Last Year On The Plot...

[hamamelis]

It's looking very like I'll have to give up my allotment this year. Don't feel too sorry for me though, it's because *fingers crossed* I've hopefully been accepted into uni to study horticulture (I've been told to expect an offer, over the phone, but nothing has been formally confirmed yet).

So... what do people think are the best things to grow, and do, in order to a) get the best use out of my final year, and b) to condense my plot down to pots I can reasonably expect to find somewhere to keep wherever I wind up living? I've been a big fan of pumpkins and winter squash, but I'll be moving, at the latest, in the last week of August/first week of September. Too early to get a pumpkin crop, I think, though I'm not really sure, because, foolishly, though I have recorded sowing dates, I haven't bothered recording my harvest starts and finishes...

I'm basically having to rip up all my plans, because they all assumed I'd be planning for winter and next spring like they have for the last 6 years, and now I'm just a bit lost!

[Jay-ell]

Congratulations.

Which university?

Have you checked out the accommodation in the place you're going to? Student digs tend not to come with growing space.

Soon as you get confirmation start phoning round - allotments first, accommodation afterwards.

Would you get your own growing space on the course and if so do you get it from day one?

Would it have restrictions on what you can grow in it?

[Penellype]

If I was going to have to give up my garden in August I would grow the following, all of which I would expect to be able to eat before then:

Spinach
Peas/mangetout
early potatoes
cabbages
turnips
calabrese
kohlrabi
beetroot
lettuces and other salad leaves
radishes
runner beans, french beans and courgettes should produce some crop in August.

You should also be able to harvest most of the summer fruit.

Most things will grow in pots, including some quite big plants like blueberries, peas, beans, tomatoes and PSB. Really what you grow will depend on what you like and how much space you have. I always start with a list of priorities, which for me are potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and spinach, I house those and then work the rest of the garden around them. You can often get 2 crops from 1 pot in a year by growing seedlings in smaller pots ready for transplanting as soon as something is finished - brassicas can go in after the potatoes, with the calabrese following the first earlies, then the broccoli following later crops. Spinach finishes very quickly and can be followed by things like courgettes or beans. I plant corn salad, mizuna and other oriental greens, winter spinach and chinese celery to keep the pots productive over winter. No doubt your tastes will be different from mine, but it is amazing what you can do without a full sized plot.

[Penellype]

Congratulations.

Which university?

Have you checked out the accommodation in the place you're going to? Student digs tend not to come with growing space.

Soon as you get confirmation start phoning round - allotments first, accommodation afterwards.

Would you get your own growing space on the course and if so do you get it from day one?

Would it have restrictions on what you can grow in it?

I grew tomatoes at university, years ago, when all I had was one room which was part of the university campus. But yes, student digs probably won't come with a garden.

[hamamelis]

Sorry to sound all mysterious but... it's a very small course, small enough that they only take about 20 students a year, and I'd rather not publicly post where it is, at least at the moment (I'll tell ya by PM if you want to know ). It does not come with a growing space, neither does it have any campus style student accommodation, so I'd be staying somewhere nearby in a private house, which they will help arrange.

Given that it's fairly rural, I reckon I can find somewhere I can keep at least some outdoor pots, if not come to some kind of garden share arrangement. I'm going to be getting in touch with (and then joining) the local beekeeping group as well, as I have a hive I'd like to bring, so maybe they'll have some leads. I'm planning, at the moment, to quit working at the end of July, so's I have a full month to move and arrange living space for plants, bees and myself, but I can hopefully visit at least once or twice beforehand.

[veggiechicken]

Ooh I love a bit of mystery Hope it all works out for you, Ham. Moving your hive should be "interesting"

[Jay-ell]

We don't need to know where. But know how nosey we are

[1Bee]

Ham, that all sounds wonderful, congratulations!

[Thelma Sanders]

Good luck with your change in direction

[sparrow100]

Congratulations!

Loving the mystery - will there be a big reveal...?

And a hive move. In summer? Fun fun fun...bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzOW!

[AkionTotocha]

Uni has played hell on my growing time this year, I haven't even sown a single seed!

Something I've had success with since being a small child is growing tomatoes in 2ltr pop bottles:

Cut the top off a bottle (around the first indent) and take off the cap. Put a rock in the bottom of the bottle (for weight) and add the part of the bottle back inside the rest of it upside down. Make some holes with a hole punch around the rim so you can tie the funnel piece to the main reservoir so they're connected. (I used to use string but use cable-ties now)

You can add hanging basket chains to those holes now just make them further down so they don't tear - if you want to hang it up.

Then fill the funnel with soil and plant a determinate bush or trailing cherry tomato into the soil. (Determinate so it doesn't make a very tall plant that touched the ceiling like the first tomato I grew) I just use small amounts of clean water on the seed until it develops two sets of true leaves or you can see roots poking into the bottle and then start using organic tomato food. Sometimes epsom salts but not many and not often, or just use real hydroponic solution since it's a mostly hydroponic system (except for the small amount of soil holding the tomato in place) Fill it so that it touches the bottom of the funnel and as it drinks the water it will fill the bottle, only fill the water to 1/2 the exposed roots until that's 1/2 the reservoire and then just keep it at that level by topping up once a week or so.

When I first started growing tomatoes I didn't know you could grow them outside so the only space we had was a window.

[happyhumph]

Congratulations - you can be our expert! Hope you have a great time and enjoy it.

[Bren In Pots]

You've had some good advice can't think of anything else to add so all the best for your new venture

[Jay-ell]

Sorry to sound all mysterious but... it's a very small course, small enough that they only take about 20 students a year, and I'd rather not publicly post where it is, at least at the moment (I'll tell ya by PM if you want to know ). It does not come with a growing space, neither does it have any campus style student accommodation, so I'd be staying somewhere nearby in a private house, which they will help arrange.

Given that it's fairly rural, I reckon I can find somewhere I can keep at least some outdoor pots, if not come to some kind of garden share arrangement. I'm going to be getting in touch with (and then joining) the local beekeeping group as well, as I have a hive I'd like to bring, so maybe they'll have some leads. I'm planning, at the moment, to quit working at the end of July, so's I have a full month to move and arrange living space for plants, bees and myself, but I can hopefully visit at least once or twice beforehand.

Any updates? Did you get your confirmation letter?

[Jimmy]

To grow in pots I would choose.
1) Herbs chives, mint, rosemary, thyme and more.
2) Yellow courgettes.
3) Cherry toms (Sungold)
4) Salad leaves.
Jimmy