AN ALLOTMENT CROP FAIL! / ALLOTMENT GARDENING UK

Good morning guys, welcome back to the vlogs. I have no purpose here today, I've got no real specific reason to be here and I love it, I love it. I was so excited waking up this morning to come down here knowing that I've got nothing to do because it just means that I can potter, pick up jobs here and there wherever I feel like it and just really enjoy the allotment. Sometimes when I've got like a specific plan or a job to do it's sort of that's all I'm thinking of and I come down to the allotment and I'm so tunnel-visioned you know, tunnel-visioned, tunnel-focused, whatever the saying is and but I just all I can do is fixate on that job and do that job and it makes me sort of feel quite stressed and anxious thinking about doing that job because I know I want to get it done not in a bad way but just in a slightly elevates my heart rate kind of way. But on the days where I've got nothing to do and I'm literally just coming down and just trying to sort of figure out what I'm gonna do that day those are the days I enjoy the most and I actually managed to kind of enjoy the allotment plot as a whole and I find myself stopping more and listening to the birds and just you know sitting and just looking at the tulips because there's no rush I don't feel any kind of pressure so that's the kind of day it is today and I'm very glad for it. I need more of these days in my life I think. Right no germination on the new sweet corn yet that's fine they've only just gone in the other sweet corn that we did cover with an a cardo bag look at that that is doing so so well thrilled with it thrilled with it we've got some sunflowers well and truly on the way fantastic our kale is getting bigger and bigger and it's got a kale leaf now that kind of looks like cavolo nero kale so this is like a true leaf this is the crop basically I've got a couple actually and so these will have to come out soon but I'm still so worried about getting them out because they just feel like slug magnets don't they got the courgettes the squash that really needs to be potted on I've got some cucumbers doing really well and a broken don't fix it we've got the cosmos yeah yeah we've got a lot going on this is looking great I think I'll start with a water and water everything really well temperatures looking up temperatures are looking up we're looking into like 20 degrees Sun all day everything in here will dry out very quick particularly bigger crops like the courgettes which I've whacked into the smallest little module and just just to save space I didn't expect all of them to germinate you do not need this many courgette plants guys you really don't but if we have if we've out like I'm not going to not plant them so I'm wondering if it's worth getting a couple of these out today and just seeing how they go because I've got so many I can sort of sacrifice a couple and if I put them out too early and they die it's fine I've got loads more maybe so maybe so right let's water everything and then we'll feed the birdie and we'll go from there all right somebody did warn me about these carrots and said that they need some shade especially if it's getting really hot so I'm gonna put a couple of boards over them strategically I really need it to sort of sit like that how could I do that sticks sticks is always the answer it's very rare that the answer is not stick and you know I said that before I'll say it again I think it needs to go in here what do we think of that then little makeshift bit of shade there I've seen a lot of people use umbrellas which I think is genius I'd love to use an umbrella and just stick it in I've seen so many allotments around here with umbrellas stuck in the ground now I know why but these carrots you're right in the Sun when it gets really hot they will just scorch and it will die so that's better than nothing I think see guys you don't always need to buy all the fancy stuff you see in the garden centers you can just use a plank and some sticks you know never underestimate the potential of a good stick that's what I say he's over here in these bushes somewhere singing away yeah I can sort of see him jumping I don't think the birds really need feeding at this time of year because there are so many things for them to eat at this time of year especially if you're weeding in the garden if you're weeding in the garden the birds love you they'll be your best friend and they'll swoop around and get all the insects and worms that you've kind of unearthed they don't really need us to sort of help them at this time of year but I do it so that I can film him and see him and because I like him so I'm just doing it for social reasons really you know just socializing with the birds he's sitting right up on that tree staring now I'm too near it he's not gonna come down but he might come in a minute because I think he likes to come and say hello as well we're very social me and me and Einstein we're just mates we're just good mates but I don't think they need feeding so don't come for me for feeding the birds at this time of year I know a lot of people are very against it but I'm just doing it so I can say hello to him I'm feeling in the mood to plant things out today I think that's where we are I think we will get a couple of the courgettes out as a little bit of a an experiment because I've