Problems Growing Asparagus

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Asparagus Beetle:

Adult beetles and their larvae strip the outer bark and leaves from the stem. Damaged areas become yellow-brown and desiccated. The black beetles are 6-8mm long with a red thorax and six yellow blotches on the wing cases. Larvae are grey-black in colour, 1cm (½in) long, with three pairs of legs.

Remedy:

Destroy overwintering beetles by burning old stems at the end of the season. From late spring, search and destroy the pests by hand. On larger plots, use sprays containing pyrethrum.

Slugs and snails:

These feed on the young seedlings and you'll see the tell tale slime trail on the soil around your crop, as well as on the leaves.

Remedy:

There are many ways to control slugs and snails, including beer traps, sawdust or eggshell barriers and copper tape.

Aphids:

Look for colonies of greenfly on the soft shoot tips of plants or on leaves. They suck sap and excrete sticky honeydew, encouraging the growth of black sooty moulds.

Remedy:

Use your finger and thumb to squash aphid colonies, spray with pyrethrum, insecticidal soap, plant or fish oils.

Category: Recipes

Rhubarb & Custard Cocktail

Rhubarb & custard cocktail
An elegant vodka-based drink that'll wow your guests - it's made with creamy advocaat iqueur and homemade fruit syrup

Pasta with Asparagus and Courgette

Asparagus and Courgette are made for each other in this dish!

Rhubarb & Grenadine Crumble

Rhubarb & Grenadine Crumble
This has a great twist, the Grenadine adds great colour and taste to the rhubarb that will add that something special to your dessert!

Category: The Growing Season

Jobs to do in June

Summer should be here!

Usually the risk of frost has passed by now, and with longer days there comes more sunshine and time to be in your allotment. If the weather is dry, then water your seed drills well before sowing any seeds – this way the young plants will develop a good root system.

The Growing Season

The Growing Season varies in different parts of the United Kingdom, but in Hatfield Peverel we are blessed with a milder climate and enjoy a longer season than many parts of the country.

In this section of the web site I have tried to separate the season out into monthly sections to help and guide you through the most popular tasks and crops regularly grown on the allotment site, but if you would like a feature made of a particular vegetable or task, please get in touch and I will do my best to add it to the web site for you.

Jobs to do in January

Jobs to do on the Allotment in January
January is generally a very cold month with hard frosts freezing the ground and when the ground isn't frozen it is generally too wet to do much although there are no guarantees with British weather. Looking through my diaries, snow isn't that likely for a prolonged period but you never know.

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