Fiction and Fact

Mainly attributed to this years unexpected, unusual & fluctuating weather conditions I have compiled 2 lists of the fruit & veggies which I have sown and cultivated to date. The first list is in the order of how I expected the crops to turn out, (given reasonable UK weather conditions). Quality, abundance, taste and difficulty in cultivation, being the criteria, used.

 My second list is the order in which they actually turned out.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

1.Potatoes

2. Runner beans 

3. Peas

4. French climbing beans

5. Rhubarb

6. Onions (Including Spring onions)

7.Sweetcorn

8. Tomatoes (Outdoor varieties)

9. Strawberries

10. Raspberries

11. Blackcurrants

12. Cucumbers (Ridge)

13. Apples

14.Lettuce

15. Redcurrants 

16.White currants

17. Gooseberries

 18. Cabbage

19. Sprouts

20. Carrots

21. Parsnips

22. Pears

23. Beetroot

24.Swedes

25. Turnips

26. Plums

27. Peppers

28.Khol-rabi

29. Cherries

30. Pumpkins

31. Oca

32. Grapes

ACTUAL OUTCOME

1. Blackcurrants (Excellent size, abundance & taste)

2. Lettuce (Good sizes, fresh & abundant)

3. Peas (Good all round, no disease, very abundant)

4. Carrots (Grew quickly, crisp, sweet & abundant, huge crop)

5. Sprouts (Good plants, thinnings transplanted very well)

6. Rhubarb (3 plants very vigorous)

7. Beetroot (Excellent all round)

8. Potatoes (Earlies average, Main crop excellent size & amount) despite the wet ground.

9. Parsnips (Earlier than expected very good yield)

10.Tomatoes (Didn't like the wet/cold weather, doing well now)

11. Raspberries (Good crop no disease or pests)

12. Redcurrants (Cropped well, spoiled somewhat by birds)

13. White currants (Good crop, still cropping)

14. Swede (Germinated well, developing well this year)

15. Onions (Disappointing compared to last year, they didn't  like the damp weather, usable)

16. Gooseberries (Good yield, good size shape & taste)

17. Strawberries (Yield good, size & shape average)

18. Sweetcorn (Remaining plants are good but many seeds didn't germinate early in the year, in pots) 

19. Runner beans (Just coming good, lack of early germination slow to grow this year)

20.Khol-rabi (good size and shape, slow to develop)

21. Cabbage (Nice tasting, suffered from earwig damage inside the heads)

22. Pumpkins (Developing well in the sunshine, but will they ripen fully)

23. French climbing beans (very slow to germinate & grow, beans still forming)

24. Oca (Grew well indoors from tubers. Didn't like the cold outside, still growing)

25. Cucumbers (Germinated well, early, plants slow to develop, still growing)

26. Turnips (Grew well but slowed down by  flea beetle attacks, early in the year)

27. Grapes (Plants growing well with lots of grapes, more prolonged sunshine needed)

28. Peppers (Plants and their peppers slow to develop)

29. Apples (Tree fine lack of fruit)

30. Pears (               ditto       )

31. Plums (                  ditto          )

32. Cherries (                   ditto            )  

There's always tomorrow?? 

 

 

End of July Bed Time

Sunny Days

  Another week of horizon to horizon sunshine with plenty of harvesting done, down the plot. Watering of my crops has been called for twice this week, a far cry from letting the rain do its thing, only a few weeks ago.

My First Pick of Runner Beans 28th July

 Today I picked the first batch of Runner beans which were sown on the 23rd of February. About 80% of the plants have reached their allotted height and been pinched out. The rest have yet to reach the top of their 8 foot canes. I lifted the first full row of main crop Desiree potatoes yesterday, giving me a yield of just over 12kg. Each plant had about 10/12 good sized tubers or 6/7 larger ones per plant. Only 2 plants had been affected by rotting off, from wet soil with 2 tubers showing signs of blight, (both tubers were growing very close to the soils surface), which has been apparent but limited to a handful of other plots on the allotments. The tubers were growing very shallowly, caused by compaction of the heavy clay soil, due to our earlier "monsoon" weather. Because of the hot temperatures and compacted soil, it took me six hours to lift 1 row of potatoes, clean the soil off them, dispose of the haulms and break down the clay where they had been growing. I think I may wait for cooler weather before attempting to harvest the rest of the crop. I need another 4 x 5kg bags of potatoes to break even on costs. Another 2 rows of Carrots have been harvested this week and were prepared for the freezer this afternoon, one event that should be included in the Olympics alongside the marathon?? I now have 3 x 5 litre containers of sliced Carrots in my freezer.

