SOWING SEEDS IN MAY / ALLOTMENT GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS

[Music] good morning guys welcome back to my allotment Diaries my name's Emma these are the allotment Diaries these are the allotment plots I will be working on today if there's anything left growing if there's anything left growing because we have had a ridiculous amount of rain here in the UK and um the slugs have been out in full force again they are unstoppable this year there are so many of them I've just walked into my allotment site and spoken to two other allotment plot holders who have both said that so many of their crops have been destroyed by slugs now they're on the verge of giving up they are just monstrous this year there's just so many I think it's just a combination the really really wet spring and the mild temperatures now and the fact that it keeps raining on and off and it always seems to rain at night as well that's what I said to everybody I was like the rain seems to be coming early evening into the night which is when the slugs come out anyway so they are just loving it had a little bit of controversy about the Slugs didn't I chopping them chopping them in half I just want to um make one quick point I don't want to keep bringing it up but I did look up online the most humane way of um Exterminating the Slugs and it did say to chop them in half because death is ABS absolutely instantaneous when you chop them in half unlike a lot of the other ways of killing slugs like for example putting them into a salt bath so salt water you know that I'm not a horrible person when it comes to Wildlife I feed the birds I have a hedgehog house I have a pond I feed the fox I feed the cat I gave the fox medicine when it was Ill you know I love Wildlife here but the slugs are taking over this year and they're a complete Menace and Wildlife is not taking care of it because there are just too many of them might be climate change might be the change in weather and temperature I don't know what it is and I don't want to get into that argument right now but all I can say is they are horrendous this year I still have brassas sitting there this is good I still have broad beans this is excellent I also can still see two daier plants look at these look at these I mean this one has been totally munched they've had a really good go at it but I think because the plant is bigger and more robust it's just able to survive that kind of attack same with this one over here look he's fantastic he is every time I come here there's less and less Runner beam plants and now I think I've got one two three four got four left four these are being munched away they absolutely love these they absolutely love them you can see where they've just eaten them down to a stump um but that's okay I mean pumpkins are going to go here really so I see how theyve sort of left the Nerium alone which is what they're supposed to be blooming eating I still have sweet corn absolutely fantastic I mean it's still alive it's still green it's still fairly big brilliant somebody made a comment about um not growing sunflowers and crops together because the sunflowers hinders the growth of some crops and I think that is true for some crops but it's not true for sweet corn apparently I have done a little bit of research on this and apparently sweet corn and sunflowers do make quite good companion plants um a couple of reasons but if you ever go to grow your own Farm You'll Always Find like the sunflower field quite close to the sweet corn field I think one reason is because the sunflower heads attract the birds away from the sweet corn um like the cobs and they they're more interested in the sunflowers so they for them and secondly apparently planting sunflowers around the sweet corn helps with the growth of the sweet corn cuz it helps to break up the soil underneath or something um I'm not sure how much of that is true but that's what I read and that's why I'm going to be putting my sunflowers in with the sweet corn this year but we'll see how it goes guys it's always an experiment don't worry where am I going right over here okay hello corn flowers oh wait what corn flowers yeah that's true where are the corn flowers oh they've just been eaten again for the fourth time but all of these are coming up and these are poppies so these should be quite nice um but unfortunately no corn flowers Tomatoes all survived all doing really well these two got eaten but I I did think they would cuz they were very very tiny but all of these all of these doing great peas are doing absolutely fantastic this needs propping up again this is perpetual spinach keeps falling down better put that up again and then here look at this bed it's really really coming to its own now so we've got the pass Snips the lettuce the sarc and some spinach over there I've actually planted some beach root at home into modules and I've never done that before but because I can't get it to germinate here I thought I'd plant it into modules and then transplant it so trans is that the word transplant yeah I suppose it is plant out transplant um that's what I'll be doing with the uh beetroot I've never done that before with beetroot so that would be a very exciting experiment for anyone who cares that much about beetroot this is the jacket in the other um color that I said the other pattern it's a little bit more out there a little bit bold you know but I I do like it um it's more oversized so this is a medium the other jacket I had wasn't a small this is a medium so it's a bit more oversized I think it's like a size 12 to 14 but I'm a 10 and it kind of this is a good fit you know so here it is it's like I'm being searched at the airport see anyway I can show it off um I'll leave a link to it below as usual if I [Music] remember there you [Music] right I got myself a couple of plants to put out today so this is the um Cafe Cafe delay daia that I said I brought which I have actually got as a