Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: JayG on July 06, 2011, 08:51
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Runner beans (White Lady): paper pot grown plants not planted out until the 2nd week in June due to the frost risk; pretty much sat there sulking and looking a bit pale until a week ago. Best of them about 4' high and a few flowers but not romping away yet (and no beans.)
Sweet corn (Swift): started and planted out in the same way and at the same time as the runners; similar pale sulk until the warmer weather about a week ago; best of them still only a foot high and having to cross fingers that they grow some more before deciding it's "doctor and nurses" time. 8)
Courgettes and winter squashes; similar story, and I managed to lose a couple of plants to slugs. One of the courgettes is just big enough to be thinking about producing some flowers, which look to be all male so far! :(
(To those of you already enjoying courgettes I say well done, and :tongue2: :tongue2: :tongue2: !)
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Pretty similar to that, but things starting to go, can definately see females on the courgettes.
AND wonder of wonder, my onion plants are starting to swell, but nowhere near the size of the sets.
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Likewise with runners, courgettes, and onions...........very slow but getting there!
Sweetcorn however is up and running.......looking lurvely with tassels and silks together this year ::) :D...The few later sown plants look as if they will only help any later/lower cobs.
Pumpkin situation is even more confusing, as the very large growing pumpkins eg lungha di napoli, marina di chioggia up at the plot are romping away (it's windier and cooler but sunnier up there) all the small ones in the garden are sulking (protected from the wind/cold but less sun because of house/fence)
don't mention Butternuts :mad:..........they have their usual death wish game going on :(
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We had quite a few male courgette flowers before the prolonged cold spell in May, now the plants are sitting resolutely refusing to grow (4 - 6 inches across, 4 inches tall) but also not dying. I have no experience of such growing conditions so I have no idea if they are going to pick up or not. Squashes not looking well. Tomato plants growing v-e-r-y slowly at last! ::) Other than that outdoors are garlic and onion sets, doing well, shallots harvested and still growing fine are lots of salads and winter cabbages. Indoor minipop corn, tomatoes, chillis and cucumbers going great :D, but you didn't want to know about them! ::)
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2 of the courgette plants are now producing, the 3rd has just started to produce tiny fruits.
Toms have lots of tiny toms on them.
The 4 butternuts have just stopped sulking and have 18inch long runners now and i have no beans or pea plants yet as i havn't started them, i will be chitting one night this week to hopefully get a late crop.
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don't mention Butternuts :mad:..........they have their usual death wish game going on :(
Wouldn't say mine have a death wish, they're more a study in still life.
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don't mention Butternuts :mad:..........they have their usual death wish game going on :(
Wouldn't say mine have a death wish, they're more a study in still life.
:lol: :lol:
Mine are "Winter Festival" and they seem to be taking their name a bit too seriously for my liking! :wacko:
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Similar but I would say a little bit more advanced on you, we have been eating courgettes for the last two weeks and I noticed several now almost ready.
Broad beans are completley covered in black fly and look sick, will try and get some pods off and bin the rest.
Peas looking good and with this rain should swell them nice.
Corn, just about gave up but now will leave as they have shot up.
Beans are nearly to the top of canes with a few flowers etc on
Roots have been ok apart from onion, wiped out with fly
Brassicas are now ok after the first lot wiped out by fly >:(
We are just about getting to where we should be for this time of year.
I have flowers on my nuts :lol: sorry peanut plants, toms going bonkers and cukes doing ok.
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Picked my first crop of runner beans at the weekend. :D They are doing very well, they did go into a sulk when I initially planted them outside but then they just romped away.
Brassicas are doing well, about what I would expect for this time of year. ::)
Sweetcorn - again sulked for a while but is now picking up fast. A couple of feet high (maybe more) I would say.
Peas - I started them off late so they are a little behind.
I don't grow courgettes or squashes; we don't eat them. :happy:
Toms are doing well, lots of fruit, some ripening.
Cukes - the plants aren't huge but they are flowering (one has cucumbers on). :nowink:
Blueberries are ripening very well, lots of fruit. :D
Loganberry is producing lots and lots :wacko:
Raspberries and gooseberries not good - the geese ate them :mad: :ohmy: ::)
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Despite the cold weather in May/June our crop have held up quite well.
