I don't honestly think we really grow vegetables to eat. I think we are nature masochists and we whack stuff in and are totally surprised when it grows. We delight in our skills and lament in our failures. You are all of us - talking to our plants, cursing the slimy S critters, and smiling - You are not alone Emma.
Maybe fill your beds to almost the top with more organic matter/more compost or some well rotted manure. The soil in your beds seems to be at the same level as the ground outside. Get them filled nice and full. Fish blood & bone mix is also excellent to use in your soil. 🐈⬛🐈⬛
If the rest of your garlic doesn't bulb up either, don't throw it away! You can eat the fresh garlic stems and whatever of the bulb you can salvage. Here in Macedonia, young garlic that hasn't bulbed up is considered a delicacy! They even eat it raw in salads!
The reason why we all think of garlic as these big bulbs is because those are the only ones you can dry and store for long periods. But fresh garlic is just as tasty! I bought a TON of fresh garlic in the past month and turned it into garlic puree, then froze it for long term storage. And yes, that includes the stems as well, at least the parts that aren't woody or stringy.
It's quite possible that your plot already had white rot when you got it - it's the bane of allomenteer's lives and persists for years and years. I wouldn't even try growing the onion family there for the foreseeable future. Grow shallots and garlic at home instead, if you have the space. Being shallow rooting, they do pretty well in troughs, raised beds and containers. You'll need to thoroughly clean your gloves and trowel/spade though, and only buy sets from a reputable source. The onion family are the one instance where I'd politely refuse gifted spare plants or sets from other plot-holders. Plant garlic around Halloween and don't lift until the longest day (around June 21st) unless rust is severe. If rust is a real problem, grow 'em under cover. Commiserations - it's disappointing, I know. The best of luck for next years amazing garlic crop!
Love watching your videos Emma, but I think you need to invest in a battery operated strimmer. It will save you some backache chopping the grass with shears.
Your videos always remind me of the fun to be had in gardening, and to stop overthinking it and just whack it in! Keep up the awesome videos and garden content (love seeing your London home garden too!)
From RHS: White Rot - Control Non-chemical control Stromatinia cepivora is effectively impossible to eliminate once it has been introduced and the long survival period makes crop rotation impractical. It is therefore extremely important to avoid introduction to previously clean sites. It is transported in contaminated soil, for example on tools or on muddy footwear. Take particular care in areas where cross contamination can occur easily, for example on allotments.
Maybe Emma it wasn’t a good idea to chuck the onions / garlic across your allotment or was it over onto the neighbouring plot? Best go and retrieve it and dispose of it safely!
Commiserations on white rot. The same happened with my onions, shallots and garlic last year. Strangely, the spring onions grown in the same bed were fine so it might be worth you only sowing them in that bed in the future (and planting other alliums elsewhere).
Lots of people talk about eating “green garlic” when it’s fresh before you dry it out. More gentle flavour. I tried it this year when I thought I was picking spring onions. Chopped a whole garlic stem up in an omelette. Whoops. It was lovely though!! Thanks Emma. Xx
Great show as always Emma ,your doing a great job ,,,make,s me laugh when the crow screamed out ,and the look on your face 😂😂 Make,s me laugh,keep up the good work ,best regards Steve
Glad you had a good holiday and glad to see you back. I think the main reason your slugs and snails have left your plants alone is because it's so dry. They don't like dry soil because it's harsh and gritty to them. If you think of all the remedies people recommend, they mostly use things that are abrasive to slugs and snails. Once these remedies get wet, the S&S can slide back again.😦
It's worth it, you just have to grow things you going to eat or try a different way of planning. Like instead of the ground try growing in pots or grow bags. Don't give up. By the way I live in the United states, Philadelphia pa., my name is doreen marino and I love your videos.
The shallots have split and needed more time, and more cover. The garlic needs a lot of feeding, at least two times in spring. Also a bit to wet as you said. I would suggest that you try to plant above soil level as it is now, and fill up with organic waste as much as you can. Use weed, just get of the flowers and roots, and mulch it around the onions. I also covered my shallots with more soil yesterday, since they kind of pushing themselves 👆 out of the soil. Mine isn't much bigger than the ones you pulled, but they grow a lot in the last month. Don't give up hope! ❤️
I don’t have an Allotment but I love Gardening 👩🏼🌾 for my front and back garden I love watching you Your so Funny that makes you natural a realistic Gardener lol but That poor Garlic Head Anger management comes to mind ! Lol start again and Whack it in ! Your Doing Great Lass, enjoying each n every upload 🌸🌺 x
Try planting your garlic in a long pot in early October and keep it outside your back door so it’s sheltered but outside. Not only will the garlic have a longer growing time but it will be in sterile soil. Just give a little food from time to time and water when necessary.