tuba but it's just dyed so that's going to go out I think in the next plot next door and this is a Salvia neon absolutely stunning beautiful plant flowers for a very long time and I thought this could go in the area underneath here this is my sort of little Wildlife um not Wildlife but Wild Flower area I think I was going to let it go a bit wild around this beautiful apple tree which is doing so well by the way so happy with it but I don't want to jinx it so I sort don't want to talk about him um but I've got this awkward tree stump here I've sort of cornered the area off and I do have some tulips which are finishing some lavender and I thought the Salvia might do quite well in here so we're going to Whack Him in I'm also going to move that lavender there cuz I think he's in the wrong place just popping on my waterproof gloves these are from cool job these are the best waterproof gloves honestly I've ever used they fit so snugs these are a size small they come in all different sizes they are genuinely genuinely waterproof I could pour water with my hand and my hands would be dry but they're soft and easy to move around in I've always got a link to these below and you can get a discount by using the code Emma glove but honestly out of all the waterproof gloves I've used the cool job ones are by far the best right okay right we're going to move this lavender here I don't think he's in the right place I think he's too close to this bed here and also he's just not doing as well as the other lavender so i s feel like he's in the wrong place so what we're going to do let's dig him up dig him up like [Music] this all right I think you'll be happier here mate and I don't know I hope you will is anybody else when they when they um put dirt around a plant do you ever like gather the leaves up like you're doing someone's hair like I'm going to put it in a hair bubble and then you sort of put it around like that I always do that and I always wonder if anyone else does it cuz I never see like people in gardeners world do that but I always gather up the leaves like that and then push around oh that's Bind W and then I let the leaves go again does everyone do that I reckon everyone does it right I think he'll be better there [Music] right so Cafe delay Cafe delay I think that's what went out in the other bed over there I'm pretty sure I was saying Cafe delay um over there somewhere but basically it's a beautiful daia gorgeous sort of like light pink um darker in the middle just absolutely gorgeous but obviously my tubers are not taking off the way I want them to so I brought this plant the other plant seem to be doing okay so we're going to whack him out I had visions of sort of daers along here um I think this one seems to be growing still which is excellent so hopefully that will take off that's a random blueberry plant but we won't talk about him because he doesn't do anything for me anymore um I just he's just not dying so I'm not taking him out I think we're going to put him in here oh there is a DA here already and there's a daia here how random that there that is daia this and he's sort of been half eaten but that is a leaf so that's been left alone this here is another another daily I put stick in where he supposed to be um he has a couple of leaves but he's been pretty badly eaten it's hard to know what to do because I I want Da is here but do I put all of my no you know what no that's the that's the simple answer I'm not going to put all of my chances on those two teeny tiny little daers there I'm going to whack this one in yep just answered my own question no I'm not going to rely on the actual plants no no no no we're going to put a bigger one in I'm going to put him in in here I'll put him in here and if that daia grows there then so be it so be it yeah I have just literally dug up a daia literally just dug up a daia but it looks like it's not going to do anything Al I did have a DA there I did have a daily there and I've just literally dog him up well at least we're sticking to the original plan of where the dailies are going to be a [Music] [Music] [Music] right so I'm sewing some more beans today so this Arch here which used to house my mini pumpkins this year is going to be a bean Arch Ray so lots of different beans I've already got runner beans got some Nerium along the front absolutely love the way they spill over but I want some more different some different types of beans growing up here so I've got these uh French climbing beans sort of this beautiful purpley color so they can go out now and I've also got these butter beans which also look really beautiful so I think combined with all of the the runner beans as well this should be a really beautiful arch in theory for all grows now I have started these in modules at home and these ones are doing really well so I've got some really good plants and I will bring them um next week to plant out these ones haven't done so well I've only managed to germinate two and then one of them got eaten by a slug so these ones have not done as well I think these ones probably need more warmth so I'm hoping that now would be a good time to plant it out dur um but we will find out so we're just going to whack in the seeds so the beans the be they seeds or beans bean seeds there we go or just call them bean seeds just going to whack them out in between the runner beans right so the idea will be I think to sort of alternate them and I'm literally just going to plant them directly the same way that I actually did with the runner beans they've done quite well as you can see they are still alive beans are really really small I'm not going to uh close up the holes yet so that I remember where I planted them there we go I know these are all too close together but I'm really not worried about spacing right now cuz I know that a lot of them will be eating and munched on beans notorious for being eaten so we're just going to whack them all in see how they go