Monday, August 01, 2011
First tomatoes
At last! I got 2 Coeur de Boeuf (note to self - remember to save seed from this baby), and a couple of Gardener's Delight.
In a rather paranoid fashion I have been pulling off any yellowish or imperfect leaves I have found, in a blight panic attack, following all the wet weather we had. So far, so good. There are masses of fruit and flowers, now it just has to all ripen!
I also ate my first cucumber, beautiful; not a hint of bitterness. There are 3 more swelling and other vines are still to reach fruiting stage. So hopefully many weeks of cukes to come.
The courgettes are now up to speed, giving several fruit a week. The Serpente has not yet given fruit but as it is covered in its gorgeous white flowers it will surely not be long. I have also identified my other courgette plants: there is a Sunbeam yellow summer pattypan squash and a yellow Parador courgette. So lots of colours this year.
On Sunday I pricked out some lettuce seedlings, and fleeced them as it has suddenly turned hot. Didn't want them in full sun unprotected.
The pumpkins are still suffering from powdery mildew but I am trying to remove affected leaves and giving them milk baths, so hopefully the fruit will still ripen. There are heaps of fruit on them! A very successful start to the squash year!
And strangely enough, the rhubarb has suddenly decided to perk up and throw out wonderful stems! I may be tempted to pinch a few of them, they are much better than the spring ones which suffered badly in the drought conditions.
In a rather paranoid fashion I have been pulling off any yellowish or imperfect leaves I have found, in a blight panic attack, following all the wet weather we had. So far, so good. There are masses of fruit and flowers, now it just has to all ripen!
I also ate my first cucumber, beautiful; not a hint of bitterness. There are 3 more swelling and other vines are still to reach fruiting stage. So hopefully many weeks of cukes to come.
The courgettes are now up to speed, giving several fruit a week. The Serpente has not yet given fruit but as it is covered in its gorgeous white flowers it will surely not be long. I have also identified my other courgette plants: there is a Sunbeam yellow summer pattypan squash and a yellow Parador courgette. So lots of colours this year.
On Sunday I pricked out some lettuce seedlings, and fleeced them as it has suddenly turned hot. Didn't want them in full sun unprotected.
The pumpkins are still suffering from powdery mildew but I am trying to remove affected leaves and giving them milk baths, so hopefully the fruit will still ripen. There are heaps of fruit on them! A very successful start to the squash year!
And strangely enough, the rhubarb has suddenly decided to perk up and throw out wonderful stems! I may be tempted to pinch a few of them, they are much better than the spring ones which suffered badly in the drought conditions.
Labels: courgette, cucumber, harvest, lettuce, rhubarb, summer, tomatoes
Monday, July 25, 2011
300 posts!
Woohoo, up to 300 posts! This will be rewarded by some pictures that I took yesterday in the garden.
Here, the weather is really crappy. Cold, wet. This is not really that good for the plants, although the raspberries are huge, as they have plenty of water, as are the tomatoes. Trouble is that without sun, nothing is ripe!
I worked hard yesterday weeding as best I could, actually I got a bit carried away with the time and lunch was late. Oh well. Not too much bindweed, but loads of annoying annuals, toadwort, fat hen, groundsel and bloody couch grass. I filled a wheelbarrow again. Tidied all round the cukes and melons and the tomato/aubergine patch. It does look better I must say.
There was some harvesting to be done yesterday: the first cucumber!
And a few courgettes, still slow on the takeoff. The Serpente di Sicilia have been tied up!
A few rasps and strawbs. The raspberries are very tall this year:
But the tomato harvest is still not forthcoming, even though the fruit is plentiful and swelling wondefully.
These will be the biggest fruit I have ever had. San Marzanos are in huge bunches! The gardener's Delight is laden with long rows of fruit, the MoneyMaker have trusses of 4 and 5 fruit, all round and perky, the Tigerellas are staring to produce big flushes of smallish striped fruit and the Marmande are flat, fat and wrinkled. But everything is resolutely, positively, depressingly green.
There are baby aubergines growing now, at least 3 of them. Including the Red Egg which are meant to give red fruit (but all it has for now is a funny plant shape). Don't worry, the invading grass on photo below is now but a memory.
Actually, I realised that two of the aubergines were completly shaded by the tomaotes, which had grown too lushly. SO I dug them up, rootball and all, and moved them into a more exposed place. I do hope this encourages them, they are tall and hardy but have no fruit yet. I also have several green peppers, which one day may turn red if the sun ever shows its face again.
The melons are doing well, obviously fleecing them was an excellent idea.
And the squash! So much fruit! Hopefully it will all have time to ripen, I have started pinching out the ends of the vines.
Turk's Turban:
Atlantic Giant:
Unknown, although I suspect it's a Qld Blue:
Here is a little overall view, unfortunately taken efore I had tidied it up a little. I find that most has gotten a little out of hand this year but as long as the veg are there it's ok. Left front in the kale, Brussels and the remainder of the spuds (still underground), right front is the squashes and beans,
back left was the onion patch, now has just a pumpkin and some stray tomatoes, back right is the tomatoes/peppers/aubergines/courgettes, with the fruit bed right at the back:
All in all, not such a bad year but now we desperately need some sun!
Here, the weather is really crappy. Cold, wet. This is not really that good for the plants, although the raspberries are huge, as they have plenty of water, as are the tomatoes. Trouble is that without sun, nothing is ripe!
I worked hard yesterday weeding as best I could, actually I got a bit carried away with the time and lunch was late. Oh well. Not too much bindweed, but loads of annoying annuals, toadwort, fat hen, groundsel and bloody couch grass. I filled a wheelbarrow again. Tidied all round the cukes and melons and the tomato/aubergine patch. It does look better I must say.
There was some harvesting to be done yesterday: the first cucumber!
And a few courgettes, still slow on the takeoff. The Serpente di Sicilia have been tied up!
A few rasps and strawbs. The raspberries are very tall this year:
But the tomato harvest is still not forthcoming, even though the fruit is plentiful and swelling wondefully.
These will be the biggest fruit I have ever had. San Marzanos are in huge bunches! The gardener's Delight is laden with long rows of fruit, the MoneyMaker have trusses of 4 and 5 fruit, all round and perky, the Tigerellas are staring to produce big flushes of smallish striped fruit and the Marmande are flat, fat and wrinkled. But everything is resolutely, positively, depressingly green.
There are baby aubergines growing now, at least 3 of them. Including the Red Egg which are meant to give red fruit (but all it has for now is a funny plant shape). Don't worry, the invading grass on photo below is now but a memory.
Actually, I realised that two of the aubergines were completly shaded by the tomaotes, which had grown too lushly. SO I dug them up, rootball and all, and moved them into a more exposed place. I do hope this encourages them, they are tall and hardy but have no fruit yet. I also have several green peppers, which one day may turn red if the sun ever shows its face again.
