but a lot of it is now ready to come out So it's gonna be a lot of planting a lot of seed sowing gonna throw in some more carrots more bits and bobs everywhere So if this is your vibe Subscribe to my channel and follow me along and come along for the allotment journey ride because We're getting into June now and it's a very exciting month because lots gets growing in June I hope you enjoyed my vlog today. If you ordered a t-shirt, thank you so much If not, the link is below you can go and get yourself a wacky in t-shirt or a little bag as well I do it for kids men women. I'll let you know any future promotions that come up. It's just a little bit true I'm trying to navigate the site as well But I hope you enjoy you're enjoying your merchandise if it arrives and you do have a social media I'd love for you to tag tag yourself wearing it or tag me in a picture of you wearing it and I'll share it on my Instagram which has now reached over a hundred thousand followers. So thank you so much if you're one of my 100,000 followers on Instagram I'm over the moon about it and a little bit sort of Shocked and not quite sure how to react because that is a lot of people so Amazing. We're gonna stop rambling. I will see you again on Wednesday get out in your gardens Go whack something in the ground and I'll see you again Wednesday. Bye