that's a broad bean that is a broad bean that is not a runner Bean that's funny cuz when he first came up he actually did look like that honestly he looked like a runner Bean but look how he's turning out that's a broad Bean unfortunately mate and I hate to do this to you but you're not going to be able to grow up that Archway yeah that's a broad Bean I've got no huse for you there I'm so sorry mate I'm so sorry I hate to do that but there's no way he's going to grow up the arch [Music] I'm going to plant out some Cula and some leaks now it's lots of seed sewing today I'm afraid because I do have quite a lot of home that has got to like I've already planted that's got to a point where it needs to go out I mean my my mini Greenhouse is absolutely bursting with plants they need to go out I've got pumpkins corett uh sweet corn I've got Cosmos flowers got so much to come out but obviously I'm going away this week so when you're watching this I'm in I'm camping right now right now I am sleeping in a tent on the ground so wish me luck I can't put too much out because obviously when you put new plants out they are quite vulnerable and I'd really want to be here and if we're going to get rain the Slugs will come out I need to be protecting them and I just can't do that so they're all going to go out next week so next week is going to be major planting out it's going to be cett pumpkins sweet corn Cosmos what else have I got growing I've got other stuff and I can't remember what it is I've got a lot all the beans as well got more beans to go out so there's a lot to go out next week for now I'm just going to sew some seeds cuz it's going to take about a week for all of this to germinate so it'll be fine while I'm away unless it gets dug up who knows it's all all unpredict unpredictable right okay so this is the bed where we're going to put cular in I've already sewn it but it's has not come up I did it too early so we're going to have a row of Cula and then I'm going to put in a row of leaks as well [Music] some of my broad beans are getting those black flies on them are they aphids or are they black fly something like that now I'm not too worried because I have had blackfly or aphid whatever on Earth it is uh on my broad beans every single year that I've grown them and every single year I've got a fantastic Harvest I've never sort of challenged them I've never sprayed them with anything I've never done anything to them I think perhaps possibly it's just taking some time for the ladyb birds and the other bugs to get going because the weather's been so wet on and off so I'm going to give them a little bit longer to see if they can figure it out I'm not sure if I should pinch the tops off yet so I would like your advice on that what do you think are they ready yet now I know that pinching at the tops is supposed to really put off these little black bugs but they don't seem tall enough yet and they don't seem to have enough height I know they get a lot higher than this so you can see that they are really really taking over the plant can you see them in there they are really really starting to take over some of the plants but like I said I have had this a few times and they've sort of never really it's never really affected them I mean that one there that looks awful I could maybe chop that one down a little bit perhaps but I don't know I mean if I've never done anything to them before and they've always produced a really good harvest I didn't see what the point is of starting like chopping them and spraying them and stuff now I think maybe they've got time to sort of get rid of them themselves like other bugs can come along but I I will support them a little bit more now cuz they're getting quite tall so let's support them and maybe that one in the middle are Cho down a little bit yeah some more support now guys you're welcome look guys just as I was saying that I'm going to leave the black bugs and let the ladyb bird sort them out I've just found found one ladybird on there there he is can you see him in there just one little ladybird on his own and he's not eating them right now but I think he will be but yeah this is this is their Predator this is what eats them and look the ants as well there's an ant there too I'm pretty sure the ant kills them as well so if I leave these I reckon hopefully we'll get more ladyb birds I've just found a load more of our little friends look there's one there there's one there there's a little baby one in there too oh how sweet lovely so so we are getting a lot of them also up here there's a little army of red ants which seem to be handling nose ones there so that's quite good I feel like my instinct to leave these broad beans alone and to not mess with the bugs is correct on this occasion I do think the ladyb beds will come and take care of it I think nature will eat nature and I just I just yeah I think this is fine so I'm going to leave all of the broad beans alone now that I've supported them a bit better and let the ladyb birds and ants do their thing and uh clean them up for me thanks guys it looks like the sun's coming out a little bit now which is quite nice it's nice to end it on a sunny a little bit of sun anyway I don't know if we'll get much more than this but you know I'll take anything right now any sun at all I hope you've enjoyed my Vlog today I will be back again I think I might be back on Friday actually um so stay tuned for that because I do need to do some things before I go away I'm filming this on Thursday last week so this is being filmed Thursday last week I think it's the 20 something 23rd 22nd something like that I'm filming that then um I need to come back tomorrow and sort some stuff out before I go away keep the weeds down and stuff so I might film if I do I'll see you on Friday if not then the Vlogs will be back on Monday but I'll see you one or the other have a lovely rest of your gardening week see you next time thanks for watching bye