The melons are doing well, obviously fleecing them was an excellent idea.
And the squash! So much fruit! Hopefully it will all have time to ripen, I have started pinching out the ends of the vines.
Turk's Turban:
Atlantic Giant:
Unknown, although I suspect it's a Qld Blue:
Here is a little overall view, unfortunately taken efore I had tidied it up a little. I find that most has gotten a little out of hand this year but as long as the veg are there it's ok. Left front in the kale, Brussels and the remainder of the spuds (still underground), right front is the squashes and beans,
back left was the onion patch, now has just a pumpkin and some stray tomatoes, back right is the tomatoes/peppers/aubergines/courgettes, with the fruit bed right at the back:
All in all, not such a bad year but now we desperately need some sun!
Labels: courgette, cucumber, pumpkin, rain, raspberry, summer, tomatoes
Friday, July 22, 2011
Milk fungicide!!
The dreaded powdery mildew has struck again. It has been raining so much the last two weeks, we have hardly had any sun, so the mildew has started on the cucumbers and pumpkins. The courgettes seem OK for now...
In an attempt to find a solution, I did a bit of research and asked around and came up with...milk. Yes, it would appear that there is something in milk that doesn't cure the fungus but stops the spores spreading. So I made up a diluted milk solution and watered it all over the leaves of the cues and squashes. I can help wondering if it will not smell dreadful after a few days? Still, if it stops it spreading long enough to harvest, I will be grateful.
The cucumbers have a few fruit on them, one is about 30cm long but it is still a bit skinny. Hopefully the abundant rain will plump them all up a bit. The melons too have swelled - as they were fleeced and had had Bordeaux Mixture, they seem untouched by the mildew. We are finally eating the courgettes, but they are still a bit slow. I have discovered that a couple of them are those long Italian gourds! SO I have hoisted them up on stakes and tied them in. That will be fun to watch them grow!
The tomatoes are loaded with fruit but it's all green :-( Today has been brighter and full sun in forecast for the next week so I am hoping that our tomato harvest is just a step away.
Yesterday after the milky watering, I did some picking: a handful of strawberries, a courgette, 2 beetroot (finally!), a handful of kale leaves (the first ones, bubble and squeak this weekend!) and 2 sticks of rhubarb which seems to have picked up no end: it really suffered in the drought conditions. I won't pick anymore but I really wanted to make one more crumble before the end of summer. In fact I think the rhubarb is going to get a little haircut and a feed and be pampered a bit as it did look quite sad for a while there.
The harvest is slow but picking up bit by bit.
In an attempt to find a solution, I did a bit of research and asked around and came up with...milk. Yes, it would appear that there is something in milk that doesn't cure the fungus but stops the spores spreading. So I made up a diluted milk solution and watered it all over the leaves of the cues and squashes. I can help wondering if it will not smell dreadful after a few days? Still, if it stops it spreading long enough to harvest, I will be grateful.
The cucumbers have a few fruit on them, one is about 30cm long but it is still a bit skinny. Hopefully the abundant rain will plump them all up a bit. The melons too have swelled - as they were fleeced and had had Bordeaux Mixture, they seem untouched by the mildew. We are finally eating the courgettes, but they are still a bit slow. I have discovered that a couple of them are those long Italian gourds! SO I have hoisted them up on stakes and tied them in. That will be fun to watch them grow!
The tomatoes are loaded with fruit but it's all green :-( Today has been brighter and full sun in forecast for the next week so I am hoping that our tomato harvest is just a step away.
Yesterday after the milky watering, I did some picking: a handful of strawberries, a courgette, 2 beetroot (finally!), a handful of kale leaves (the first ones, bubble and squeak this weekend!) and 2 sticks of rhubarb which seems to have picked up no end: it really suffered in the drought conditions. I won't pick anymore but I really wanted to make one more crumble before the end of summer. In fact I think the rhubarb is going to get a little haircut and a feed and be pampered a bit as it did look quite sad for a while there.
The harvest is slow but picking up bit by bit.
Labels: beetroot, courgette, harvest, mildew, milk, rhubarb, squash, summer, tomatoes
Monday, June 20, 2011
Quick harvest
As the rain which has stayed so long away has now decided to come back with a vengeance, there was little that could be done this weekend, except watch the allotment get greener!
I pottered for half an hour, picked a few green beans (the first! - but noticed that the stems have been wind damaged!!! Luckily there are more sowings to come), the last pens, broad beans, a few raspberries, and the first lot of gooseberries! at least a kilo! Small this year but sweet. I will have to get some sugar and get the jam cooking!
While I was picking them, I heard a rustling in the mulch, and suddenly, right near me, a tiny snout came up, then two bright eyes! The vole! Well, I don't doubt that it's not the same one... but I had noticed a few tunnels here and there. As I am one of the few that mulch, obviously my plot if a great attraction! She was under the raspberries, so probably picking up the windfalls. I noticed a few opea pods that were close to the ground, had been nibbled too. Oh well, She's so tiny and cute, I can't begrudge her a few veggies. She looked at me for a while then scurried back under the straw.
The tomatoes and peppers are going great guns, and the pumpkins are just going absolutely mad (I just don't actually know what some of them are! I am guessing butternuts but am unsure)! Courgette plants are growing quite well, some male flowers but no females yet, but the largest plant is starting to grow a dense interior section, with flower buds, which usually means that fruit will soon be on its way. I tied up one of the cucumbers, it is now about 30-40 cm high, and I think will soon be flowering. The melon plants are quite vigourous now, they are in flower. Wonder if we will get fruit though??
The garlic is dying back, soon be harvest time, when there is a sunny period. The onions this year are magnificent, and no bolting at all! Terrific!
New tasks for this week, if it stops raining long enough: pull up the dead pea plants and sow more green beans for the end of the season. Weed and feed the strawberry beds and tidy that general area. Hoe away the weed seedlings that are growing like mad... Last post before the official start of summer....What a strange spring it has been.
I pottered for half an hour, picked a few green beans (the first! - but noticed that the stems have been wind damaged!!! Luckily there are more sowings to come), the last pens, broad beans, a few raspberries, and the first lot of gooseberries! at least a kilo! Small this year but sweet. I will have to get some sugar and get the jam cooking!
While I was picking them, I heard a rustling in the mulch, and suddenly, right near me, a tiny snout came up, then two bright eyes! The vole! Well, I don't doubt that it's not the same one... but I had noticed a few tunnels here and there. As I am one of the few that mulch, obviously my plot if a great attraction! She was under the raspberries, so probably picking up the windfalls. I noticed a few opea pods that were close to the ground, had been nibbled too. Oh well, She's so tiny and cute, I can't begrudge her a few veggies. She looked at me for a while then scurried back under the straw.
