Entries from June 2007 ↓

I went up in the week to the plot as you know and also checked on all the other produce. They all seem to be doing OK, with the broad beans needing picking as you can see below:

Also the cabbage is growing well and the hearts look very tasty. I suppose I should take the nets off, but there hasn’t been time and they do no harm to the cabbage.

The dwarf beans are not the original ones (well, one is), they never came up. So I grew them on at home in pots before planting out, That way I could guarantee they would beat the slugs initial onslaught under the ground.

The parsnips are coming on in places. They are a bit patchy this year due to the weather, but at least they appear to be growing still. This is the best one, but the smallest is quite small.

The spinach has just kept on growing and we have had quite a bit off it. It seems to like it there. Rich in vitamins, it is particularly good to have with vitamin C as it releases all the goodness in spinach. So, plenty more salads, pies and so on.

I was hoping to get to the plot this weekend, but the rain has meant that I have to do the jobs round the house that I have put off and would rather not do. It’s so much more rewarding to be out in the garden or on the plot.

I wonder if we will get a summer this year?

I went to look at the plot last night and was pleasantly surprised to see that all is well in the land of gardening.

The early potatoes are ready for harvesting, so I might have a go at them over the weekend, though if you saw the weather forecast, it’s going to be torrential rain over the country for Saturday. Of course the spuds can stay in the ground for now, as long as the slugs haven’t been at them.

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Well, I have to admit to being an absent gardener last weekend. I went to London for the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Not a lot of greenery, but plenty of things to do.

I went here:

Can you guess where it was? You might have seen me on TV?

I wrote about those unknown plants the other day, and I am still no wiser. However, they have now flowered so that might help some of you to find out what they are.

Don’t forget to let me know when you do find out.

Thanks. 🙂

As it isn’t possible for me to get out in the garden/allotment at the moment, I thought you might appreciate these pics of previous years spuds.

I’ve been digging them out all over the place. I managed to get all mine out from last year but the previous allotment holder must have left some in as they keep popping up in the most unlikely places.

These two were amongst the beans. As you can see they don’t look too good and the slugs had been at them in any case, so it was good to get them up and deprive those vermin/pets of sustenance. Of course they might go for my other crops now, but at least they aren’t having a feast where I cant see/find them.

It’s been foul weather this past week, so I have only been occasionally up to the allotment. Also at the weekend I was away so I couldn’t go then. I am going up tonight though to check what has been happening and seeing if anything has been decimated by the weather. 🙁

Does anyone have a clue what this plant is? I’ve asked around at the allotment, but no one seems to know. It is growing quite near to my plot, so I’m interested in case it is a weed and will try to take over.

Thanks.

It’s been a no go so far this weekend for the allotment. I haven’t been able to get up due to the horrendous rain and lightening we have been having.

So here is a picture of my Cotoneasta – albeit in infra-red.

You remember the cucumbers I was so pleased with last week? small ones. Well, they have put on some growth since then and are now getting quite big.

Cauliflower is a cool-season vegetable and is more difficult to grow than other members of the cabbage family, so I am hoping that my not so good season so far will come good for this.

You should space plants 18 to 24 inches apart. The main problem they face is the any extreme changes in the weather like cold, heat, drought can stunt development of the edible portion. Cauliflower needs an ample supply of soil moisture to grow. You can also give it some nitrogen fertilizer when the plants are half grown, but I try to be organic as much as possible.

When the head begins to form it is ready to what they call ‘blanch’. You have to tie the outer leaves together over the centre of the plant to protect the head from sunburn and to keep it from turning green and developing an off-flavour.

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What to watch out for? Well, cabbage worms and black rot are the worst. Also if growth is interrupted, the heads may not develop or may develop poorly.