BYE BYE SWEETPEAS! / ALLOTMENT GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] good morning guys welcome back to my lopment Diaries my name's Emma these are the lotman Diaries um I would love you to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already every subscriber counts pushes me up the algorithm more people can see my lovely allotment plot and hopefully INSP it will inspire them to grow something to whack something in the ground this year and I would just love that if just one person just decides to grow a pumpkin or plant a seed my job is done um I think everyone should be growing their own food or at least attempting it even just in a in a pot or something because it's it's just changed my life and I think it's so important especially these days with the the situation that we're in economically and stuff it's so important to know where your food is coming from and how hard it is to grow it you know it's a good lesson to learn you're currently watching this on Friday it means that I'm back home from camping but I'm filming it the Friday before so this is last Friday and I haven't yet gone so this is all going to be about preparing my plot for going away for 5 days I'm going camping so I'm not going to be able to see my plot not going to be able to come here and sort it out obviously but I need to make sure that everything is sort of prepared for it the weeds are down as much as I can everything's protected everything that's needs a good water has had a good water all that Malak that's what we're going to be doing today Perpetual spinach keeps falling down I'm going to have to prop that up that's the first job I'm going to do today it keeps falling down it's so [Music] big that's an interesting there right I won't use that that's interesting I've just found something interesting but we'll come back to that [Music] later the CH is a Bo the charge is bolting that means that it's producing flowers now I think that's too late for it it's all bolting I mean I'm going to leave it to flower just because I think any flowers like this is so good for pollinators they really really love vegetable flowers so I'm just going to leave them to flower and uh sort themselves out and to be honest I'm not a massive fan of chard anyway somebody sent me the CH plants for free I think it was Sarah Raven I worked with them last year and they sent me a load of chard plants they're so pretty and I love Rainbow chard I don't really like the taste of it to be honest um and I haven't used it very much so I think I'm just going to use it as plants and flowers and stuff for pollinators so it's not going to complete [Music] waste look how sunny it is today I was just thinking about what a lovely day it is compared to yesterday yesterday was so gray and miserable and actually really cold I was wearing um a jumper a layer underneath and a coat yesterday today glorious sunshine blue skies 20° just may weather is just crazy isn't it right I've gone and brought myself something and I know I I keep buying plants this year and I think you're probably thinking why are you not starting everything from seed I am starting stuff from seed it's just there's lot to go out and um I saw these in a little Nursery so um if you know anywhere where I live there's a garden center next to a school I think it's called wood coat or something opposite that and down the road a bit are like quite a few plant nurseries if you go there on the right day you might find yourself some really cheap sweet pee plants because it's almost like they're trying to get rid of them all now they've obviously got very very big look at this these a serious haircut I think um but they've got so many sweet peas and they're just selling them off for like nothing for like 50p or something ridiculously cheap so I got absolutely hundreds of them um some of them aren't in the best state but I'll sort of pick them off a little bit but um this is the time of year to go and look for cheap plants like sweet peas and stuff cuz like nurseries and Garden Centers do tend to sell them off quite cheap here's the plan you might not like this I've been thinking a lot about the state of these sweet peas recently as you can see they've been munched to death they've had a really bad problem with Leaf Miner which is a little bug that gets in the leaf and eats it from the inside out very difficult to get rid of if you don't treat it early and this is actually a result of a very wet spring so if we have a really wet spring you're more likely to get Leaf Miners and it's very hard to get rid of them once you've got them they kind of infect the whole lot this is a good reason to plant your sweet peas out a bit later in the year sometimes sometimes you get away with it because they are quite Hardy plants but if we end up having a wet spring forget it you know the leaf miners will move in the slugs have moved in they've sort of been destroyed so what I'm going to do is pull out sections of it and replace it with the new sweet peas that's what I'm going to do I know it's plant death it's plant murder but sometimes you got to do what you got to do the question that I'm sitting here asking myself now is do I go bold and pull out all of them even the ones that are doing well because even the ones that are doing well have got Leaf minor damage now do I get rid of the whole lot start again with brand new sweet peas and hope that they don't come back and maybe spray them with the washing up liquid or something to try and deter them or do I leave the ones in that are doing quite well and just replace the ones that are not but then wouldn't the leaf miners just spread they' just be like oh great she's put some more food in for us fantastic yummy yummy is that what they're going to think what do leaf miners think if you're a leaf Miner leave a comment below right right now let me know what you would do oh I don't know it's so annoying cuz this one's doing really well he's a good sweepy he's really making it all but then he's still got the leaf minor damage at the bottom he's still got damage so do I just rip him out what should I do I'm actually going to take my vibes from the SAS on this one who dares wins so I'm going to dare to take them all out that's my dare I dare you to take them all out and replace them all you're on you're run right yeah we're going to take the take the advice of the SAS if if in doubt always take the advice of the SAS that's what I've always said so that's what we're going to do this is the one I'm going to struggle with cuz I know he's got so big no just do it just do it fil food do it gone dead oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh you know what they've got time to I've still got more sweet peas to go in it's going to be fine it's going to be fine relax relax [Music] on [Music] some of them don't look massively healthy so what I'm going to do is chop them I think they've been sitting in those pots for why are my scissors so muddy s about yeah I think they've been sitting in the pots for quite a while that's why they were on offer so I'll chop them down a bit I'm down quite a lot where where are they like what is happening this time all right yeah okay they're there they're good they're fine that's all fine that's probably too far that way they are quite bushy and because it's come from a nursery I sort of feel like they probably pinched them out I didn't ask I probably should have asked that but he's massive he is you sit up there you'll be okay