The tomatoes and peppers are going great guns, and the pumpkins are just going absolutely mad (I just don't actually know what some of them are! I am guessing butternuts but am unsure)! Courgette plants are growing quite well, some male flowers but no females yet, but the largest plant is starting to grow a dense interior section, with flower buds, which usually means that fruit will soon be on its way. I tied up one of the cucumbers, it is now about 30-40 cm high, and I think will soon be flowering. The melon plants are quite vigourous now, they are in flower. Wonder if we will get fruit though??
The garlic is dying back, soon be harvest time, when there is a sunny period. The onions this year are magnificent, and no bolting at all! Terrific!
New tasks for this week, if it stops raining long enough: pull up the dead pea plants and sow more green beans for the end of the season. Weed and feed the strawberry beds and tidy that general area. Hoe away the weed seedlings that are growing like mad... Last post before the official start of summer....What a strange spring it has been.
Labels: beans, courgette, garlic, peas, rain, spring, vole
Monday, May 16, 2011
Hi ho Hi ho, it's off to mulch we go...
OK, crap cultural reference, I admit it. But the plot is hopelessly dry, still no rain in sight here. So on the weekend I went and filled my boot with garbage bags of horse manure from the pony club and then watered the plot thoroughly and mulched as much as possible with the straw+manure mixture. I didn't get around to the onions, but would like to do them this week. They are doing pretty well, considering, and mulching would protect this growth methinks.
In fact everything is doing well, considering. We ate 2 big artichokes and there are 4 more growing, the strawberries gave about a kilo of fruit and the pea plants are starting to show fruit too. The tomatoes and aubergines and peppers actually seem to be thriving in this warm weather, and all have taken well since planting. Just have to keep watering...
Everything is now in place: on the weekend, I put in the courgette seeds (2 Black beauty greens, a yellow Parador,a Serpente di Sicilia, and another Italian one which escapes me), and planted a Qld Blue and a Fujutsu Black (That might be an approximate name) pumpkin near the compost bin, and a Pink Banana squash behind it. The Turk's turban and Atlantic Giant sowed about 2 weeks ago are doing very well indeed.
I have also noticed an advantage to this dry spell - the weeds are struggling! As I spot water the plants, really soaking only their roots, the rest has been left to its own devices, and the usual groundsel, thistles, toadwort, seem to have trouble getting a hold this year. The bind weed is still present but to a lesser extent than usual. Everything being so well established this early give me more time to eradicate the weeds, which I another advantage!
In fact everything is doing well, considering. We ate 2 big artichokes and there are 4 more growing, the strawberries gave about a kilo of fruit and the pea plants are starting to show fruit too. The tomatoes and aubergines and peppers actually seem to be thriving in this warm weather, and all have taken well since planting. Just have to keep watering...
Everything is now in place: on the weekend, I put in the courgette seeds (2 Black beauty greens, a yellow Parador,a Serpente di Sicilia, and another Italian one which escapes me), and planted a Qld Blue and a Fujutsu Black (That might be an approximate name) pumpkin near the compost bin, and a Pink Banana squash behind it. The Turk's turban and Atlantic Giant sowed about 2 weeks ago are doing very well indeed.
I have also noticed an advantage to this dry spell - the weeds are struggling! As I spot water the plants, really soaking only their roots, the rest has been left to its own devices, and the usual groundsel, thistles, toadwort, seem to have trouble getting a hold this year. The bind weed is still present but to a lesser extent than usual. Everything being so well established this early give me more time to eradicate the weeds, which I another advantage!
Labels: artichoke, courgette, drought, mulch, pumpkin, spring, strawberry, tomatoes
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Tiny harvest
Making myself ridiculously late for work, I couldn't help going down this morning to see if there were any more Cobra french bean. And there were! Enough for a whole meal! I can't get enough of them - they are currently winding their way around the trellises I put up for them and are covered in pretty purple flowers. I just hope that the beans come out before our holidays at the end of next week :-S Then at least I can freeze them or take them with us.
I just rushed around this morning picking everything in sight: 2 small yellow courgettes, 2 green and yellow Oz squash, the beans, a small punnet of strawberries and about 4 or 5 small tomatoes. These are MoneyMaker and cherry tomatoes.
Now despite my labelling efforts, I am confused with my small toms. I planted them in a row and it seems that I put in Gardener's Delight, Totem and Pannovy. But now I don't know which is which... One is really a tiny miniature bush (maybe that is Totem) but with great big bunches of tomatoes close to the stem. They may be small but there are at least a dozen toms on each one and they look in excellent condition. But slow to ripen. Good, they will be ready when we get back from hols!
I had a couple of other Gardener's Delight but they are huge! So they don't resemble the other cherry tomatoes at all? Oh well, some of it was saved seed so maybe I just mixed it all up.
Some people say they don't like MoneyMaker but I don't know why - they are early ripeners and are producing numerous small and juicy salad fruit. I find the taste to be quite refreshing and the plants are healthy. I will certainly be buying some more of those next year.
We had a sprinkling of rain yesterday but only enough to just freshen up the ground a little. Not sure it gave any real benefit to the plants...
I just rushed around this morning picking everything in sight: 2 small yellow courgettes, 2 green and yellow Oz squash, the beans, a small punnet of strawberries and about 4 or 5 small tomatoes. These are MoneyMaker and cherry tomatoes.
Now despite my labelling efforts, I am confused with my small toms. I planted them in a row and it seems that I put in Gardener's Delight, Totem and Pannovy. But now I don't know which is which... One is really a tiny miniature bush (maybe that is Totem) but with great big bunches of tomatoes close to the stem. They may be small but there are at least a dozen toms on each one and they look in excellent condition. But slow to ripen. Good, they will be ready when we get back from hols!
I had a couple of other Gardener's Delight but they are huge! So they don't resemble the other cherry tomatoes at all? Oh well, some of it was saved seed so maybe I just mixed it all up.
Some people say they don't like MoneyMaker but I don't know why - they are early ripeners and are producing numerous small and juicy salad fruit. I find the taste to be quite refreshing and the plants are healthy. I will certainly be buying some more of those next year.
We had a sprinkling of rain yesterday but only enough to just freshen up the ground a little. Not sure it gave any real benefit to the plants...
Labels: beans, courgette, rain, strawberry, summer, tomatoes
Monday, July 12, 2010
Drought conditions continue
Yep, still no rain. And the potatoes are suffering a lot, most of the foliage has died, even on the maincrop... Not sure what I will get in the way of potatoes this year...
Anyway, apart from that, some regular watering has kept the rest going. The baby pak choi have struggled on, hopefully I will be able to start harvesting leaves from them in a few weeks.
I checked the root veg and they are still hopelessly small. Must water a bit more. I got one beetroot, a Cheltenham Greetop, so a long beetroot. It's all alone but it looks very nice. I shall grate it raw in salad I think, hardly seems worth cooking it.
The pumpkins are going great guns - on the butternut pumpkins, there are already several small fruit forming!