More Carrots Harvested This Week

Spot the Difference (Wild Carrot/Queen Anns Lace) & Carrot

 The last of my Blackcurrants were harvested midweek, a grand total of 80lbs of fruit was gratefully accepted. More jam making will be called for as time allows. My Autumn Raspberries have started to ripen this week and a few were picked today with more to be picked tomorrow. The lack of Apples, Pears and Plums this year is a disappointment, mainly blamed on this years weather,  but probably also due to my lack of pruning skills as well. All my Pumpkins have been pinched out as they have run amok since the start of the recent hot weather. The ground is now becoming difficult to cultivate due to the sunshine "baking" it, but hey, whose complaining, long may the warmth continue with no early frosts to come.

End of July 2nd Plot Top Bed Runner Beans & Maincrop Potatoes

End of July 2nd Plot Lower Bed Maincrop Potatoes

My French climbing beans are at last starting to look healthy with 3 rows of Borlotties coming along nicely in the sunshine and warmth they love. My second sowing of garden peas is currently flowering well, alongside the Borlotties. Earlier in the year I had just about given up on outside Tomatoes being produced, but the 9 plants that survived are now doing well, so fingers crossed. My faithful old Rhubarb plants are still producing good stalks, although a few are gradually dying back. Maybe it will be a good finale to the growing season after all.

End of July 2nd Plot Bottom Beds Maincrop Potatoes, Tomatoes

End of July Depleted Strawberry Bed 2nd Plot

End of July Recently Planted Arbutus Unedo 2nd Plot

End of July 2nd Plot Sweetcorn Bed

End of July Main Plot Bottom Bed Above the Drainage Ditch (The Goji Plants Have Been Removed on Sunday 29/7/12)

End of July Main Plot Currant Bed

End of July Remaining Carrots with Leeks

Main Plot Top of Drainage Bank (Fruit Trees) Fruit this Year 1 Plum, 1 Apple, 1 Pear, No Cherries)

Growing Beneath My Plum Tree (Arum Maculatum)

Remaining Brassica Main Plot End of July

Grapevine Main Plot End of July

Main Plot End of July Legumes Bed + Onions

Runner Beans, Rhubarb, (Lettuce Going to seed) Main Plot End of July, Goji Plants in Background Have Been Removed

Garden Snails in Their Mobile Home Park, Underneath my Potting Table

Well its tomorrow already and Sunday teatime, New Potatoes, Runner beans and Carrots with Lamb.

Thursdays Top 10 Tryouts (Or Show Us Yer Tips 22)!!

1. If you are spending long periods of time tending your garden/allotment during hot periods of weather, remember it is easy to get sun burnt or dehydrated. Make sure you have enough to drink and keep your head and the back of your neck protected from the suns rays.

2. Plants growing in containers such as hanging baskets will dry out quickly during hot weather. Make sure that their soil is kept moist.

3. If your bean plants are looking stunted/wilting with yellowing leaves there are 3 possible causes. The soil is too wet, the soil is too dry or the soil is not fertile enough for correct growth.

4.  July and August is the time to sow Spring Cabbage. If you are sowing directly outside, find a sheltered area of ground which has been manured earlier in the year or last Autumn, partial shade is o.k. Cloche protection may be needed later in the year. Thin out the plants in the following February/March. Harvest from April/May.

5.  If you are likely to have seeds left over this year, put them into a container and keep them in the fridge ready for sowing next year.

6.  If you want to attract bats to your garden or plot (they are insectivores), try growing the following plants, which are generally "evening scented". Evening Primrose/Jasmine, Moonflower, Wild rose, Yarrow, Tansy. Chives, Lemon balm, Mint. Cherry and Apple trees.

7.  The larvae of the bright red Lily beetle causes much damage to various plants, leaving holes in the leaves stems and flowers. Chemical treatment is in the form of, Pyrethrum, Natural fatty acids, Surfactant-based products.

8.  If you have ant hills in your lawn, place a container on top of it. As the temperature rises the ants will take their eggs up into the container. Lift the container later and dispose of the eggs.

9.  If you are using wooden handled garden tools, the wood will benefit from being treated with Linseed oil. Clean any dirt from the handle with a damp cloth. Apply the Linseed oil with a dry cloth and if it soaks well into the wood, apply another coat. WARNING - Cloths containing Linseed oil can self ignite.

