[Nigel Bolton]

Onions are HUGE.

Last of spinach cropped, ground to be dug over and watered today, ready for some radishes, carrots and beets. New spinach plants for winter will be sown once onions and shallots have been harvested. Stems are now dying back, but will give them another couple of weeks to store more goodness, before lifting and drying.

Old pairs of tights (not worn by me), make very good storage sacs for onions and shallots. Simply fill, then nail to the wall of the shed.

N.

[JanetB138]

Quite disappointed with the  harvest this year, I made a few mistakes with the Garlic  by sowing them close together ( wont do that again) and came out like chick peas.

The other pot of Garlic is doing well ( only have 2 in there), so will harvest middle of August.

Only got one salad potato as the dam dog decided to eat all the leaves and was poorly later, but i did manage to keep one lot which was staked up, but that is nearly ready.

 

Tomato plants  have grown like triffids, 2 of them was only producing weak fruit , so I got rid of them, the only one growing now is doing well and  has plenty of flowers on.

Cucumbers started off well with plenty of flowers, but we had a deluge of rain and they got water logged, so they had to be got rid off.

 

I dont think getting free seeds is a good idea, so im going to buy them in future, this Autumn will have another go at Garlic, Carrots, and some Green beans over winter.

[Halo]

I've done very well on broad beans and garden peas this year. Also, a neighbour has given me plenty of broad beans so will be living on them for a few days. Enjoyable. Planted some more peas last week to see if I can squeeze another crop in. Plus we dug up a moderate crop of potatoes but not too bad. I've had one or two courgettes as well. Carrots and parsnips are doing well. Yesterday I cleaned out a pigeon cote for a friend who races them, and for an added bonus, I get to keep the manure to prepare for next year as well as a little pocket money.

[Dave K]

Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container.  There were even a few rogue King Edwards which must have come from a volunteer I failed to remove last year.

[Nigel Bolton]

Quote

Big Dave's Gusset - 3/8/2011 10:54 Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container.  There were even a few rogue King Edwards which must have come from a volunteer I failed to remove last year.

Dave,

How does failing to remove a volunteer produce rogue King Edwards?

N.

[Dave K]

Quote

Nigel Bolton - 3/8/2011 11:05

Quote

Big Dave's Gusset - 3/8/2011 10:54 Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container.  There were even a few rogue King Edwards which must have come from a volunteer I failed to remove last year.

Dave,

How does failing to remove a volunteer produce rogue King Edwards?

N.

I mean I didn't intend to grow any King Edwards this year so I was surprised when I dug a few up :%   Last year I grew KEs in this container but I thought I had removed them all. I read that volunteers from a previous season are more likely to be a source of disease though probably less so in a container.

[JanetB138]

Quote

Big Dave's Gusset - 3/8/2011 10:54 Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container.  There were even a few rogue King Edwards which must have come from a volunteer I failed to remove last year.

 

Since seeing your potatoes Dave, I decided to do  mine, not as many as you got, but there was quite a few big ones, it was a good job I did them as the leaves were covered in White fly and the leaves were brown in places.

I found a site that does some good deals and  cheaper seeds, as i did go on the Sutton Seeds site, but found the packets to be really dear.

Planted some more gvarlic this morning in a long tub, have got plenty of compost now so I thought i would go on the site next week and purchase some Veg seeds.

 

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_april_3_garlic.asp

 

Its a good site it explains what you need to do and which variety to buy for a better  quality of purchase.

[PK2]

Quote

Big Dave's Gusset - 3/8/2011 10:54

Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container. 

They seem rather "straightforward". When I've tried to grow Pink Fir Apples they looked more like ginger roots with large "offshoots" running off everywhere. Made them a real pain to peel ...

[Dave K]

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PK2 - 5/8/2011 15:16

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Big Dave's Gusset - 3/8/2011 10:54 Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container. 

They seem rather "straightforward". When I've tried to grow Pink Fir Apples they looked more like ginger roots with large "offshoots" running off everywhere. Made them a real pain to peel ...

Perhaps the degree of knobbliness depends on things like soil and watering? No need to peel them, just give them a scrub and boil them in their skins.  :-)

[PK2]

Quote

Big Dave's Gusset - 5/8/2011 15:56

Quote

PK2 - 5/8/2011 15:16

Quote

Big Dave's Gusset - 3/8/2011 10:54 Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container. 

They seem rather "straightforward". When I've tried to grow Pink Fir Apples they looked more like ginger roots with large "offshoots" running off everywhere. Made them a real pain to peel ...

Perhaps the degree of knobbliness depends on things like soil and watering? No need to peel them, just give them a scrub and boil them in their skins.  :-)

Watering was left to the "weather gods". Peeled them for roasts etc, I wasn't that keen on them but the owners of the veggie plot seems to like them for such purposes.