I must keep adding some compost and watering. The non-bush types are starting to throw vines down the edges of the lottie. I love how pumpkins take over everything!
This is a Qld Blue:
And this Trident variety is running for dear life!
Tomatoes - well, I had a bit of a prune, as they were really getting thuglike.
On the right there are the tomatoes, on the left the beans:
And the tomatoes...
They need tying in again too. But already by eliminating part of the foliage, I could see more light and air getting through to all the plants, which will do them a world of good. I tried to remove the bottom leaves and I chopped off quite a bit of leaves to give them some room to breathe (note to self, plant much more spread out next year. Or maybe not be too ambitious in the number of plants! 30 seems too many!). The aubergines and peppers got a little weeding too, they are being suufocated with couch grass :-(
Harvest:
Still harvesting raspberries and strawberries (and made 4 pots of jam from the leftover gooseberries! so a good fruit harvest in my opinion).
Beans are in full swing, although they are a little stringy (wonder if the weather is to blame?). Green Fin des Bagnols and yellow Kingwax.
I got loads of yellow courgettes and finally a green one. The green ones seem slower. Must try some different varieties of green ones next year, I just got some ordinary "Diamant" type from Lidl.
The potatoes are puzzling: I lifted another ratte - the spuds are healthy but very small... The foliage has all died. I don't know if they will swell further but as rain is expected I am going to leave them for a while yet. I have not dared to try the maincrop, they also look very unwell.
Finally, I got around to harvesting most of the onions, except for the odd few I planted with the carrots and strawberries for pest control.
The onion plot just before harvesting (Gave me a chance to weed it too!)
I got an absolutely terrific harvest, several kilos, 3 big boxes full!
And the onions are very swollen and healthy looking, even the Red onions were excellent this year.
The echalotes are great, really big bulbs. It was a good idea to invest in a good variety (jermor drumstick variety).
Anyway, apart from that, some regular watering has kept the rest going. The baby pak choi have struggled on, hopefully I will be able to start harvesting leaves from them in a few weeks.
I checked the root veg and they are still hopelessly small. Must water a bit more. I got one beetroot, a Cheltenham Greetop, so a long beetroot. It's all alone but it looks very nice. I shall grate it raw in salad I think, hardly seems worth cooking it.
The pumpkins are going great guns - on the butternut pumpkins, there are already several small fruit forming!
I must keep adding some compost and watering. The non-bush types are starting to throw vines down the edges of the lottie. I love how pumpkins take over everything!
This is a Qld Blue:
And this Trident variety is running for dear life!
Tomatoes - well, I had a bit of a prune, as they were really getting thuglike.
On the right there are the tomatoes, on the left the beans:
And the tomatoes...
They need tying in again too. But already by eliminating part of the foliage, I could see more light and air getting through to all the plants, which will do them a world of good. I tried to remove the bottom leaves and I chopped off quite a bit of leaves to give them some room to breathe (note to self, plant much more spread out next year. Or maybe not be too ambitious in the number of plants! 30 seems too many!). The aubergines and peppers got a little weeding too, they are being suufocated with couch grass :-(
Harvest:
Still harvesting raspberries and strawberries (and made 4 pots of jam from the leftover gooseberries! so a good fruit harvest in my opinion).
Beans are in full swing, although they are a little stringy (wonder if the weather is to blame?). Green Fin des Bagnols and yellow Kingwax.
I got loads of yellow courgettes and finally a green one. The green ones seem slower. Must try some different varieties of green ones next year, I just got some ordinary "Diamant" type from Lidl.
The potatoes are puzzling: I lifted another ratte - the spuds are healthy but very small... The foliage has all died. I don't know if they will swell further but as rain is expected I am going to leave them for a while yet. I have not dared to try the maincrop, they also look very unwell.
Finally, I got around to harvesting most of the onions, except for the odd few I planted with the carrots and strawberries for pest control.
The onion plot just before harvesting (Gave me a chance to weed it too!)
I got an absolutely terrific harvest, several kilos, 3 big boxes full!
And the onions are very swollen and healthy looking, even the Red onions were excellent this year.
The echalotes are great, really big bulbs. It was a good idea to invest in a good variety (jermor drumstick variety).
Labels: beans, courgette, echalote, onions, pumpkin, red onion, summer, tomatoes
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Harvesting in the heat
A quick trip to water this morning, considering that we are again in a very hot period. I am a little concerned about the potatoes which are losing their vegetation at an alarming rate. I will see if I can figure out the cause or if it is the normal dying off process. It seems a little early to me.
I noticed that some of the gooseberries are dropping off the bushes! So they are definitely ripe now! I scooped them off the ground, making a mental note to go back as quickly as possible to pick the others. I seem to have only red gooseberries, which is a bit of a shame. I also got a small punnet of ripe raspberries, the first green beans, very slim and tender, and about 8 small courgettes! Especially the yellow Parador which are such a terrific variety. I can't get enough of them!
My mulching and watering on Saturday, plus the considerable downpour we had on Sunday seems to have helped it all no end. The squash have doubled in size, the beans are in full flower and the corn and melon, which were slow, has sprung up even. The peppers and aubergines have also had a fine growth spurt, with the peppers getting their flowers and fruit buds. The tomatoes have also filled out alarmingly and they are starting to be abundantly flowered.
The onions are all flopping over, so the harvest of those is not too far off now. Means I need to go and get a few bags of stable waste from the pony club, they have some that is really well rotted in their huge pile, I want to take out the onions and immediately put down a thick layer of that as a mulch and to prepare the ground, which will be next year's potato patch. Yes, the season is just starting and you must already plan ahead!!
There were several bees down there this morning, a wonderful thing to see.
I noticed that some of the gooseberries are dropping off the bushes! So they are definitely ripe now! I scooped them off the ground, making a mental note to go back as quickly as possible to pick the others. I seem to have only red gooseberries, which is a bit of a shame. I also got a small punnet of ripe raspberries, the first green beans, very slim and tender, and about 8 small courgettes! Especially the yellow Parador which are such a terrific variety. I can't get enough of them!
My mulching and watering on Saturday, plus the considerable downpour we had on Sunday seems to have helped it all no end. The squash have doubled in size, the beans are in full flower and the corn and melon, which were slow, has sprung up even. The peppers and aubergines have also had a fine growth spurt, with the peppers getting their flowers and fruit buds. The tomatoes have also filled out alarmingly and they are starting to be abundantly flowered.
The onions are all flopping over, so the harvest of those is not too far off now. Means I need to go and get a few bags of stable waste from the pony club, they have some that is really well rotted in their huge pile, I want to take out the onions and immediately put down a thick layer of that as a mulch and to prepare the ground, which will be next year's potato patch. Yes, the season is just starting and you must already plan ahead!!
There were several bees down there this morning, a wonderful thing to see.