Courgettes - going really well, had 8 so far, many more to come, plants 2ft across.
Sweetcorn- must be 2-3ft tall (our neighbours must be over 5ft with 4inch cobs forming!)
Butternuts are just starting to send out runners (one near the compost bin has a 3ft runner already)
Patty pans -have already harvested 4, many many more should be ready in the next week.
French beans are typically 2-3ft tall with flowers and the odd 1inch long bean.
Mange tout and Sugar snaps have been feeding us for a fortnight already (we can just about keep up!
Outdoor toms & gherkins - sheltered spots are going great, more exposed are noticeably smaller.
Raspberries- Glen ample have been going great guns for a fortnight, still ripening and extra flowers are forming?!?! Autimn bliss is also coming into flower!
Its payback time! Yeah!
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I don't grow courgettes or squashes; we don't eat them
Have you tried butternut squash?
My OH hadn't and now she loves it, mmmmm sweet and sticky. :happy:
It's a little like sweet potatoes but stickier. yum
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Picked all the broad beans, but didn't like them :)
Picked my first mangetout pod yesterday, but the rest are still flowers or very tiny pods
Alderman peas have quite a few pods on them, a couple just starting to swell
Not a sniff of a flower yet from the White Lady runners, though they are up the poles now
Some tiny beans on the Cobra but just flowers on borlotti and Blauhilde
White and red cabbage hearting up nicely, just the first sign of florets on the calabrese
Got the first couple of red fruit on Gartenperle and plenty of green ones, the bigger tomato plants are all flowering now but only a couple of tiny green fruit
Some tiny fruit on outdoor cucumbers
Finally got some fruit on the courgettes though some plants still small and puny
Crown Prince squash is struggling, but the Uchiki Kuris are going mad and taking over the world, with tiny fruit
The outdoor peppers are still tiny, not optimistic of getting a crop from them
Lifted a decent crop of garlic and my seed-grown onions are also starting to swell :)
On the plus side - I'm picking a huge crop of gooseberries and there's also a huge crop of apples and golden gages on the trees. It was a big crop of strawberries but sadly they were scoffed by squirrels or mice, and I haven't managed to get much of the raspberries either.
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Summer's going quite well for me so far. Started most things off early in the greenhouse to get ahead of the short cool summer up here.
Sweetcorn - flowering with lots of tassels
Butternut Squash - got some more female flowers forming, no fruit set yet
Pumpkins - got some set fruit and more female flowers
Courgettes - doing nicely, first ones are ready to pick
Marrow - had two already (one when it was in the greenhouse and one since planting out)
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Peas - just keep on picking as we need them to eat raw in salads
Lettuce - Butterheads thinly sliced
Beetroot (Boltardy and Detroit) - gently simmered or roasted, just so sweet
Corn - between 1ft and 2 ft of the block of 18 planted
Toms - flowers yellowing nicely but no sign of fruit
Broad Beans - swelled nicely by the last lot of rain, again great raw in salads
Turnip - Golden Ball - grated raw, nice and nutty
Courgette - 1 plant, sprawling leaves and just started to flower
:)
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JayG you're a star!!!!!!! :happy:
I feel so much better now I know it's not just me who's been staring at plants that aren't that happy about life.
I avoided planting out until risk of frost had reduced and then everything sat there. Blackfly didn't help.
Then I felt cross with myself for not taking the chance and planting earlier in May. Last year my neighbour lost all of his climpbing french and runner beans by planting out too early. This year he planted out early again and has a beautiful crop almost ready to pick.
Me... thank heavens for potatoes as everything else is way behind. :mellow:
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Definitely a patchy year; everything got off to an early start then the late frost and cold may put the brakes on
Mange tout - just coming into crop. first sweet peas in flower too, at least two weeks later than last year.
Beans (French and Runner) starting to grow properly after a slow start and lots of slug and bunny damage >:(
Lettuce and Rocket romping away after recovering from the bleep bleep bunny
Corn - between 1ft and 2 ft high but generallly starting to get a shift on
Toms - first truss opened today. Poor little things by usual year standards
Turnip - really getting going as are the swedes
Courgettes & squashes - starting to grow at long last. Female fruits setting at long last.