10.  The following link will take you to hundreds of free fruit recipes  CLICK HERE 

Poetic Fortnight (With Apologies to William Shakespeare and Others)

I LOVE Early Potatoes

Its been a busy fortnight, since my last blog post went up,

The weathers great, the veg is fine and the suns been out a lot,

Everyday for 13 now, I've visited my plot.

Rain and wind forgotten now, the soil is almost dry,

Clear blue skies and singing birds my smile is kind of wry,

I've cut the grass and pulled the weeds just like I know I outa,

Tomorrows job just has to be, yep, give the plants some water.

Earthing spuds up months ago I thought was heavy work,

But shelling peas and picking fruit has kept me extra busy,

Prepping carrots for the freezer, almost made me dizzy,

Sixty pounds of Blackcurrants, took me hours to pick,

If I eat all of the jam, I will probably be quite sick.

The Runner beans look healthy now, a long time they have stood,

The French beans and Borlotties are just now, coming good,

My garden peas have all been picked and stored inside my freezer,

I've turned the soil where they were grown, whats sown there now? well that really is a teaser. 

My early spuds were average, but tasted nice and sweet,

With Sundays roasts, they'll be a royal feast,

The main crop plants have been chopped down to combat blight maybe,

I'll lift the tubers in a while, they call them Desiree.

My grapes are in abundance, growing quickly round my shed,

But due to lack of earlier sun,  I don't think they'll turn red, (the green ones anyway)

Giant Pumpkins, five or six, are growing out of hand,

I'd better pinch them out quite soon or run right out of land.

Throughout this year, despite the rain, not many slugs I've spied,

I thought it strange they weren't about and wondered where they'd hide,

While digging in my legume bed, the answer came to light,

Just above the sub-soil layer in gangs of nine or ten, they hid, and not a pretty sight,

I dug them up, with my fork and placed them on hard ground,

Then my boot came down on them, now they're not alive,

I really must try harder, losing count at ninety five.

The Sweet corns standing nice and tall and looking darkish green,

Flowers grace my Cucumbers growing in between,

The Oca plants look healthy now and one or two have bloomed,

I wonder if the tubers are growing in the gloom.

The humble Lettuce stood the tests of wind and rain and flood,

I've sown some more again this week the last crop tasted good.

More Currants for the Freezer

???

Caterpillar Digging

 

2's Company

Thursdays Top 10 Tryouts (Or Show Us Yer Tips 21)!!

1. If your Tomatoes are struggling to ripen try putting some Banana skins on the ground, around the base of the plants.

2. The UK weather is forecast to be getting warmer and drier by the end of next week. It may be a chance to sow/plant some flowers/vegetables that were not done in June and early July.

3. The following are some vegetables you can still sow (outside) now and in the next few months. Calabrese (up to the end of July), Carrots (through to September), Chard (July & August), Coriander, French beans, Kale, Lettuce,  Oriental greens, Peas, Radish, Spring cabbage, Spring Onions.

4. If you are using mulches, use well rotted organic materials as these are less likely to attract slugs & snails, than fresh organic materials.

5. If you are lucky enough to have grown some Kiwi fruit to pick, it will be ripe when it gives slightly, if pressed. If the fruit is hard, it is not ripe, but is over ripe if soft and starting to shrivel.

6. Dandelions may be a pain to eradicate from your garden or allotment but they can also be helpful. They emit ethylene gas which helps fruit to ripen?

7.  This growing season has been pretty good for Beetroot. If you intend to freeze any, try the following method. Clean the Beetroot, select specimens about 7cm in diameter. Twist off the tops and boil in water until tender. Pack them, leaving 1cm headroom and freeze. Storage time is about 6 months.

8.  Splitting of root vegetables is usually caused by erratic watering, (for example heavy rain after a dry spell of weather). To prevent splitting, water root veg regularly every 2 weeks. Improve your soil with plenty of organic matter. Remember roots do not like heavy manuring of their ground just prior to sowing.

9.  If you have "runners" growing from your existing Strawberry plants place pots of potting compost into the ground and pin the runner down into each pot where it will root. After about a month detach the runner from the main plant and plant out your new Strawberries into a well composted, prepared bed in the Autumn. Only use runners from main plants that are healthy.

10. Nematodes are available for purchase from various outlets, to combat Vine weevil. The nematodes come in powdered form, mixed with water, watered onto the soil, usually in late Summer.