Labels: beans, courgette, harvest, raspberry, summer
Monday, June 28, 2010
Scorcher
It was indeed a scorching weekend here with over 30 deg. I worked in the garden on Saturday morning but by 10 am it was starting already to get a bit unbearable. Still, I was really pleased with the work I did. I finally did a bit of work on the herb border which was completely overgrown with 5 foot high parsley (yep!), rampant lemon balm and the bloody bramble have made another attempt. There was also bindweed crawling over everything. SO I ripped out all the nasties, chooped back the parsley and lemon balm, made some room around the sage, thyme and tarragon and it all looks much more civilised now.
The peas have now been chopped down and left to rot in place. I will slowly dig them back into the earth.
I watered everything copiously, the heat was terrific. And in some ways the plants appreciate some hot weather, as there are plenty of courgettes on the plants (got my first one! A Yellow Parador.) and the tomatoes have come on very well. I weeded and mulched the tomato bad and tied the now tall tomatoes to their stakes, pulling off a little excess vegetation here and there to give the flower trusses the best air exposure. There are a couple of wee tomatoes, and lots of flowers so I am looking forward to a terrific harvest again.
I also gave a few shovelfulls of rich compost to the squash, mulching it around them and watering heavily before covering the whole squash bed in thick straw. I also did the same to the aubergines and peppers. The peppers are getting their flower buds, bless 'em.
Sowing:
I sowed some more stuff to keep the garden going throughout the cooler months. sowed: radicchio, scarole lettuce, ordinary lettuce, and started sowing spring cabbage.
Harvesting: it starts to get interesting.
The last peas, strawberries, raspberries and even blackcurrants that I forgot I had as they have been swamped by the raspberries. The first courgette.
Picked a couple of shallots, they are going to be a bumper crop I think. Each bulb is at least 5 cm wide, a great size. I can't wait for the onions to be ready, they are all flopping over now with gusto.
Plans for the next week or two:
as often as possible, add more compost around the beans, which are in flower and even starting to make tiny baby beans.
plant out the pak choi and kale that are patiently growing in the coldframe.
weed round the rhubarb bed that is looking a bit straggly. The rhubarb got the rest of the manure that was sitting in a corner of the herb bed, as it has been a bit poorly this season.
keep harvesting early potatoes, bordeaux-mixture the lates and keep weeding and tidying. And hopefully start picking all that wonderful summer produce!!
The peas have now been chopped down and left to rot in place. I will slowly dig them back into the earth.
I watered everything copiously, the heat was terrific. And in some ways the plants appreciate some hot weather, as there are plenty of courgettes on the plants (got my first one! A Yellow Parador.) and the tomatoes have come on very well. I weeded and mulched the tomato bad and tied the now tall tomatoes to their stakes, pulling off a little excess vegetation here and there to give the flower trusses the best air exposure. There are a couple of wee tomatoes, and lots of flowers so I am looking forward to a terrific harvest again.
I also gave a few shovelfulls of rich compost to the squash, mulching it around them and watering heavily before covering the whole squash bed in thick straw. I also did the same to the aubergines and peppers. The peppers are getting their flower buds, bless 'em.
Sowing:
I sowed some more stuff to keep the garden going throughout the cooler months. sowed: radicchio, scarole lettuce, ordinary lettuce, and started sowing spring cabbage.
Harvesting: it starts to get interesting.
The last peas, strawberries, raspberries and even blackcurrants that I forgot I had as they have been swamped by the raspberries. The first courgette.
Picked a couple of shallots, they are going to be a bumper crop I think. Each bulb is at least 5 cm wide, a great size. I can't wait for the onions to be ready, they are all flopping over now with gusto.
Plans for the next week or two:
as often as possible, add more compost around the beans, which are in flower and even starting to make tiny baby beans.
plant out the pak choi and kale that are patiently growing in the coldframe.
weed round the rhubarb bed that is looking a bit straggly. The rhubarb got the rest of the manure that was sitting in a corner of the herb bed, as it has been a bit poorly this season.
keep harvesting early potatoes, bordeaux-mixture the lates and keep weeding and tidying. And hopefully start picking all that wonderful summer produce!!
Labels: beans, courgette, herbs, mulch, peas, peppers, squash, summer, tomatoes, weeds
Monday, June 14, 2010
Pics for June 2010
Finally made it down there with a camera! So this will be a more cheerful post.
First let's have an overall look at the plot, from the onion and potato beds down. This is the lushest part I guess:
Looks like I need to weed it again! Along the side, I took advantage of the spare place to put in a few lettuces and some marguerites. They look nice. If it's warm this evening I will go down and hoe, just to tidy it a little.
The artichoke is finally getting some fruit on it (well, flowers, but let's not split hairs):
You can see that the self seeded marguerites next to it have gone beserk, but by September they will all have died. sad isn't it? Behind it you can see the rhubarb, and the little wild patch, where I grow mint, lavender, lemon balm, a rose bush etc.
Between the two is the carrot patch, a row of parsnips, a row of beetroot and the Brussel sprouts! But the artichoke is blocking the view!
On Saturday, I picked my first crop of peas. They were still dewy and fresh, we ate them for lunch and they were just perfect.
They are Kelvedon Wonder, sowed in March and April. So quite a fast cropper.
The fruit beds are always sweet at this time of year. I have not had so many strawberries, but all the plants are new, so I guess I have to be patient.
The gooseberries are ripening wondefully, I protected them with netting this year.
Squash and pumpkin is the crop of the year. The courgettes and pattypan squash have taken off well:
You can see the mass of straw behind that is the melon bed. The plants are not obvious yet but some have survived. Next year I will sow direct as that seems to give the best results with squash! Another new thing learned this year.
A Parador yellow courgette - soon it will have flowers and fruit.
The 3 sisters bed is a bit of a mixed bag this year - 4 straggly corn plants! but the pumpkins seem to be enjoying themselves. Some old garden trellises behind will support the tiny Cobra beans that are just peeping through the ground. The beans are surrounding the squash this year, for easier picking.
And finally, the tomatoes. You can see that they on a very rich patch of soil this year. They are growing on a load of manure. I hope to get a really good harvest this time! I am growing salad toms and some beefsteaks up the stakes, and along the back there are some bushy cherry tomatoes, Totem or Gardener's Delight. I didn't get a good cherry tomato last year, so I have put a lot of effort into that this time!
I hope you all enjoy seeing what the plot is looking like! I think this has been my most successful year so far, and now I have to concentrate on getting things ready for the autumn and winter crops (planting leeks and beetroot and caring for kale and oriental greens that I have just sown) and caring for the current plants (putting bordeaux mixture on the tomatoes and spuds, weeding and continuing to harvest).
