What are you growing this year ?

[suffolk]

i found that my gooseberry bush improved hugely once it reached about 4 years after planting ... that and me getting the hang of proper winter and summer pruning ... and some years are really good gooseberry years and some years not so good ... it's been a good one this year.

We've got three blueberry bushes (3 different varieties) in large containers in a mix of ericaceous peat based and ericaceous loam based compost and are watering solely with rainwater (as long as the butts hold out). Feeding fortnightly with ericaceous fertiliser. It's our first year with them so very much sticking to what the books and the GW forum suggest.

[earthmaiden]

I've got loads of gooseberries and blueberries this year. As well as ericaceous soil, blueberries love water.

[Herbidacious]

Thanks for the tips!

[scullion]

are you sure it's marjoram and not oregano? (i know they're both really oregano) marjoram may be a perennial but it's quite frost tender and is usually treated as an annual.

[Herbidacious]

No, I am not sure! But I do like the idea of a herb self seeding in another herb pot

I just received a load of kale plug plants I ordered ages ago. This is almost a sigh. I am not wanting to bother with planting out even more things right now. But I will put them in this evening, at the risk of being bitten. Or maybe tomorrow. Saturday...? They will have to go in a small and not very elevated raised bed with the 'summer' sprouting broccoli. Did buy another raised bed kit, but I don't think there will be time to make it. 'Spose I could put some where the peas are nearly done (i.e. rip peas out.)

[scullion]

i have just spread a large fishbox full of worm compost over the raised bed i've taken the onions from and planted in a pot each of used, supermarket parsley and basil and a young plant of greek basil. i think some salad leaves may be sown, and maybe some chard and carrots.
the onions had already dried themselves off after not bothering to grow that much bigger than pickling onions (that may be their destiny).

the slug/snail killing method i'm using at the moment, herbi, is the heavy foot method. we haven't a huge amount at the moment due to the dry weather so it's working well (not for the gastropods).

[liketocook]

Since I've obviously got too much time on my hands today....

My dwarf sunflower saga...

15 baby sunflowers started off from seed, 15 baby sunflowers started off from seed
and if 3 baby sunflowers should fail to thrive at all, there'll be 12 baby sunflowers started off from seed.
12 baby sunflowers started off from seed, 12 baby sunflowers started off from seed and if 1 baby sunflower should get accidently crushed, there'll be 11 baby sunflowers started off from seed.
11 baby sunflowers started off from seed, 11 baby sunflowers started off from seed and if 3 baby sunflowers get munched one night by slugs there' ll be 8 baby sunflowers started off from seed.
8 baby sunflowers started off from seed, 8 baby sunflowers started off from seed and if 5 baby sunflowers don't like the scorching sun there'll be 3 baby sunflowers started off from seed.
3 baby sunflowers started off from seed, 3 baby sunflowers started off from seed and if 2 baby sunflowers get eaten by caterpillars there be 1 lonely sunflower started off from seed.
1 lonely sunflower started off from seed, 1 lonely sunflower started off from seed and if 1 lonely sunflower doesn't hurry up and flower there'll be no baby sunflowers started off from seed

Not my most successful plant growing attempt

[Seatallan]

Oh LTC, I had a very similar experience last summer. I ended up with one, which our Ollie obligingly dug up one evening when having a wee-wee. I didn't bother this year.

[earthmaiden]

.. love it - but sorry about the sunflowers

[liketocook]

[suffolk]

Don't let a fat wood pigeon sit on the top in an inelegant attempt to eat some of the seeds ... he'll snap the stem ... take it from one who knows

[liketocook]

[liketocook]

On a positive note my veggie garden & greenhouse is producing well. After a slow start the cucumbers are getting into there stride and I pick the first ripe tomatoes yesterday. My runner beans are still very slow though.

[suffolk]

i don't usually expect runner beans until August think they'll be ready any day now but we've not had any yet

Mange tout, courgettes, Swiss chard, golden beet are doing well and the first tomatoes are ripening and the sweetcorn looks very promising ...

[liketocook]

I usually get them from early July, I've had a few but hopefully they'll pick up.
My swiss chard is doing really well, best year for it I think I've had.
My courgettes are steady not huge numbers but enough for me to easily get through.

[suffolk]

Goodness ... when do you sow them and how big are they when you plant them out ? Presumably you start them off in the greenhouse... you're so much further north than us?