First potatoes are light because of the drought and the second earlies dont encourage
Shallots are starting to ripen, onions to swell and the garlic is thinking about collapsing.
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JayG you're a star!!!!!!! :happy:
I feel so much better now I know it's not just me who's been staring at plants that aren't that happy about life.
I avoided planting out until risk of frost had reduced and then everything sat there. Blackfly didn't help.
Then I felt cross with myself for not taking the chance and planting earlier in May. Last year my neighbour lost all of his climpbing french and runner beans by planting out too early. This year he planted out early again and has a beautiful crop almost ready to pick.
Me... thank heavens for potatoes as everything else is way behind. :mellow:
There will always be some who gamble with early plantings who actually get away with it and then go round telling everyone that's the way to do it (convenient memories, perhaps? :unsure:)
I don't like raising plants from seed and running the risk of seeing them perish just for the sake of possibly earlier crops, and I haven't got the space to squeeze in the "Plan B" back-up plants if I did actually get away with it.
Definitely a tricky year so far, but no real disasters as such - they'll no doubt all get there later rather than sooner. :)
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Picked a small handful of runner beans this morning, but plants are only halfway up the canes. Sweetcorn is pale and sulking - about a foot tall and definitely on strike. Courgettes just beginning to grow, though nothing ready yet, cucumbers tiny plants. Marrows, on the other hand, had one, nine more growing; first pumpkin is about five inches across, a few tomatoes beginning to set. Broad beans cropping well despite blackfly on three plants (and loads of ladybirds), peas good and spinach beet trying to take over the allotment. Lettuces great, radishes all bolted. Basically, if it did well last year, it won't grow this, and vice versa.
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:tongue2: My first year growing and here's how its going -
Peas doing really well (Kelvedon Wonder/Hurst) but started off badly as I didn't water them enough.
Potatoes - Javelin and Celine are great although lost a couple to blackleg I think.
Sweetcorn - Lark - Nearly 5ft now and starting to flower. I also succession sowed and they're about 2ft tall. Looking forward to these.
Beetroot - Bolthardy - Have done really well and I'm still harvesting. Will succession sow next year.
Radish - French Breakfast - Grew really well and looked great but found the cabbage fly maggot in them. :tongue2:
Carrots - Early Nantes - Was very suprised to find long staight beautful carrots and then found at the very bottom, early signs of the carrot fly maggot. :tongue2:
Parnsips - Countess - Spotty germination but we'll see how they go. Probably more maggots.
Spring Onions - White Lisbon - Slow but getting there.
White Onion set - Sturon - Absolutely huge!! Giants infact. However have found a couple with White Rot so not sure about the rest now. :(
Pumpkins - Jack O'Lantern - I'm growing vertically and they're doing really well. A good few pumpkins.
Summer Squash - Patty Pans - Thought I was going to lose them but now they're huge with lots of squash growing.
Toms outside - Various varieties - All doing well but haven't riped yet. Worried about blight getting them. :unsure:
Sweet Peas - Now over 6ft tall and flowering beautifully.
Cuke - Passandra - Was doing well but found some Grey Mould. It hasn't keeled over yet.
Melons - Sweetheart/Orange Shebett - 3/4ft tall but no female flowers yet.
Peppers - Various varieties. - Slow but now taking off.
Butternut Squash - Hunter - Slow but now growing and starting to spread.
Aubergine - Black Beauty - One fruit about to show itself.
Sweet Potato - Very slow but healthy.
Courgetts - Huge plants and starting to show fruit.
Artichokes - Impertial Green Globe now about 2ft tall.
Cape Gooseberry - has eventually picked up but lost one which I think was due to overwatering.
That's nearly everything but I'm sure you're bored by now. But I have to say I've thorougly enjoyed growing it all and at this very moment it's absolutley chucking it down outside and has been for hours and no doubt all of the above will have to learn to swim! Or at least till I can get down the lottie tomorrow to save them. Sad I know. I used to enjoy partying. I need a drink...
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mmm was pondering this yesterday. The weeds are doing fantastically :mad: but a lot of my crops aren't doing nearly as well as last year.
Carrots and snips suffered terrible germination (I had fairly good success with snips last year) - probably due to lack of rain and me not watering enough. I've resown a few times so far...