First let's have an overall look at the plot, from the onion and potato beds down. This is the lushest part I guess:
Looks like I need to weed it again! Along the side, I took advantage of the spare place to put in a few lettuces and some marguerites. They look nice. If it's warm this evening I will go down and hoe, just to tidy it a little.The artichoke is finally getting some fruit on it (well, flowers, but let's not split hairs):
You can see that the self seeded marguerites next to it have gone beserk, but by September they will all have died. sad isn't it? Behind it you can see the rhubarb, and the little wild patch, where I grow mint, lavender, lemon balm, a rose bush etc.Between the two is the carrot patch, a row of parsnips, a row of beetroot and the Brussel sprouts! But the artichoke is blocking the view!
On Saturday, I picked my first crop of peas. They were still dewy and fresh, we ate them for lunch and they were just perfect.
They are Kelvedon Wonder, sowed in March and April. So quite a fast cropper.
The fruit beds are always sweet at this time of year. I have not had so many strawberries, but all the plants are new, so I guess I have to be patient.
The gooseberries are ripening wondefully, I protected them with netting this year.
Squash and pumpkin is the crop of the year. The courgettes and pattypan squash have taken off well:
You can see the mass of straw behind that is the melon bed. The plants are not obvious yet but some have survived. Next year I will sow direct as that seems to give the best results with squash! Another new thing learned this year.
A Parador yellow courgette - soon it will have flowers and fruit.
The 3 sisters bed is a bit of a mixed bag this year - 4 straggly corn plants! but the pumpkins seem to be enjoying themselves. Some old garden trellises behind will support the tiny Cobra beans that are just peeping through the ground. The beans are surrounding the squash this year, for easier picking.
And finally, the tomatoes. You can see that they on a very rich patch of soil this year. They are growing on a load of manure. I hope to get a really good harvest this time! I am growing salad toms and some beefsteaks up the stakes, and along the back there are some bushy cherry tomatoes, Totem or Gardener's Delight. I didn't get a good cherry tomato last year, so I have put a lot of effort into that this time!
I hope you all enjoy seeing what the plot is looking like! I think this has been my most successful year so far, and now I have to concentrate on getting things ready for the autumn and winter crops (planting leeks and beetroot and caring for kale and oriental greens that I have just sown) and caring for the current plants (putting bordeaux mixture on the tomatoes and spuds, weeding and continuing to harvest).
Labels: courgette, fruit, onions, peas, spring, squash, tomatoes
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A scorcher!
The Pentecost holiday weekend was a scorcher! We had temperatures well in excess of the normal season temperatures, well into the high 20's. And me, perhaps rather zealously, had to do all my major planting this weekend. So I then spent hours watering everything. Still all is not lost, there is rain on the way today or tomorrow.
So every morning early I was down there in my wellies (pools of sweat forming inside them) digging, and planting:
- melons: 4 Gallia melons and 5 Charentais, plus I sowed some more seeds in between each plant. Hopefully they will take off well straight from the earth. radically, I decided not to plant them through plastic but through a thick bed of straw (discreetly taken from the racetrack so it does have some horse pee in it). I am hoping that will provide heat but not too much and protection.
- courgettes; again 3 green and a yellow, plus I sowed some summer squash, and some pumpkins in the same bed. The pumpkins are having trouble taking off, I will sow some more in place this week.
- peppers,
- aubergines
and finally the tomatoes: 6 Gardener's Delight, 3 Totem, 3 Pannovy, and about 4 each of Marmande and Ananas Beefsteaks, Moneymaker, and Tigerella. There are about 25 plants in all. And despite the heat they looked as happy as pigs in s....
Harvesting! A big bunch of rhubarb and at last the first strawberries. small and sweet, a bit of rain will really help the crop along.
So the allotment is looking terrific, not too many weeds, everything in full growth, onions and potatoes looking green and healthy. I had a firkle and the garlic is swelling beautifully underground, dead chuffed as it was only precariously over wintered. I guess the cold winter was good for it. It is starting only now to yellow off a bit, I am thinking that in 2 or 3 weeks it will be ready for harvest.
Left to do now: climbing beans, more pumpkins, leeks (when a bit of space is made for them), and some sowing for winter And the weeding, in earnest.
So every morning early I was down there in my wellies (pools of sweat forming inside them) digging, and planting:
- melons: 4 Gallia melons and 5 Charentais, plus I sowed some more seeds in between each plant. Hopefully they will take off well straight from the earth. radically, I decided not to plant them through plastic but through a thick bed of straw (discreetly taken from the racetrack so it does have some horse pee in it). I am hoping that will provide heat but not too much and protection.
- courgettes; again 3 green and a yellow, plus I sowed some summer squash, and some pumpkins in the same bed. The pumpkins are having trouble taking off, I will sow some more in place this week.
- peppers,
- aubergines
and finally the tomatoes: 6 Gardener's Delight, 3 Totem, 3 Pannovy, and about 4 each of Marmande and Ananas Beefsteaks, Moneymaker, and Tigerella. There are about 25 plants in all. And despite the heat they looked as happy as pigs in s....
Harvesting! A big bunch of rhubarb and at last the first strawberries. small and sweet, a bit of rain will really help the crop along.
So the allotment is looking terrific, not too many weeds, everything in full growth, onions and potatoes looking green and healthy. I had a firkle and the garlic is swelling beautifully underground, dead chuffed as it was only precariously over wintered. I guess the cold winter was good for it. It is starting only now to yellow off a bit, I am thinking that in 2 or 3 weeks it will be ready for harvest.
Left to do now: climbing beans, more pumpkins, leeks (when a bit of space is made for them), and some sowing for winter And the weeding, in earnest.
Labels: aubergine, courgette, peppers, spring, squash, tomatoes
Monday, May 17, 2010
Still working hard
I put in another few hours on Saturday. I must say that it's looking OK. There are strawberries starting to grow, the onions, garlic etc look great, as do the spuds which have luxurious foliage.
I weeded, watered, keeping it all tidy, transplanted a few lettuce from the cold frame, and planted out Brussel sprouts, a few red cabbage and broccoli that I grew from seed in the cold frame as well as the first courgette plants and some pumpkins.
The cold frames have turned out to be a terrific success, now I see how to work them, I will use them more and more in the coming seasons.
I also transplanted spinach, that I started in the coldframe, as the ones I direct sowed seem useless. The others will go in later this week, and I hope to plant out the tomatoes, aubergines and peppers which for now are discouragingly small. I hope that by planting them out, they will take off... I try to be optimistic!
I sowed some more sweetcorn into the cold frame, so far it has been hopeless, I have almost no viable seedlings. Last ditch attempt, perhaps it has been too cold this year?
I will try to do some pics soon, to show how it's shaping up...
I weeded, watered, keeping it all tidy, transplanted a few lettuce from the cold frame, and planted out Brussel sprouts, a few red cabbage and broccoli that I grew from seed in the cold frame as well as the first courgette plants and some pumpkins.
The cold frames have turned out to be a terrific success, now I see how to work them, I will use them more and more in the coming seasons.
