Monday, July 18, 2011
Ruthless!
That's what I was with the tomatoes over the 14 July break. No more Mr Nice Guy! I chopped off without mercy, excess branches, side shoots, anything that looked slightly dodgy. I tied and straightened and pruned. There are now loads of fruit forming but nothing that is actually ripe yet! I am having trouble keeping my patience in check!
Got the first courgettes, at last, the Striato d'Italia that I got in a seed swop, beautiful pale and dark stripes and a delicious flavour. But the Black Beauty is not far behind, and it has handsome fruit, very dark and shiny. I am a bit puzzled, as I also got a Serpente di Sicilia, but I was expecting a courgette bush: instead it is acting like a pumpkin vine??? Have to wait and see. Not even sure that they will actually be nice to eat.
The pumpkins are mad, I have several big fruit forming, and the vines are running riot. One of the Turk's Turban fruit is nearly ripe, it's quite a dark orange. My mystery squahs are turning out to produce longish pumpkins that for now are a yellowish colour (actually a bit like a spaghetti squash...). Unless they are melons.... but I think not. Speaking of which, I have widdle baby melons! The first ones ever! I have high hopes of them ripening! And I am close to picking the first cucumber, especially as we have had loads of rain so they should now soak up water like nobody's business.
All the onions have now been harvested. I got two wooden market crates full of onions and another full of echalote (now I have to dry, trim and package the bloody things, which takes ages). And I strung up around 30 heads of garlic which is now swinging joyfully in the pantry.
Beetroot - might actually be picking some soon! Victory! And the new sowings have done pretty well.
My autumn lettuce has germinated well, even though the seeds weren't all that fresh. A week or two and I will plant it out, under fleece to protect it.
I'd liek to take some pictures but Eldest Son has taken his camera on hols. So might have to wait till the weekend for that.
And when I wasn't torturing the tomatoes, I turned out the shed and tidied it. Well kind of. More like taking everything out, removing the cobwebs and putting it back. But i did throw some things away! And I can now actually enter the shed! Hoorah!
Got the first courgettes, at last, the Striato d'Italia that I got in a seed swop, beautiful pale and dark stripes and a delicious flavour. But the Black Beauty is not far behind, and it has handsome fruit, very dark and shiny. I am a bit puzzled, as I also got a Serpente di Sicilia, but I was expecting a courgette bush: instead it is acting like a pumpkin vine??? Have to wait and see. Not even sure that they will actually be nice to eat.
The pumpkins are mad, I have several big fruit forming, and the vines are running riot. One of the Turk's Turban fruit is nearly ripe, it's quite a dark orange. My mystery squahs are turning out to produce longish pumpkins that for now are a yellowish colour (actually a bit like a spaghetti squash...). Unless they are melons.... but I think not. Speaking of which, I have widdle baby melons! The first ones ever! I have high hopes of them ripening! And I am close to picking the first cucumber, especially as we have had loads of rain so they should now soak up water like nobody's business.
All the onions have now been harvested. I got two wooden market crates full of onions and another full of echalote (now I have to dry, trim and package the bloody things, which takes ages). And I strung up around 30 heads of garlic which is now swinging joyfully in the pantry.
Beetroot - might actually be picking some soon! Victory! And the new sowings have done pretty well.
My autumn lettuce has germinated well, even though the seeds weren't all that fresh. A week or two and I will plant it out, under fleece to protect it.
I'd liek to take some pictures but Eldest Son has taken his camera on hols. So might have to wait till the weekend for that.
And when I wasn't torturing the tomatoes, I turned out the shed and tidied it. Well kind of. More like taking everything out, removing the cobwebs and putting it back. But i did throw some things away! And I can now actually enter the shed! Hoorah!
Labels: beetroot, lettuce, squash, summer, tomatoes
# posted by antipodesgirl @ 2:22 PM 
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