Sorry about your Shallots, my onions are looking small, I think that’s the drought in my case, we still have a hosepipe ban in Cornwall so it’s taking a couple of hours to water all my beds and pots and that’s without watering the flower beds . So I’ve enjoyed your jokey approach to gardening it makes me smile .😃
I’ve also had a decline in slug and snail visits recently! I used the Slugless Pellets that you recommended so perhaps that has scared them all away?! Love your videos as always ☺️❤️🌷
I had a disaster yesterday as well. Dug up some early potatoes but it was too early. Little tiny pebbles! I think the really dry weather is slowing growing down to a bare minimum. As for slugs and snails.....you wait when it rains they'll be back with avengance. I keep lifing rocks and hiding places and there are plenty of tiny babies waiting for revenge!! I love these vlogs and look forward to them just to compare how badly/well I am doing!
Oh no! I've done that before with potatoes too! I think you're right about the slugs and snails, hoping they aren't too ruthless when the rain comes! x
Many a morning I've watched the very same pigeons that I feed daily scoffing my broccoli leaves. This year I've netted them much like yours.. no greedy peckers now. 👍 🕊
I used to have an allotment but could not keep up with it during covid while pregnant i had to give it up. Jist discovered you channel. You inspired me to grow in my garden . Inspiring my son .😊
Ah so glad I've inspired you! I think it's great that you're growing in your garden. If my garden was big enough, my allotment plot would be in it instead of a 25 minute walk away! x
it might be allium leaf miner with the onions and garlic we get it every year now it's frustrating, this time I grew them in a different area and kept enviromesh over them for the entire season and fingers crossed it is looking better, erm so far lol at telling rocky to get the bird I was going nooo at the screen, those swedes look like they've been pidgeoned
Fabulous vlog Emma,thank you,,,such a shame about you're shallots, fingers crossed the rest of you're garlic will be ok,great idea with the ash,,and random planting some brassicas, I got my first strawberries today and my kohl rabid is starting to bulk out, Have a lively evening, blessingZ and peace xx
Im thinking of the seed box also you did say they send what you can plant. I had slug infestation and the yeast bowl worked within minutes as they appeared minutes after setting I also found eggs and sqished them I also did the twilight hunt finding near 80- 100 which I tipped in soapy water (ook) next year the cke bottle trap will be a definite w bait (preventing other bugs being affected the snail crawls in) split drink bottle pellet insert other end as crawl hole. good luck w Ash will also be interested in outcome
Great to see you using the ashes. Always works for me. I water the plant and let the water soak in. Then I put a thin layer of ashes around the stem but not touching the stem. Some plants don't appreciate excess ashes. Love your channel.
You are so funny, like your experiment. Had me in stitches. But on a serious note, I have got blue pipe 6mts and your netting so ready to plant my cauliflower which have true leaves. Will share photos once planted over weekend.
Hi Emma, l think the ash will work...but dont leave any gaps for them to slither through...good choice 👏👏👏 l think your garlic bed needs a lot of new compost sweetie 😊
Great update and VLOG as always Em. That bird was only making that noise because Rocky was about. Robins always do it in my garden when next doors cat walks through. Sorry about your garlic and onions
Hello Emma, you always make my day🙂.....It's not you, I have the same problems, I sometimes feel like I am the plant killer....but we keep on trying and have fun doing it.
Emma what can I say apart from thank you - your videos always make me laugh - I adore your sense of humour- you need a tv show or a slot on that gardening programme at the very least. 🤣 my biggest pests I have to deal with is deer 🦌 so I have basically given up apart from I am risking some courgettes and I have tomatoes in pots- happy gardening x
So glad you enjoy my videos. Oh no, deer! No idea how you would protect against them, except maybe investing in a wolf, but that might cause you even more problems! Haha! x
Ash is a good idea! I also sprinkle some ash on my plants like peppers and aubergines when I plant them, it seems to keep bugs, flee beetles away as well.
White rot 😔 it lasts in the soil for years Emma im sorry, next time try growing your garlic in buckets ive done mine in 30ltr pots from oakland gardens not particularly cheap but they last or you could use builders buckets with holes drilled in, your sweet peas are looking fab im going to have to change where i grow mine as they're just cooking in the sun 24 days no rain and im on a hosepie ban 😔 fab vlog 🥰
I'm planting sunflowers and jill be little pumpkins (a bit late but better late than never!) :) in terms of your brassicas thriving when spread around the plot- to me, that's why people recommend 'polyculture' i.e. planting your veg in amongst flowers/next to a different type of veg instead of having all your cabbage in one bed for example! Makes it harder for pests to find
We call them drills because that's how they used to sow seed on a farm, with a seed drill . Jethro tull invented one. Looks like you need to get that soil up and sieve it and mix some improver in. A bag of muck maybe.