I also transplanted spinach, that I started in the coldframe, as the ones I direct sowed seem useless. The others will go in later this week, and I hope to plant out the tomatoes, aubergines and peppers which for now are discouragingly small. I hope that by planting them out, they will take off... I try to be optimistic!
I sowed some more sweetcorn into the cold frame, so far it has been hopeless, I have almost no viable seedlings. Last ditch attempt, perhaps it has been too cold this year?
I will try to do some pics soon, to show how it's shaping up...
Labels: broccoli, cabbage, coldframe, courgette, pumpkin, spinach, sprouts
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hot and sunny
Unseasonally hot for April in fact - I had to wear a bleedin' HAT!
Had a few chances to tidy up well this wek, the warm weather makes everything spring up though!
I have been planting lettuce (grown from seed in my own little seedbox!!), and spring onions and sowing beetroot, spinach and parsnips. And watering a lot all the rest!. I managed to put together the other seedbox, which is now half full of brassica seedlings, more lettuce, broccoli, flowers and spinach. Nice.
Today I did two important jobs, prepared the courgette bed (just to get ahead of things): it's been spread with loads of manure and today I forked in a few shovelfuls of compost too, then covered with black plastic. Then I just have to plant the courgettes and squash straight in once they are ready! Later in the week I will do the same thing opposite it, for melons.
Other job was mulching the fruit bushes with shredded paper. That amused the neighbours...
Otherwise, it's all going swimmingly, the herbs, strawberries and rhubarb have sprung back after our harsh winter, the potatoes and onions are growing well, I have a lot of radishes that will be ready next week.
Next job: take some pictures, then tidy up the lower border and use the planks I managed to scrounge to edge them off (all the soil keeps running off otherwise), earth up the spuds which are growing vigorously now, make the melon bed I just mentioned, and go get some stable waste so I can mulch the aubergines and peppers when they are planted in a couple of weeks time. I should also be able to start sowing the early dwarf beans.
Had a few chances to tidy up well this wek, the warm weather makes everything spring up though!
I have been planting lettuce (grown from seed in my own little seedbox!!), and spring onions and sowing beetroot, spinach and parsnips. And watering a lot all the rest!. I managed to put together the other seedbox, which is now half full of brassica seedlings, more lettuce, broccoli, flowers and spinach. Nice.
Today I did two important jobs, prepared the courgette bed (just to get ahead of things): it's been spread with loads of manure and today I forked in a few shovelfuls of compost too, then covered with black plastic. Then I just have to plant the courgettes and squash straight in once they are ready! Later in the week I will do the same thing opposite it, for melons.
Other job was mulching the fruit bushes with shredded paper. That amused the neighbours...
Otherwise, it's all going swimmingly, the herbs, strawberries and rhubarb have sprung back after our harsh winter, the potatoes and onions are growing well, I have a lot of radishes that will be ready next week.
Next job: take some pictures, then tidy up the lower border and use the planks I managed to scrounge to edge them off (all the soil keeps running off otherwise), earth up the spuds which are growing vigorously now, make the melon bed I just mentioned, and go get some stable waste so I can mulch the aubergines and peppers when they are planted in a couple of weeks time. I should also be able to start sowing the early dwarf beans.
Labels: courgette, fruit, planning, planting, sow, spring, weeds
Friday, April 16, 2010
Pricking out
What a rude word...
Anyway I spent ages last night doing this, transferring all the aubergine and pepper seedlings from trays into bigger modules, so they can grow bigger. Haven't done the tomatoes yet and I think I might need to go get some of my home made compost to do the job! It will be a big one, I have dozens of seedlings, many of which I give away (I usually plant about 30 tomatoes in season).
I also started the sowing of the tender plants:
Anyway I spent ages last night doing this, transferring all the aubergine and pepper seedlings from trays into bigger modules, so they can grow bigger. Haven't done the tomatoes yet and I think I might need to go get some of my home made compost to do the job! It will be a big one, I have dozens of seedlings, many of which I give away (I usually plant about 30 tomatoes in season).
I also started the sowing of the tender plants:
- green Diamant courgettes and yellow Parador courgettes.
- About 20 sweetcorn plants, now up on the fridge to avoid consumption by the household feline,
- several melons (yes yes I know, it's hard to do, but as I have lots of manure, I am gonna give it a go, with some fleech over them), green Gallia and orange Charentais melons.
Labels: aubergine, corn, courgette, melon, peppers, pricking_out, spring
Friday, July 10, 2009
beans beans are good for your heart...
Just as well because they are starting to pop up! We ate our first serving of home grown beans yesterday, a mix of yellow Kingswax and green Cobra climbers - beautiful. On the weekend I will immediately dig up the old broad bean patch, fill it with manure and sow some more beans for later in the summer.
I filled 3 boxes with our onions/echalotes/red onions, it's been a great harvest. Now I need to dig over and weed that patch and mulch it with straw and manure, so it doesn't become a jungle.
The courgettes are forming well, not quite big enough to pick, but nearly. The aubergines have come out in beautiful purple flowers, so hopefuly fruit will follow soon. and before the holidays preferably! There are some green tomatoes on the vine, just waiting to soak up some sun. The pumpkins are wnding their way around the compost box (I had better pinch them out soon) and the sweetcorn is about 80cm high. Tassles are just starting to form so I had better shake them everytime I go down there!!
This period is pretty frustrating - everything is almost ready to pick but not quite!
I filled 3 boxes with our onions/echalotes/red onions, it's been a great harvest. Now I need to dig over and weed that patch and mulch it with straw and manure, so it doesn't become a jungle.
The courgettes are forming well, not quite big enough to pick, but nearly. The aubergines have come out in beautiful purple flowers, so hopefuly fruit will follow soon. and before the holidays preferably! There are some green tomatoes on the vine, just waiting to soak up some sun. The pumpkins are wnding their way around the compost box (I had better pinch them out soon) and the sweetcorn is about 80cm high. Tassles are just starting to form so I had better shake them everytime I go down there!!
This period is pretty frustrating - everything is almost ready to pick but not quite!
Labels: aubergine, beans, courgette, harvest, pumpkin, summer, tomatoes
Monday, July 06, 2009
Got my key again
I had lost my key to my allotment! So luckily this weekend I was able to make a copy and get back to the garden! It was time to dig up the onions, which are now spread on the ground to mature. They are great, there are a few real whoppers and some nice echalotes and even the red onions made a good showing for once.
The aubergines have flowers so hopefully fruit soon, same with the peppers and the tomatoes. We ate our first yellow Parador courgettes, they were delicious. The beans also have flowers starting, so our first beans will be ready anon.
I will try and take some new pics this week as everything is flourishing (unfortunately the weeds too, but I will try and overcome that with some strategic hoeing!).
The aubergines have flowers so hopefully fruit soon, same with the peppers and the tomatoes. We ate our first yellow Parador courgettes, they were delicious. The beans also have flowers starting, so our first beans will be ready anon.