Just Another Disaster

 We've all experienced enough rainfall this year to fill an infinite number of water butts, and probably complained about it too. Some areas of Somerset were heavily flooded again last night and today. I was lucky enough to get down the plot all day, working in warm sunny conditions until 5 p.m. this evening., so I will count my blessings.

Pupating in my Blackcurrant Bush

The BBC (Breakfast Time) this morning announced that the weather conditions we have had in UK this year will become worse over the next 20 years and that the government will be adding another £2 billion to research into climate change. Funny that the announcement didn't come just before or just after the weather forecast. Are we just being drip fed the bare essentials as usual?

Most gardeners will have noticed many changes in the environment over the past few years, for instance the decline of the Honey bee and the difference in plant behavior. Will the Mayans be proved correct on the 21st of December this year.

My take on climate change, mainly for UK, (within the next 15 to 20 years) is as follows. Draw a straight line from the Humber estuary across to our west coast. Continue that line around the globe. Everything north of the line will be ice and snow with everything to the south being sub-tropical. The current weather patterns rain, humidity, movement of the Jet stream etc are the adjustments prior to the above happening. I'm no expert but having worked outdoors for almost 50 years, visited most continents and many countries on the planet, I've seen a few changes and know that most experts turn up after the event!! OK so I've lost the plot?

Blackcurrants for the Freezer

Back to reality. I started off with some more grass cutting around my 2nd plot today and also around one of my fellow plot holders plot as he is working away for 3 weeks. Then it was down to a bit of weeding, seeking out the individual weeds that have escaped my attention, hiding away in those areas of the plot that go unnoticed. I decided to dig up a couple more of my early potato plants which gave me an 8 inch plant pot full of good sized potatoes. I then lifted half a row of Carrots (see photograph) and 2 fair sized Beetroot.

Pumpkins Escaping from Their Barrel

 The Lettuce which I sowed last week is just making an appearance, despite the weather conditions, so I decided to sow 3 rows of Dwarf french beans and 2 more rows of Carrots (Autumn King). All in all a pleasant day down the plot, with 2 good Lettuce and some more Gooseberries for tea, I toddled off home.

My Blueberries Need Some Sunshine

There's a Honey Bee in There Somewhere

Todays Harvest

This Onion Didn't Like so Much Rain

There's always tomorrow??

Thursdays Top 10 Tryouts (Or Show Us Your Tips 20)!!

1. If you intend to save your own Carrot seeds this year, ensure that there is no (Daucus carota) Wild carrot, Queen Anne's Lace growing in the vicinity of your Carrots. They will cross breed.

2. Queen Ann's Lace or Wild carrot has edible roots BUT there is a similar looking plant called Water Hemlock which is deadly to eat. Can you positively identify them?

Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)

3. If you are growing Pak Choi, try harvesting some of them while they are still young. Cut off the leaves about 2 inches (5cm) above soil level and the plant should produce further leaves.

4. Looking at the current weather trends in UK, if you want Spring Cabbages for next year, sow the seeds at the end of this month (under glass or cloches) and plant out in the Autumn.

5. Planting Fennel and Yarrow in your garden or down the plot will attract Lacewings which feed on, Spider mites, Aphids, Caterpillar Larvae and other garden pests.

6. Blackspot on Roses is caused by wind borne spores (fungus) in water droplets. Sprays are available to control Blackspot. Spray Roses in early Spring and again in Summer or in accordance with the sprays instructions. Clear away all infected leaves and water plants when the sun will dry foliage quickly.

7. Garden peas are ready to harvest when the pods are round/fat. The peas on the lower parts of the plant usually mature first so harvest from the lower part of the plant moving upwards.

8. Some vegetables that like acid and neutral soils are:  Beans, Brussels Sprouts, Cucumbers, Marrows, Courgettes, Parsley, Parsnips, Peas, Radish, Swede, Sweetcorn, Tomatoes, Turnips.

9. Some veggies that like alkaline soil:  Asparagus, Beetroot, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Leeks, Lettuce, Onions, Spinach.

10. Thinking of keeping chickens? The following is a link to Coope making plans (PDF) >>>CLICK HERE.

Now Its Freezing

June 26th was my last blog post, during the few breaks in the weather since then, my visits to the plot have been a mixture of fruit and veg picking, hoeing, weeding and repeated grass cutting around the plot. The fruit and veg which hasn't already been eaten has been frozen for future use. The huge amount of time spent picking, shelling, cleaning and preparing the produce, (and still doing some decorating in between), is and will be time well spent. I picked 15lbs of peas (2nd pick) and 8lbs of Gooseberries (1st pick) on Friday, along with another 2lbs of Strawberries. The Rhubarb just keeps coming. The only challenge with Rhubarb is manuring and protecting it during the Winter months. Rhubarb generally appreciates a fair amount of water to grow well, so it should be good this year.

