God I love growing our own

[jenkinsbrynmair]

spring onions have never been a thing here in Wales shallots are either harvested young for salads or left to mature for the bulbs (but that's not such a big thing) it ws the green leaves that were the essential salad ingredients and in later years my grandfather would just treat much of his shallots as a 'cut and come again' crop which later on would still develop good bulbs for pickling.
There were also plenty of chives in the garden margins.

 

[roche]

Who are the suppliers and what variety? I struggle to get spring onions to germinate.

PM Sent

 

[fian]

https://telemarinas.com/un-vecino-d...mecanizado-con-techo-hidraulico-de-16-metros/
Grow and Save.
A "horreo" is a wooden or stone construction supported on stone columns that is used to store the harvest, generally corn cobs.
This particular modernized horreo with its 16 meters is less than half of the longest horreos in Galicia.
https://elviajeroaccidental.com/de-ruta-por-los-horreos-mas-grandes-de-galicia#

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

same concept as staddles over here

 

[Macbear]

Taking advantage of a bit of sunshine, earlier this afternoon, I harvested the last of my carrots, a few parsnips and leeks. I carried them up the allotment to my car. A passer-by was amazed that I was "still getting produce" - he could see what was in the trug. I avoided responding that I was about to get my other trug full of strawberries and plums.
Sensibly, at 7 degrees, the bees were indoors - maybe [as I am now] armed with a rewarding cup of tea

 

[JamezF]

I've been ordering seeds this week, in preparation for next year. There are a few things I've not been able to get, unfortunately. I suspect in some cases it's because the work involved in doing the paperwork to import seeds from the EU makes selling them unviable, although I've also seen a few cases where vendors have noted that their crop failed meaning they have insufficient seed to sell.

Sadly I don't have as much seed saved from this year as I was hoping to because in many cases the weather wasn't good enough for fruit to ripen fully. Fortunately I do still have a few varieties left from 2023 so hopefully I'll be able to get them to grow and save more seed next season.

I already have garlic in the ground for next year, but it feels quite astonishing that it's really not that many weeks until I start sowing again for next season's plants. It still feels as though there's so much to be done before I'm ready for that.

James

 

[Amari]

Why does my compost bin never warm up?
Fresh horse manure scraped off the paddocks is often placed in bags and put by the roadside in our village - either free or 50p. The disadvantage of this poo is that it contains weeds. Other horsey people dump manure mixed with bedding on to a concrete pad and we are free to shovel it up.
I always collect either or both types in the autumn and put it, mixed with a little soil, into a Dalek placed on soil on an allotment bed. When I use the manure in spring I find it crumbled down into a smaller volume.
I'm surprised that the contents of the Dalek never warm up, as shown today in the pic of the compost thermometer which has an 18" probe. The manure was put into the Dalek about six weeks ago.

 

[drex]

I find this with manure too, but if I add in layers with normal compost able stuff, it really does heat up. The manure acts as an accelerator

 

[enrico]

I always leave horse poo for at least a year in a heap.

 

[Midget Gem]

Could be that it's just not big enough. I've read that for a hot heap you need to make it all at once and make it big.

 

[JamezF]

Could be that it's just not big enough. I've read that for a hot heap you need to make it all at once and make it big.

I'd say that you don't need to make it all at once because my heaps get up to 70°C+ and they're filled as and when material is available, but you probably do need a reasonable volume of fresh material at the same time and a good mix of "green" (nitrogen-providing) and "brown" (carbon-providing) materials to get it to work. When we have a lot of grass clippings for example, I layer it fairly thinly with cardboard or waste paper which stops it turning into a sloppy stinking mess and it breaks down nicely. Keeping all the materials in small pieces is helpful too. When my father-in-law turns up with a pile of tangled stalks and suchlike from his flower beds, I drag them all into a long line on the grass and run the mower over them, then put the contents of the collector into the compost.

I'd guess that with manure taken from paddocks (which I think would count as "green") you'd need more "brown" than when it is already mixed with wood shavings. I might even be tempted to add a little water if it has dried out.