got so many like I said it doesn't matter if we lose a few I also think some of the cosmos can most definitely start to go out now because it is I want to have flowers flowering when the tulips are gone so I think cosmos is a great thing to put there so I think we're gonna get the cosmos out a couple of the courgettes and then potentially the kale I'm still so worried about getting the kale out because it just looks like slug magnets the reason why I'm so worried is because they look so delicious and vulnerable they've got no damage on them at all so I'd be really gutted if they get any damage on them and also like I want to eat it like that looks delicious to me I would just the whole thing so if I'm feeling that way the chances are the slugs and snails will be feeling the same way about them so I don't know and I just also I don't really have all my protection in place yet I don't have any slug and snail protection to put down so I think we'll wait on the kale courgettes and cosmos that can go out so let's do that let's do it so we weren't planning on getting stuff out today but because we've got no plan the plan changes the plan becomes fluid so in the name of fluid plans let's plant out cool job gloves on we'll start with the so last year I planted my courgette over here and it did really well so I feel like I'm just gonna whack it in there again I'm just gonna put two plants in there this time and then I've got a couple of other places around the plot for them to go in as well so we're gonna sort of have courgettes everywhere because they do get quite big but I think they're quite good at sort of filling a bed out so I've got plans for them but I think two will go in here right this whole bed really needed topping up and but I haven't managed to do it so what we're gonna do is dig a hole with our hand it's that bindweed Oh dig a hole with our hand where we want it to go more bindweed hang on a second it's trying to fight with nature here and then we will add some compost and new compost to the hole so it's got a bit of nutrients going in there we're just going to take two of the biggest and best-looking courgettes so this one I think it's got some good roots on there right these are very very small for going out I'm not quite sure what I'm thinking I might be having a breakdown right now like I said these are experimental ones because we've got so many I'm getting a lot of questions about if I harden my plants off and the answer is no I mean look at me I'm not even using a trowel to dig a hole hardening off is where you take your plants out of where they've been growing like a greenhouse or indoors and then you take them back in at night and then you take them out in the day and you take them back in at night and you basically get them used to being outside the idea being that it's not a shock to the plants when they get planted outside in the cold and they're kind of used to the environment it's something that I did right at the beginning when I first started gardening and because I wanted to do everything properly but it's one of those jobs that is sort of I just don't bother to do anymore it just slips you know and I just stopped bothering doing it and I've never really found a problem with my plants they never really have a problem going straight out and sometimes they sulk for a little bit like I said and they flop over and look a bit sad but they never just outright die they always come back stronger so I'm just on the theory of you know be cruel to be kind that's my theory really I might stick one more out it doesn't look quite right with two plants for some reason I think it needs a third plant otherwise it just doesn't look right it just looks wrong there we go it looks far more even with three plants all right let's get in the water obviously putting any new plants into this bed right now is a bit of a risk because it's the perfect slug and snail hiding ground they could be hiding under all of these leaves and I don't want to take up the foliage of the tulips until they've died back so that it feeds the bulb for next year I think I can just about get away with it I'm gonna whack them in and see I can see some space for them is what I mean I'm just gonna have to go for it and take a bit of a risk because I think they are okay to go out now the other cosmos I got out is fine it's all doing fine it's quite hard for me to know what's a weed because I think about a year ago I put in some wildflowers here and nothing happened they didn't come up but I think this year look at this I think they've started to flower and I sort of I'm looking at some of the weeds and they're sort of looking like sort of flower weeds like something that maybe a wild flower would come from my god Einstein landed right next to me then gave me such a fright yeah some of them I recognize I think this is poppy I think that's a poppy I think some of these are Californian poppies I can sort of recognize those ones some of them have got quite big as well so I'll leave those because they're fantastic in the garden obviously this one is gorgeous if I see any foliage like that I'll leave it dandelions can come out and what about that I don't know what that is it's really big I think I might leave that also what on earth has happened to this tulip look at the leaves it's gone all white and stripy I hope that's not a sign of