Onions - mainly overwintered ones - are really terrible - few survived and they're mixed sizes. The ones I put in in spring also fared badly. I think rainfall (lack of) is to blame.
Climbing French & Runner Beans are getting there but not looking that great. French beans however are starting to crop.
Courgettes are really slow to get going, even the squashes are overtaking them.
Sweetcorn looks promising as do the brassicas.
Artichokes on the other hand are romping away and we can't keep up with them!
Peas and potatoes are looking - and tasting - fantastic.
I think I have a real problem with moles under the plot though, I keep finding really soft areas. And despite my efforts with rabbit proof fencing, I found a few piles of rabbit poo in the middle of the plot. Still can't see where they are getting in... Arrgh!
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My buttercrunch lettuce has gone over but the romaine is doing fine. Toms all have small fruits and many flowers, and climbing their twirly poles.
Have been picking chard already and many coming, and red and yellow beets can start to be pulled now. Will seed more very soon.
Sweet peppers and eggplants are a bit slow but catching up now that we have real heat.
Potatoes are so darned large that they're flopping over with flowers, so will have a furtle very soon.
Shallots are bulking up fast and garlic will be finishing soon.
Peas have loads of of flowers and some small pods now. Beans are in full flower.
Have had 2 cukes so far and more coming and crawling quickly up my Munty frame.
Chipmunks have eaten most of my strawberries this year >:(
Savoy cabbages and tuscan kale are huge so must net them soon.
Have picked loads of red currants and am still swamped in them. Blacks are ripening fast.
Raspberries have tiny berries starting to form. maybe I can beat the birds this year.
Late planted carrots are up and a few inches tall.
Have had a huge courgette already and more are forming. Red kuri squash is flowering now and threatening to take over my town.
2 varieties of grapes ARE taking over the yard despite numerous cuttings back, the other 2 are playing fussy.
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Well...
Courgettes and squash very slow. Have one courgette starting to appear now.
Runner and French beans looked quite yellow and poorly battered by the wind, but gave them a feed of seaweed and recent warm spell livened them up considerably and they are now around 6' high with flowers, (the runners that is, The Czar). Looking better.
Broad beans starting to harvest (Aquadulce Longpod) - no troubles
Peas (Hatif d'Annonay) were slow to get going but now a big harvest.
Sweetcorn, Golden Bantam Improved. First lot deceased apart from 1. Second planting taken well but still only around a foot high.
Cabbage - Precoce de Louviers, Red Cabbage, Ruby King and Rouge Tete Noir all doing brilliantly. Should harvest first summer one soon.
Kale - Nero di Toscano, looking good
Lettuce - doing well
Beetroot - Sanguina, almost ready for harvest
Parsnip (Tender and True) and Carrots (Giant Red) coming on. We have had first of the Giant Red from the garden and they were wonderful, but some have got carrot root fly, have covered those at allotment.
Potatoes, lots of first earlies- Tuskar, but only good for roasting, bit bland on the flavour front and fall apart a bit on boiling.
Onions - Turbo sets look great and growing well.
Basil - rubbish
Lettuce - all good
Tomatoes - outdoor, have some green ones (Stupice) looking promising.
Leaf beet - loads eaten.
Japanese bunching onions, slow start, but doing well.
Celery - Giant Red Reselected - cracking
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On a far less industrial scale than most (only got the allotment in Spring, so much of this is home grown):
Courgettes: the success story of this year, sowed in pots in March, grew in one of those mini-greenhouses then moved to large pots, then transplanted down the allotment. The 5 plants are now producing it seems like 1 a day, if they carry on like that, will definitely need to stretch the imagination to use them all up.
Onions: early spring planted sets in the garden (about 30 odd) are looking good, some huge ones.
Lettuce: iceberg in the garden have been abused as a cut and come again crop for several weeks now, still hanging in there. Mixed ones on the allotment yielded the first salad this week.
Rocket: Have had several servings from the garden, has now bolted but that's ok as I've had enough!
French beans: only planted a handful, and haven't had enough for a full serving for 2, only 1, once, and a few spares to sstick in salads. Sowed some on th allotment a few weeks ago and they are coming on nicely.
ditto peas (excluding the bit about the allotment)
Basil: has been growing well indoors. Is something we use every week at least once, and havent had to buy any for a few months, so all good. Outdoors planted stuff, tough and not that good so far.