[liketocook]

[suffolk]

Hmm, you start them a bit earlier than we do. I usually start mine mid April on the windowsill and transfer them to the little leanto greenhouse when I need the windowsill for the propagator for the sweetcorn, tomatoes and courgettes. Mine definitely aren't 2ft high when they go out at the beginning of June ...there wouldn't be room for them in the little greenhouse if they were

This year, as we were going away in mid May I sowed the runner beans direct into the veg patch a couple of days before we left ... they were up and twining around the canes by early June and then caught up with progress in other years. I may well do the same again next year as it gives me much more space to play with.

I only do one sowing each year ... I find they usually keep producing well until late Sept/early Oct so that's enough for us.

Goodness knows where we're going to put the beans and the corn this year ... the freezer is full of gooseberries and raspberries as well as blackberries from last year. We'd better do some intensive eating .......

[liketocook]

My conservatory basically becomes a huge greenhouse from April to June much to the amusement of family and friends .

[suffolk]

Our windowsills have a similar look at that time of year

[Zosherooney]

I only have one cucumber plant (thank god) it has already produced 3 good cucs. and more to come. GH tomatoes are not yet ripening, but hanging baskets are now turning red. I have one runner bean plant and the biggest beans are only 3" long. Courgettes are plentiful, we had one for lunch in a Mexican flavoured batter, with salt and lime juice French beans are nearly over but we had a great crop and they were gorgeous. I have a sweet corn plant but I think it may be the baby sweetcorn variety? It is very bijoux !

[scullion]

we've had a few ripe, outdoor, cherry tomatoes.
plant another row of dwarf french beans - you should still have time for another crop.

if you only have the one sweetcorn plant the cobs will be 'bijoux' because they're unfertilised.

[suffolk]

We have ripe outdoor Sungold toms

Supper's mezze tonight will include courgettes and golden beet ... probably grated/sliced raw with a salad dressing of some sort along with a mint, pea and couscous salad. Lots of mint in the garden too.

[StokeySue]

Sounds like everything is going well

Oddly the only thing that failed to survive my holiday was the winter savory. Both plants. I am continuing to water and will try cutting back. My Thai basil was looking really awful, pinched it out and fed it, and it looks great just now.

[suffolk]

Went out to inspect the veg patch to see if we can have sweetcorn with our supper (we can ) and found a Nicandra pysaloides (Shoo Fly plant) growing amongst the corn

It's not far from a birdseed feeder, so that explains how it got there.

Looking forward to seeing the flowers open ...

[Herbidacious]

My sweetcorn seems to be flowering. Has it gone wrong?!

[suffolk]

It should have male flowers at the top with lots of pollen on like this

The cobs then form on the stems and have silks ... when the pollen has fallen on the silks they turn dark brown and that is when the cobs are ripe.

In this pic the silks are just beginning to turn colour.

[Herbidacious]

I checked and I do have some ears of corn coming. The last time I tried to grow them was in 1999, so I'd forgotten.

[Herbidacious]

I have just harvested the elephant garlic. It's not really elephantine in proportion, but I am looking forward to trying some. I may grow more next year. I only had about 5 plants, 3 of which the gardeners weeded up

I have a few cucumbers and the one courgette plant that survived the Oasesbox is now doing well, and has a big courgette on it - the rest of my courgette plants are a bit manky now. There's a two foot tromboncini fruit. I should probably harvest the soy beans.
Pyramid strawberries not doing so well.
Summer sprouting broccoli and kale survived holiday neglect, as did the sunflowers. I planted some in the garden and the rest in the bottom segment of a decomissioned beehive composter, with swell gel stuff and terracotta balls on top to help retain moisture. They are small golden brown/red ones.

[Herbidacious]

I just picked my first mulberries. Just a dwarf plant and a new one so not many. I don't think I've hever tasted one before!

Need to plant out black kale this weekend.

[earthmaiden]

You say 'just' a dwarf plant. I bought two last year just after the Chelsea Flower show from a reputable nursery. I studied the details carefully as I only have a very small garden and I planted them in different parts of the garden. They grew quite a lot over the first year and I reaped a handful of berries too. Then, when the sunny days ended this year and I was unwell, I didn't go into the garden for at least 10 days. In that time they grew tall - about 6' - and outwards as well. I am debating whether or not to keep them, I can keep cutting them back but don't want the trunk or roots to become troublesome. Perhaps I should put them into pots.