I don't know about you guys you're a little bit weak a choppy Chopper thing oh no some of these are okay that's okay this yellow bit here this can go that doesn't look very healthy doing all right already gosh they're almost as high as the tallest one I had before yeah these look good on this side right there we go the new batch the new batch of swees are in the old batch are going straight into the compost bin as far away from here as possible um I've tied them in as best I can they need a few days to sort of grow and cling on hopefully the bugs will give them that but we'll find out I mean they're already looking a lot healthier than the last Bunch cuz they're not full of holes and slug marks and stuff but that might have been a biggest mistake I've made at my alotment plot so far this year but we will find out I think what I would say is this is the time of year where you can afford to make a few risks and you can afford to make a few mistakes um the weather's quite warm but we're not quite into summer yet so things still have a chance to catch up so if things are really not doing well and you feel like ripping it out I would say go for it you don't have to be as drastic as me and rip the whole crop out but this is the time of year where risks can still pay off whereas if this was later in the year be no chance do you see what I mean so that's why I've done it um I don't think those sweet PE had a chance of getting up to where I wanted them to get to I think the bugs got to them too early now I'm going to protect them and make sure that they don't get attacked by them again early prevention is the best way against Leaf miners so so I'm going to spray them with the uh washing up Liquid now um and keep doing it every week or so to keep them away come on sweet pece you're my last hope [Music] oh W than good back from rench you can [Music] wor right so I'm going to go and protect them with the slug and snail stuff from Richard Jackson the only thing I'm using at the moment for slug defense and um the washing up Liquid spray I forgot to bring some garlic so I haven't put Garlic in it but I think washing up Liquid is supposed to stop Leaf miners so we'll just whack it on now but like I said early prevention is the only way to do it once they've struck it's really hard to get rid of them [Music] come it's not coming we'll come back later [Music] [Music] so annoying one leg isn't going in one leg one leg just highlighting it for everyone this is the leg that's the problem why is he causing me problems why what's wrong with him right so that's the start of a new little swing set for the uh the fox and for Einstein no I'm joking this is going to be a pea structure found some um a little pack of seeds some snap peas that I ordered I think last year I never planted them out anywhere just never got around to it um so I'm going to plant them out this time and I'm going to put them here I I was going to put my sweet corn there hang on a minute hang on a minute what was I going to put my where was I going to put my sweet corn then is my sweet corn going to go there no it's not ignore me the sweet Corn's going here it's because these potato plants have just appeared I didn't actually plant them so they're going to have to come up because I didn't I didn't want those potatoes there they've come up from last year this is more Sunny that's where sweet corn is going so this was free so I'm going to put the peas here I need to make a little structure over it it's not very straight is it why is it wonky why does everything have to be wonky is it really so much to ask that I make a structure that's not wonky it's fine it's fine it's fine let's not kill ourselves over it right we're just oh my God I'm tangled in a I'm tangled in something hang on ah I'm out of it it's okay it's all good right I'm just tying the net using twine see there you go there's your very easy bog standard p PE supporting device oh there's Einstein are you going to go for your food now oh we just missed him I think I got his bottom is he oh there you are there he is hello Einstein I'm going to miss you next week yeah I'm going to miss you you're probably going to miss your meal worms aren't you going to have to fend for yourself next week mate okay well it wasn't youo happy to hear that that's falling down again isn't it why did you keep falling down I pick you up fall down you know I could have ripped you out months ago and I didn't at least you could do is stand up right oh red hand oh ow you biting me for anyway there's your bog standard um P structure very very simple don't overthink it these are sugar snap peas sugar snap PE so we're just going to whack these on in in along the bottom that's what we're going to do what I'm hoping for is that I put all these lovely new seeds in everywhere ow God it red ants hurt more than wasps disgust um I'm going to whack in all these seeds and hope that when I get back next week everything's just grown I tell you what we will actually sew a few more than we need they're probably way too close together but I reckon a lot of them will probably die always assume death that's what I've learn Okay cool so they can climb up there quite happily and we'll do it on the other side as well there we go sugar snap peas are in this little cute structure sweet corn will go next to it they will come up excellent It's all taking shape [Music] right so what I'm going to do now is stay behind and um stay behind stay behind after I've turned the Vlog off do a bit of weeding do a bit of cutting back water a few things that need watering before I go um and that's just all I'm going to do to get the plot ready for me being away for literally 5 days this is how much I have to prepare and plan um but that is just a lot in life isn't it I just want to show you before I end the Vlog my strawberries are starting to grow which is so exciting yeah look at these look at these so exciting this one here looks like he's going to be a good one I think I'm probably going to try and hide him a little bit from the birds and the Slugs I'd like to eat him please um but they're all flowering and they're all starting to develop little tiny green strawberries very exciting times to come absolutely love strawberries also super quick point to make because I haven't addressed it since I made the Hedgehog house no sign of the Hedgehog guys but what I have done because a lot of you gave me some um a lot of you told me to do this is I've taken out the middle bit of the house because it was a little bit too small wasn't it and I put some uh hay in there as well for him always get a little bit worried that I'm going to open it up and see a hedgehog asleep but no just empty but yeah I've taken out the middle bit cuz you said it was a bit too small and I put some straw or hay in there and there he is he's uh got a hedgehog house there I don't know if I've got a hedgehog I haven't seen him but there we go he's got a house now if he wants to come he's also got his own swimming pool he's got a little Pond that you can go and visit and he's got obviously Einstein over there to keep him company so Hedgehog if you are watching this Vlog please do come and use the house it is yours uh you do not have to pay rent but it would be nice if you could help out with some of the slug control that would be fantastic thank you Hedgehog right I'm going to leave the Vlog there I hope you've enjoyed it um I will see you again on Monday happy gardening everyone see you Monday bye