Coriander: has gone mental and now to seed in the garden, have had several servings from it and soon will be de-seeding it. Still using the leaves though.
Leeks: some planted out in early spring are now getting there, need thinning but now swamped by the coriander
Tomatoes: hmm, seem ok, some tiny green toms, will wait and see. Some bought, some sown, some at home, some at the allotment.
Chillies, peppers: sowed early, start march, two small peppers in evidence so far on one plant, flowers on some others, hope remains high
carrots: a small row planted in early march at home, only 2 germinated, prob ready to dig up now, but the anticipation is probably nicer than the crop! Sowed some on the allotment a few weeks ago and they are doing nicely..thinned last night.
erm what else..
outdoor cucumber, tiny plant bought off market is now a healthy teenager with a few baby cukes on it. Has only just gone outside though, was in minigreenhouse before.
Garlic: speculatively planted some supermarket stuff in mid spring, sprouted well and has now keeled over, i guess i will fin nothing more than a slightly larger clove but will soon see.
Sweetcorn: very sulky, of 19 planted out only 10 or 11 are around to tell the tale, and then only small. Planted supersweet, think i will go for a hardier one next year.
turnips and cabbage -- planted down the allotment. Turnips coming on well, cabbages took an early hammering from birds, but some are still alive.
That's about it! ramble over.
edit: I know that wasn't all summer stuff, but it's amazing what a full bottle of red will do for the artistic licence.
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Have been eating courgettes for about 2 weeks now but they are a bit slow, also picked my first two red tomatoes yesterday and have a few more beginning to turn, these are outside. No beans yet but they are beginning to take off now and have a fair bit of flower on them, and have been eating peas and mange toutes for about 4 weeks now. Cucumbers not doing to well though.
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edit: I know that wasn't all summer stuff, but it's amazing what a full bottle of red will do for the artistic licence.
Sok Robert.....lots of the posts above have included winter crops as well.........People tend get carried away once they start a list :nowink: :D
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Sorry - I'm one of them. I need to re-read the subject line before replying next time. x Did I really grow all of the above.
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:lol: :lol:
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Parsnips are doing very well seem to have some black fly on the pumpkins will spray with soapy water. Courgettes beans and peas growing nicely
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My runners are doing nicely but still not romping away. Dwarfs are covered in beans. Ive had 3 courgettes, no squashes although they are there just not growing very fast. The marrows are doing well and we have a big yellow one waiting for tea tomorrow :D One cucumber but the plant is sulking abit. Still eating spuds and loving them and summer kale and kohl rabi are keeping us going :)
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Just starting to get the sweet toms from my tumbling toms,which I sowed late,so I`m really pleased with the huge bushes and hundreds of flowers!
Courgettes and lovely broad beans,have been giving them away and freezing them too.
Lady Christl spuds are very nice,shall grow them again next year,just a few slugs have joined in for lunch!
Squash and pumpkin plants however ,I realise are in a `draft` on the allotment,the wind whooshes straight down the main path and hits the whole row .Next year,they will have protection from another plant.
Blackcurrants all gathered in and new plants from cuttings growing inside until this cold snap passes.
Peppers , aubergines and sweetcorn a dead loss this year,don`t know why,last year they did well.Maybe old seed?I didn`t buy any new this year.
Beetroot,root parsley,carrots,parsley,coriander and spinach all doing well.
I forgot to plant the parsnips.....I really can`t work out how I missed them .A senior moment methinks! :D
Husband needs holding back,he has allotment fever,he`s just cleared the third allotment,I can`t keep up with him...... :nowink:
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Penny S........read right to the end of yours,and we are all having rabbit problems here.
We found out the baby rabbits can get through the tiniest of spaces in wiring and nibble at anything they find.We chased 2 babies around a neighbours allotment for half an hour yesterday,only to watch them pop effortlessly through the plastic coated wire fence to the field beyond.We wouldn`t have believed it if we hadn`t seen it!
Oh,I forgot to mention,it must have been a baby rabbit nipped off the tops of 40 seedlings of kailaan I had lovingly tended at home and left overnight in a toolbox at the lotty.grrrrrrrrr