More Stormy Skies (Last Week)

A High Water Table?? (Or Not)

 Most of my Strawberry plants have now exhausted their bounty of fruit. Despite the wet weather approximately 1 and a half lbs of fruit per day has been produced since early June. My Potato plants seem to be looking good so far although the "earlies" seem a bit slow growing. I planted a couple of rows of "supermarket specials", earlier this year in between my "earlies" and "maincrops", so I didn't expect much of a harvest from them. I dug up a couple of the plants on Friday, unearthing enough small and medium sized potatoes for one meal. Their taste and quality was good, which bodes well for the "earlies" and "maincrop". The old tip of only sowing good quality tubers holds true. From the Turnips which were sown earlier this year I have used a couple of dozen good specimens with the rest running to seed. This is not unexpected due to the current weather conditions. My back up of Swedes have just been thinned out last week and look to be coming along o.k. Lettuce (4 varieties) is in abundance, adding great flavour to my salads. Again my Tomatoes and Cucumbers (outside) are slow in developing except for a couple of Tomato plants which are in well sheltered positions. Runner and French beans are also struggling due to lack of warmth and sunlight. After a brief warm, sunny spell last weekend most plants started to flourish, but the torrential rain and wind is back, so we will see what they look like by next week. My Blackcurrants are in abundance but not quite ripe enough yet for picking. The Red & White currants are ready for picking but this year have been well devoured by birds, so it looks like the addition of fruit cages is called for next year.

My Brassicas, Carrots and Leeks are continuing to do well this year along with Spring onions and Parsnips. I intended to lift the first of my first batch of Onions on Friday but rain stopped play before I could. I have my suspicions that Onions will be difficult to store, long term, this year after all the water they have had to ingest. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has successfully stored Onions, after such a wet growing season, in the past.

DON'T WASTE IT FREEZE IT

(go to my freezing guide link on the right)

Currants & Raspberries (Open Freezing)

8lbs of Gooseberries

Peas & Gooseberries (Open Freezing)

Carrots frozen

 

Cabbage Frozen

Frozen Peas

Lots of Frozen Rhubarb

Strawberries Frozen

Mixed Fruit Frozen

Gooseberries Frozen

 

Thursdays Top 10 Tryouts (Or Show Us Yer Tips 19)!!

1. If you intend to save your own vegetable/flower seeds this year, ensure they are kept as cool and dry as possible. Store them in glass or tin containers, (they may sweat if kept in plastic or polythene containers). Add a sachet of silica gel to each container to help keep the seeds dry.

2. Again the continuing rainy, wet conditions in UK are causing problems. If your garden/allotment soil is becoming waterlogged/compacted take any opportunity to let air into it. Digging is not advisable but pushing a garden fork into the soil repeatedly over a given area, will aerate the soil and may save plants from rotting off.

3. Scarlet Pimpernel is a common garden weed (very common on my allotment). It is poisonous to humans if ingested. It can also cause dermatitis. Don't forget to wear gardening gloves when necessary?

4. If you have a shaded area of ground and are looking for plants to grow there, try the following herbs, which should grow well even in shade. Chives, Lemon Balm, Mint, Parsley, Thyme. Remember to keep Mint and possibly Lemon Balm contained.

5. Don't discard your unwanted window blinds, they can be re-used as shading in the greenhouse.

6.Many allotment/garden plants are growing tall (despite the wet UK weather) don't forget to use stakes where necessary.

7. Brassicas should be enjoying the current cool damp UK Summer but don't forget to give them some extra feed. Spread some blood, fish, bonemeal around the plants. Hoe this feed into the soil after spreading.

8. Weeds are a haven for slugs and snails so the sooner the weeds are gone so are the slugs and snails. Try using aluminium foil as plant collars to deter slugs and snails.

9.The Red spider mite is often a nuisance in greenhouses. An organic method to combat it, is to introduce the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimillis.

10. The following is a link to a website (USA) providing plans to construct your own greenhouse. If the current weather continues in UK you might need a greenhouse next year. (just a thought)?? CLICK HERE