Generally though, having had a few, I think the "dalek" composters are a bit rubbish. I'd be more tempted to get four pallets, wire them together in a square, line the sides with cardboard and use that as a compost heap. Ideally put some sort of cover over the top to help keep the rain off and the heat in. You can possibly go a bit smaller if necessary, but I reckon 3'x3' is a reasonable minimum. Certainly with the mix of waste that we tend to have.

James

 

[roche]

I suspect the poo is "pre-composted" - not much decay to go. Mixing it with garden waste will accelerate composting, as drex says, and has the advantage of de-concentrating it...

 

[drex]

I have no bother with my dalek composter as long as I layer it, with mixes of green and brown and give it occasional stir.

 

[Amari]

I have no bother with my dalek composter as long as I layer it, with mixes of green and brown and give it occasional stir.

What temperature do you achieve?

 

[JamezF]

What temperature do you achieve?

For clarity, I assume you're interested in achieving relatively high temperatures as a means of killing off any viable seeds in the compost?

James

 

[drex]

What temperature do you achieve?

Not as scientific as you Giles. All I can say is it steams in right conditions

 

[Macbear]

I bought a few daleks when my local council offered them at an almost giveaway price. They were for my garden, but rats seemed to increase even though I was selective about material - I suspect they were most interested in warmth and security. So the daleks moved to my allotment and are useful for drying out perennial weeds such as horsetail and bindweed - there is a limit to bonfires.
The allotment compost bins are old concrete coal bunkers with removable coverings. Side by side: as one is emptied the contents of the other can be thoroughly mixed by being tossed next door as it were. Heat is far better than I could ever get in the daleks.
Sadly manure is scare, but the variety of annual weeds, unused bits of crops, mowings from home, card and paper and selected fine woody chipped material [not leylandii etc] seems to do the job. Often mixed with leaf mould when spread on the plot.

 

[enrico]

I bought a few daleks when my local council offered them at an almost giveaway price. They were for my garden, but rats seemed to increase even though I was selective about material - I suspect they were most interested in warmth and security. So the daleks moved to my allotment and are useful for drying out perennial weeds such as horsetail and bindweed - there is a limit to bonfires.
The allotment compost bins are old concrete coal bunkers with removable coverings. Side by side: as one is emptied the contents of the other can be thoroughly mixed by being tossed next door as it were. Heat is far better than I could ever get in the daleks.
Sadly manure is scare, but the variety of annual weeds, unused bits of crops, mowings from home, card and paper and selected fine woody chipped material [not leylandii etc] seems to do the job. Often mixed with leaf mould when spread on the plot.

I put all my daleks on wire mesh, stopped the rats.

 

[rossbyjove]

I'd say that you don't need to make it all at once because my heaps get up to 70°C+ and they're filled as and when material is available, but you probably do need a reasonable volume of fresh material at the same time and a good mix of "green" (nitrogen-providing) and "brown" (carbon-providing) materials to get it to work. When we have a lot of grass clippings for example, I layer it fairly thinly with cardboard or waste paper which stops it turning into a sloppy stinking mess and it breaks down nicely. Keeping all the materials in small pieces is helpful too. When my father-in-law turns up with a pile of tangled stalks and suchlike from his flower beds, I drag them all into a long line on the grass and run the mower over them, then put the contents of the collector into the compost.

I'd guess that with manure taken from paddocks (which I think would count as "green") you'd need more "brown" than when it is already mixed with wood shavings. I might even be tempted to add a little water if it has dried out.

Generally though, having had a few, I think the "dalek" composters are a bit rubbish. I'd be more tempted to get four pallets, wire them together in a square, line the sides with cardboard and use that as a compost heap. Ideally put some sort of cover over the top to help keep the rain off and the heat in. You can possibly go a bit smaller if necessary, but I reckon 3'x3' is a reasonable minimum. Certainly with the mix of waste that we tend to have.

James

We had 3 daleks left here when we moved in.
I do have two pallet bins I made up as well.
The pallet compost is done in a year, the daleks seem to take longer but I empty them onto a veg bed and let the chickens dig it in.

 

[rossbyjove]

I put all my daleks on wire mesh, stopped the rats.

Same here.