Hey Emma, new subscriber here! ✌️ I love how real and raw your videos are, and definitely need all the encouragement I can get with my own garden...! 😁 Thank you for sharing your journey - your honesty is such a breath of fresh air on youtube too ❤ I am in East Mids too so its awesome to find UK based gardeners. 🥰 I'm sure shallots, onions and garlics don't flower/produce the first year - they like to go dormant over winter so you if can trick them into thinking its been an extra season you can quicken the process!! 😁 Sending an abundance of love, light and appreciation - i'm already so glad to be here. 🙏 Ps, that bird noise is a Robin's cat siren! Usually its to warn their fledglings 😺🚨 //waves goodbye and walks in same direction// ✨️ xx
Ah thank you so much, so glad you're enjoying my uploads. I like to keep it real! And thanks for the tips on shallots, onion and garlic, I had no idea! x
@Emma's Allotment Diaries I also hope you've had peace in your beautiful allotment since the strange infringement on your privacy! Maybe they didn't want to tell you they're secret fans... Maybe that's even weirder. 🫣🤭 I've found it comforting and informative to see a more developed (skills and produce) UK gardeners' tips n hurdles and learnt such valuable lessons from you already - this is my first year going all in (with my tiny garden) and I have been a little gutted at mistakes I inevitably make - you provide fab reminders to smile and try again.... and made me remember how thankful I ought to be for an opportunity to grow in ground 🌱 and spirit. ✌️ I also had no idea about biennial veggies until mine all went to flower so quickly - not a mention on the seed packs! 😆 🤷♀️ Thank you so much again for all the inspiration and joy. Hope you have a really beautiful summer and harvest! xx
So sorry about the shallots! But that's part of gardening, at least, it is in my neck of the woods. My onions are sad this year, but next year I'll do them differently and see if that improves the outcome. I received an email that my shirt is on its way, so I have something exciting to expect in the mail!
I just want to say after previous videos, totally unrelated to this one, my parsnips were parsnips not weeds haha love it. #firstyeargardener #loveit I’ve learnt it all from you. Thank you xx
Usually grow massive onions, last season they were the size of my smallest fingernail. Think i know what went wrong, too much hoeing. Garden in New Zealand we had a -5 degree frost last night. Need to check the mini cauliflower.
Hi Emma, I love your vlogs they really make me smile, always look forward to watching them, I really enjoy growing my own fruit and veg but I am a very beginner really I only started through lockdown but I love it, but I am a bit like you just Whack it in and see what happens lol 😂
Hi Emma, ive just stumbled across your channel, some peoplemay not agree with this but I've filled some of my raised bed with compost and sharp sand and I have great results with onions, garlic and carrots. This will make your beds better at draining. Perhaps try doing it to one bed first, if it works in the first year you could progress to doing other beds. Im quite lucky as our concil recycling centre allows us 3 builders bins of compost per visits keeping the cost down, a bag of sharp sand is less than £2 at B&Q. Good luck in your quest and i hope you have a bumper crop. Michael
Keep up the awesome videos. My newest dilemma is a family of groundhogs eating my lettuce and bean plants. I look forward to watching your videos. You teach me, humble me and most importantly, you make me smile 😊
I grew my garlic in a trough this year and they came up brilliantly think is because you can control the conditions. That bird is a starling probably calling her chicks to leave the nest.
The bird is sounding an alarm call because there is a predator around - Rocky the cat! It’s a warning to other birds in the locality. Not sure on the species of that bird, but the one calling an alarm later (when you were talking about the swede) was a blackbird alarm call. You’ll need the birds - especially the thrushes if any are around - they’ll eat your snails, and I’ve seen blackbirds rolling small slugs in the grass in my garden to get rid of their slime before eating them.
Yes I like the birds, just not when they eat my pumpkins! They are always bathing in my wildlife pond now, just can't seem to catch them on camera when they do! x
Emma, do you make your own compost? If not, start thinking about it. Using home made compost makes a huge difference to your harvest plus soil health etc.
If they're what you planted last year you're certainly not alone in having nothing. I think it was a dry summer followed by a cold autumn and a wet spring
Great video as always. Sorry to see your shallots and garlic haven’t come to anything after all that time. On a lighter note great view of Rocky’s butt 😂😂