[Nigel Bolton]

Quote

PK2 - 5/8/2011 15:16

Quote

Big Dave's Gusset - 3/8/2011 10:54 Despite the leaf fungus affecting my potato plants, the tubers of the Pink Fir Apples were unaffected and I'm quite pleased with the harvest, not bad for a container. 

They seem rather "straightforward". When I've tried to grow Pink Fir Apples they looked more like ginger roots with large "offshoots" running off everywhere. Made them a real pain to peel ...

Don't bother peeling spuds, just rinse under the tap with a rough cloth or washing up pad.

Spuds cook well in their jackets, and I am particularly partial to roasties with their skins left on; turn oven up really high towards end of cooking for that extra crispiness.

N.

[Nigel Bolton]

Planted two courgette plants, thinking that this would not be enough. However, both plants together have now conspired to produce me nearly fifty pounds in weight of courgettes, and still they produce. Have had to give some away; perhaps should sell using an 'honesty box' technique.

Courgette curry is excellent to make. Use mild spices, and loads of yogurt.

N.

[Nigel Bolton]

Just harvested the shallots. They are lying in the sunshine on a table to dry. No sign of onion fly. Will 'half top' the stems later, then leave on a tray in the utility room to cure.

Radishes and carrots have been seeded in available space.

N.

[Dave K]

Still getting a few ripe tomatoes from the Orkado plants outside though they are taking a real battering in the autumn wind and rain. Will probably have to take off about 20 green 'uns and use them in salsa verde or something. Last of the spring onions taken up and consumed yesterday so my outdoors horticulture season is all but over now. Just the chillis in the unheated lean-to with the fatalii and chocolate habanero on their second crop, which I hope will ripen before the nights get too cool. Only tried one half of one small fatalii so far and it was extremely hot

[Nigel Bolton]

Harvested the onions, the largest ones are over a pound in weight. Are now curing in the utility room
Harvested the carrots. A touch of carrot fly and slug damage, but fine tasting.
Runner beans now producing some three pounds per day, so freezer rapidly filling.
Courgettes still productive, but tree shade is slowing one plant down significantly
Beetroot nice and large. Wife says she will use some to cook borscht this weekend.
Tomatoes still turning. Green ones make nice chutney if they fail to ripen.
Apple tree laden. Eight pears on the sapling pear tree.

After what I thought might be a rather so-so year, feel the fruit and veg production has been very successful this year, and has saved me a few quid into the bargain.

Am now trying to enlarge a small bed in a sunny spot to grow extra next year, making the bed a few square metres bigger if possible, if I can find the time.

N.

[Nigel Bolton]

Cold night a couple of nights ago has put paid to one of the courgette plants. The other still soldiers on.
Runners are still remarkably prolific, an having to offload them onto the neighbours, friends etc.
Tomatoes still ripening. However, may need to make a batch of green tomato chutney soon, if no more warmth.
N.

[Dave K]

At the start of September I thought I would be left with about 20 green tomatoes but I am glad to have left them on the plants outside. After some very cloudy weather through the middle part of September where I could have given up with them, this warm and sunny spell has pretty well ripened all but one which is still green. I've had to take the secateurs to the plants as they just keep trying to grow onwards and upwards. Never thought I would still be picking ripe toms outdoors in October, and they still taste excellent.

[Nigel Bolton]

Just the runner beans left now, they are still producing nicely, but the quality of the crop now is inferior to earlier in the season, they have a tendency to go 'stringy' more rapidly.

Other raised beds have now been dug out with lots of well rotted compost buried, the soil then raked back over to produce near mounds ready for next year. Compost heap is full of worms, so is working really nicely.

N.

[Dave K]

Picked the last of the tomatoes this week, all fully ripe though the skins are a bit tougher now than they were during the summer period, and cut the plants down. That's it now for outdoors apart from the tidying up chores. Chillis in the conservatory are now all that I have left growing, the second crop with a good number of pods are ripe but it's a bit of a race against time if they are all to ripen fully now that sunshine and night time warmth is in short supply for the two extreme heat varieties.

[Modo]

Picking main crop Figs - an absolute first ever, Small but very sweet, About 10% of the fruit on my two trees is edible.

Got a Gladioli out.

Strawberries in profusion but they needed watering. Raspberries are best autumn crop ever in terms of flavor - I usually let the birds eat them because they taste musty,

Courgettes, French beans as if it was early September. Salad is first rate but needs watering still.

Lawns look like August lawns.

Maybe autumn starts this week. Haven't picked a mushroom for 6 weeks!