[Herbidacious]

I probably have the same ones as you. At the moment it's about a foot tall. (The other one, which I neglected and resurrected from the dead twice is about 8 inches. No fruit on that one though.)

"This dwarf, compact variety only reaches a height of approximately 1.5m (compared to normal mulberries that can reach up to 8m in height), making it suitable for any garden. It’s self-pollinating, fully hardy and fruits on both old and new wood, meaning you can be picking mulberries within the first year as opposed to the usual 8 or 9 years it takes most other mulberries. And unlike other varieties that only produce fruit over a 3-week period towards the end of summer, Charlotte Russe (Matsunaga PBR) produces berries over a very long period, from May right through until September! Supplied in a 1.5 litre pot, plant size 15cm."

I wasn't planning on planting them out, but thank for pointing out that they will get quite big if I do. Actually I have a post where one could go if I can get into the soil... I have far too many things in pots.


Do you get much fruit of yours?

[suffolk]

Gammon steaks and homegrown sweet corn for supper ... heavenly

[TeresaFoodie]

I used some of the fruits from my chilli plant yesterday in a veggie chill. They are Numex Twighlight. I just threw them in whole. A lovely explosion in the mouth each time you find one. I won't be sharing this one! Loads left on the plant!

[Herbidacious]

I have just taken delivery of three types of garlic to grow. Was wondering whether to grow it in pots as not sure if I want to devote a large chunk of raised bed, and anywhere else, my gardener('s assitannts) will pull it up thinking it's a weed. Like they did my wild garlic yet again!

Anyone grown it in containers?

I have quite a lot... (too much.) I may be able to spare some...

[TeresaFoodie]

I harvested my indoor chilli plant yesterday. A cute little crop, eh? Still more fruits on it waiting to ripen.

[scullion]

keep some seeds to grow next year, just in case you lose the parent plant over winter.

[TeresaFoodie]

Thanks scully. The novice gardener in me never thought of that.

[TeresaFoodie]

I have recently noticed tiny black flies on my chilli plant and debris on the windowsill below (bug poo?) which I have to clear up daily. Any suggestions?

[scullion]

my first line of defence is washing up liquid. a dilute spraying - or if you haven't got a sprayer, mix a little with some water in an egg cup and gently wipe it over the effected area with your fingers.
or if they're just flying round it rather than swarming on it they may be compost flies.

[TeresaFoodie]

Thanks for that tip. You back up what my dad suggested earlier about the diluted washing up liquid, but he couldn't remember where he heard it or if he'd made it up. I'll try that later on. The flies are hovering around it, not loads of them, but also on some of the leaves. I am astonished how big their poos are especially as the leaves do not appear to have been nibbled!

[scullion]

i meant , not compost flies, silly me.
if it is those the link will give some tips for removal.

[TeresaFoodie]

I've read that, thanks. These are fungus knats for sure. Exactly as the article states, these are just a nuisance to me, flying slowly around the plant but not causing any damage. I'll have to get a spray bottle tomorrow and give the plant a soapy shower and then re-pot it as suggested. I'll also have to think about cutting it back, if that's appropriate, or moving it to a larger platform. It is currently forming one half of an arch from the windowsill behind the kitchen sink over my head while I am washing up! Monster!

[suffolk]

Get some grit to top the compost in the pots with (for small amounts it can be cheaper to use grit/gravel sold for use in aquariums)

That tends to stop the fungus gnats from breeding in the compost.

[TeresaFoodie]

Good idea suffs! And I know a place in town that sells the very thing for much cheapness.

[suffolk]

[TeresaFoodie]

Just a note to say, when I got home yesterday afternoon, my smoke alarm in the kitchen was going off. There was no cooking going on. There was no fire in the building! It baffled me for a bit, until I realised that one of these pesky gnat things had probably flown into it and set it off!

[scullion]

I was about to pot up a couple of foxgloves, Suffolk, until I realised that they were echiums which had seeded from a bit further down the road - silly me!

[Herbidacious]

Just nipped down to the bottom of the garden to plant some black kale plants. Noticed that
a) there are lots of pea plants growing (some about to flower!)
b) the kale already there (really pretty lilac ornamental cabbage-like kale) as been nibled (quelle surprise...) and is also infested with aphids.
I sprayed them with a washing up liquid solution, but I have just used up my Fairy and since I don't use it much, had got some Eco stuff. It's plant based. Will it work?

[suffolk]

If I ever very rarely have the need to spray aphids I always use a very weak solution of Ecover ... it works.