I will try and take some new pics this week as everything is flourishing (unfortunately the weeds too, but I will try and overcome that with some strategic hoeing!).
Labels: aubergine, beans, courgette, peppers, summer, tomatoes
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
growth spurt
There has been a noticeable growth spurt this week, after quite a bit of rain and now a bright sunny period. The courgettes are coming on splendidly, and flowers are starting to form on most of them. The corn and beans too have really come on, the garden is green all over. I love this summer lushness.
Today I went and tied up some of the feistier looking tomatoes, and plucked off the unnecessary shoots (they are called "gourmands" in French, meaning greedy things, which is quite a good description). They are not all quite as lush as I would like but some are getting flowers and the others are developing stronger vines and good top growth so I will be patient. I was really late with them this year.
The peppers and eggplants/aubergines have amazed me. They got so storm damaged at one point and now they are looking great. I hope they will give some fruit! I mulched all round them with manure this weekend, I am hoping that everytime I water some goodness will get down to them.
I dug up some of the early spuds this weekend, they are delicious. My neighbour kept saying "oh they are sick" because the foliage started dying off but I have come to the conclusion that this is bollocks in fact. the yield is not terrific, about 3 or 4 spuds per plant but, hey that means I get back 4 times what I planted. Not too bad when you think about it like that.
Today I went and tied up some of the feistier looking tomatoes, and plucked off the unnecessary shoots (they are called "gourmands" in French, meaning greedy things, which is quite a good description). They are not all quite as lush as I would like but some are getting flowers and the others are developing stronger vines and good top growth so I will be patient. I was really late with them this year.
The peppers and eggplants/aubergines have amazed me. They got so storm damaged at one point and now they are looking great. I hope they will give some fruit! I mulched all round them with manure this weekend, I am hoping that everytime I water some goodness will get down to them.
I dug up some of the early spuds this weekend, they are delicious. My neighbour kept saying "oh they are sick" because the foliage started dying off but I have come to the conclusion that this is bollocks in fact. the yield is not terrific, about 3 or 4 spuds per plant but, hey that means I get back 4 times what I planted. Not too bad when you think about it like that.
Labels: aubergine, courgette, potato, summer, tomatoes
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Off to a sprint
I am quite pleased with the allotment just now, I hope I can keep up the same regularity over the summer, as it is relatively clean and tidy and regular visits will help keep it that way.
I got a lovely crop of strawberries on the weekend. about a kilo. And there is about the same amount waiting to be picked, I shall pop down in the morning and do that. So I think I will be making more jam and freezing some fruit too.
This morning I went down to water as we have had 2 quite hot sunny days, and as I hoed around a bit, I realised that underneath the ground is actually quite cool and fresh. So everything is thriving.
I will soon have a crop of peas and the second pea sowing is just peeking up its head. The onions are doing well and I have the first flower on the courgettes! I am so pleased as I was very late with them this year but they have gotten off to a good start. The beans are poking through, the only thing that seems to have let me down is the sweetcorn. Which got storm damaged it seems. I wonder if it is too late to re-sow some??
I came away this morning with 3 lovely artichokes, big ones, about the size of a large orange. I am looking forward to those! We all love them.
I got a lovely crop of strawberries on the weekend. about a kilo. And there is about the same amount waiting to be picked, I shall pop down in the morning and do that. So I think I will be making more jam and freezing some fruit too.
This morning I went down to water as we have had 2 quite hot sunny days, and as I hoed around a bit, I realised that underneath the ground is actually quite cool and fresh. So everything is thriving.
I will soon have a crop of peas and the second pea sowing is just peeking up its head. The onions are doing well and I have the first flower on the courgettes! I am so pleased as I was very late with them this year but they have gotten off to a good start. The beans are poking through, the only thing that seems to have let me down is the sweetcorn. Which got storm damaged it seems. I wonder if it is too late to re-sow some??
I came away this morning with 3 lovely artichokes, big ones, about the size of a large orange. I am looking forward to those! We all love them.
Labels: corn, courgette, spring, strawberry
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
No storm damage
Well, a quick trip to the allotment this morning (mainly to empty my compost bin which was getting very smelly in the kitchen) revealed that the storms of the past few days had not caused any damage, but had certainly given the ground a good soaking!It seems to be a good time for rain, the potatoes are coming up champion. They will need a good coating of Bordeaux mixture though, as humidity is high.
My neighbour Raymond has something amusing on his lot: potatoes are growing out of his compost!! I took a pic of them because I must admit they seem a picture of good health!
I also quickly planted 3 courgette plants that were getting a bit big for the kitchen, hopefully they will take off as the courgettes are very slow this year, last year I started harvesting in June but I can't see that happening now.
The strawberry plants have loads of ripe fruit too, so a quick trip will be needed on the way back from work I think, to get them before the magpies do!!
On the pic below you can see the Tomato and aubergine patch (the toms aren't quite all in yet, there is still a section to be dug and planted). They look a bit pathetic because the aubergines and peppers got badly storm damaged, but to my surprise they are growing new growth, and I bought in a few new plants so I hope that I will get some aubergines after all. This is my first year growing them.
My neighbour Raymond has something amusing on his lot: potatoes are growing out of his compost!! I took a pic of them because I must admit they seem a picture of good health!
I also quickly planted 3 courgette plants that were getting a bit big for the kitchen, hopefully they will take off as the courgettes are very slow this year, last year I started harvesting in June but I can't see that happening now.
The strawberry plants have loads of ripe fruit too, so a quick trip will be needed on the way back from work I think, to get them before the magpies do!!
On the pic below you can see the Tomato and aubergine patch (the toms aren't quite all in yet, there is still a section to be dug and planted). They look a bit pathetic because the aubergines and peppers got badly storm damaged, but to my surprise they are growing new growth, and I bought in a few new plants so I hope that I will get some aubergines after all. This is my first year growing them.
Labels: courgette, potato, rain, spring
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Storm disaster
Oh dear I visited the lottie after three days of absolutely torrential rain. To my dismay, my courgette plants have been almost all pulverised and some of the eggplant/aubergine and chili peppers have been damaged. I hope they will perk up again once the milder weather comes back. But I was relieved in the end not to have put the tomatoes and sweetcorn out, they could have all been destroyed!
I guess I can always buy in a few aubergines but I was so disappointed, I had grown them from seed and they were looking great.
So this morning I sowed some more courgettes, I guess they pop up quickly so no great problem.
The lot is completely submerged around the edges but my neighbours said they would help and sure enough someone has trimmed all around my fruit section for me, it looks really nice. I will attack the other path with the pickaxe as soon as i can but I really need to finish the planting first. I should ask for a strimmer for Christmas except I don't know how to use one yet!!!
I also ate my first artichokes, even a huge one that was as big as a melon! they were delicious. And the first strawberries are ripening too. At least that is some compensation.
Labels: artichoke, aubergine, courgette, rain, strawberry
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