some kind of disease that's the last thing I need in this bed full of tulips that's really weird that is I think we're just gonna whack them in and go for it all right the cosmos are in they are in and they are surrounded by slugs and snails but we'll see how they do remember I was um timing guys remember I was worried about taking the heads off of the finished tulips or the finishing tulips I actually think it looks a lot better now I've done that by taking out the ones that died I was obviously doing it to sort of help feed the bulbs for next year but it's actually given the tulip bed a new lease of life and all the ones that are remaining are sort of healthy happy tulips so I just think it looks great these beetroot have been growing for ages and after they're starting to sort of bolt which means they're starting to sort create flowers which isn't great so I'm just gonna pull a couple up and see what's going on under there ah see that's not a very big beetroot I can't understand why these are just not getting bigger and they're just bolting it's actually so frustrating this is a huge one here do we have a substantial beetroot under here okay he's a little bit better a little bit better but not the biggest beetroot in the world that's a weed so I don't know why you're in there mate or you I can't understand why I'm not getting good sized beetroots it's been growing for ages like I said I'm gonna leave these ones in so too small they're too small for me to use there's a little bit more of it over here which looks a little bit bigger so let's have a look surely there's something I can use no that's tiny that's tiny tiny tiny sound like tops TV Tony this stuff looks massive it's about to bolt surely there must be a sizable beetroot under here it's okay it's okay I can use it I'm not saying it's not usable it's just that I need a lot of it to actually be able to use it properly you know it's more like a carrot than a beetroot isn't it that's really weird that one it's just a bit small still it's just not giving me giving beetroot is it I don't know what to do with a teeny tiny bit of beetroot it's not like the funnest thing in the world to cook is it beetroot and you sort of need a lot of it to make a meal out of it so these are just not that's it that's what I nearly a year of growing beetroot has done I say a year probably like eight months maybe a sort grade so this in the autumn time didn't I say it's been quite a long time successful as a plant because it's grown really big and got lots of lovely leaves unsuccessful as a crop because hasn't given me one that seems to be the biggest one that I've harvested which unfortunately I mean it's a nice looking beetroot but how do you cook one beetroot and eat it what am I gonna do just cook that one thing and eat it it's a bit weird isn't it really really don't know what happened with the beetroot but like I said successful as a plant just not as a crop so I don't think I'm gonna bother growing beetroot again this year I might try again in the autumn time but not over the summer I've got too much other stuff to go out yeah it's all looking really nice I'm just looking around it's looking quite nice today yeah I really think it looks quite nice today everything's growing away quite well I know some of its bolted but hey-ho sweet peas are doing really nicely aren't they I'll get a really early harvest out of these and they're big enough now to handle any slug damage that they get so they're doing fantastically I'm really happy with them they're off now there's no stopping them now there's no stopping them they're huge plants that's it they're away should have a quick look for the tadpoles and see if we can see him there's a lot of life in my pond a lot of life swimming away it's all looking really happy in there it's just behind that leaf there can you see him they seem to really like this barley straw they seem really drawn to it and also just to let you know the barley straw has sprouted and started growing I don't know if it's supposed to do that or not but it's literally growing in my pond now so I don't know if that's supposed to happen but anyway the barley straw is to stop all this pond weed but I think the tadpoles quite like it that's why they're still alive probably oh we'll just wait for you shall we crows eh? gotta let everyone know they're there do you know I mean and right I'm gonna leave the vlog there it's been such guys it's been such a nice day to not have any sort of specific jobs has been so nice I've just come here wandered around had a look at everything done a few jobs planted out I need to bring some more seeds next time because I've got empty packaging and I really want to keep everything growing in here like whenever I empty a pack I want to plant a pack so I want seeds growing all the time and so I will bring some more seeds next time we'll do a bit of seed sowing might put on some of the squashes as well but yeah it's just been such a lovely day I hope you've enjoyed watching this vlog I'm trying to show you as much of the tulips as I can in all these vlogs until they literally disappear and I hope you're enjoying seeing all of my tulips still I'm definitely going to miss them when they're gone I will be back again on Wednesday thank you so much for watching today and I will see you when I see you thanks for watching bye said that