God I love growing our own

[Garry R]

Have got loads of flowers on the runner beans but few bumble bees which are one of the stronger insects able to access the flowers and allow fertilisation. I have seen a few more on the lavender so fingers crossed. Like JameZ it has been a strange year in the garden. I think that early flowering fruit has not been up to scratch. My pear crop will be weell down.

Suddenly a decent number of bumble bees on the lavender and the runner beans are coming along at last. Isn't nature wonderful the way it finds different ways to produce (mostly!)

 

[JamezF]

My climbing beans (runners and french beans) have just started flowering. Very late, it seems to me.

Picked another 3kg of gooseberries yesterday, so we're up to 9kg this year, mostly from one plant. We have two, but the second I pulled out of the top of a wall where it had grown in a crack in the mortar capping, snapping it in half in the process, and it is taking longer to re-establish itself. Damn thorns though! My left index finger got spiked so many times. It's quite tender even now. My wife has already turned about half of the fruit into jam. The rest are in the freezer whilst we decide what to do with them.

I had my first taste of "home made ribena" today, from some of our blackcurrants. Very pleasant it was, too. Nowhere near as sweet as the commercial stuff which is a significant improvement in my view.

James

 

[JamezF]

I attempted to collect some wild garlic seeds from a hedge near one of my apiaries the other week. Sadly I was really too late, but I think I have a few at least. I quite fancy growing some along the verge of the drive though that might take a few years to achieve. I did rather like the idea of growing lavender there, but my wife took against lavender many years ago so I wouldn't get away with it.

James

 

[E&MBees]

Caught some Cabbage white butterflies in the act of laying eggs on my broccoli plants. Haven’t had a problem until now. Squashed the eggs and deployed the insect mesh.

 

[holmbee]

Delighted with the two tomato varieties we have not grown before. Sun Baby (small yellow and great flavour) and Abraham Lincoln (red good cropper and lovely flavour). Others doing well too particularly some old classics, but these two are just exceptional.

 

[pargyle]

So far so good ... I have lots of green tomatoes - no signs of blight ...yet (I know there's still time). Need a few more days of sun to get them ripening. Cut all the lower leaves off them to give them air around them and expose the fruit a bit more - I hate seeing them looking naked like this without all the lower leaves but I know it helps. The cherry toms (Cherry falls) are stuffed with fruit - I grow them in hanging baskets - again, still green and need a bit more sun - a few a darkening up so only a few days away.

The Mini Munch cucumbers are really starting to fruit now ... already had a couple of thumb sized cucumbers off them but there are loads coming along .. hopefully they will not all be ready to pick at the same time - unless anyone has some good ideas for preserving mini cucumbers ?

Runners and French beans continue to give almosty daily pickings. My one over winter chillie plant is covered in small yellow heart shaped fruit - I'm not sure what flavour they are - if they turn red I suspect they could be Dragons Breath - which is a bit of a worry as they are almost off the Scoville Scale in terms of heat and I have no idea what to do with them ... I'll see what happens as they ripen. The rest of my chilli plants are just starting to flower so, unless we get a very long summer I'm not hopeful for them except as anoher overwintering experiment !

Cultivated blackberries are starting to ripen but they are very small this year .... perhaps need a bit more feeding.

So much to do out there at present ...hard to keep up with it all.

 

[Garry R]

We have been picking tomatoes for about three weeks now and the beefsteak toms are superb the biggest one being 1lb 4oz and many similar. Justlove them with a salt and pepper dusting. Tigerella variety a heritage tom is OK too but has a hard core which my wife does not like so will be off the list next year. All in all they are great but have noticed they are not so tall as other years.

Leeks looking good and the early cauliflowers were huge and as we like cauliflower cheese with a slab of tomato have enjoyed that. Runner and french beans going berserk now and on the non edible side the sweet peas are superb. Ordinary peas failed to germinate in open ground. Pretty pleased all in all despite the poor, slow spring - a bit like the beekeeping.

Potatoes - pink fir apple harvesting nicely too

 

[Aneebe]

I grow Charlottes - but I find they are best eaten soon after they are lifted - I've not had a lot of luck storing them for any length of time - 2/3 weeks I find before they start to deteriorate. Either you have a secret or you are going to be eating a lot of potatoes !

Me too - I find the papery skins don't "seal" the potatoes to allow storage even if I try to harden them off on the surface a bit before lifting. I'm hit quite early with blight each year. Well it is Ireland! So as soon as it appears I remove every bit of foliage, lopping the stems off about 2 inches below grow level. If I then leave them without disturbing the soil for a few weeks, I find I can systematically just lift as and when I need them over the coming weeks and months. It probably helps that they're in compost in raised beds and granted I don't try to vacate the beds for a second crop of anything. We've had Charlottes for literally months that way. Somehow I missed half a bed last year but discovered them in the spring when I was prepping the bed. They'd overwintering nicely so we had bonus spuds much to hubby's delight. Btw, I've been instructed to grow nothing but charlottes and when it comes to tomatoes, only sungold. I tend to agree with him. Our 3rd must-have is purple sprouting broccoli.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Been picking cherry tomatoes for a while and processed the first lot of paste tomatoes yesterday. @JamezF your Amish are looking really good, but still green. Tried onions in the polytunnel over winter. They've matured maybe a month earlier than the ones outside but they are huge. I left a couple to seed. Mini cucumbers have largely finished and I've pickled a few. @pargyle slice and pickle with a few sprigs of dill. Lemon cucumbers on stream, they are really tasty. All potatoes are just about ready and we've left them in the buckets for now. We've grown International Kidney, Charlotte and Sagitta. Thanks @enrico for the tip. they are great spuds. Courgettes only just starting. Peppers and Aubergines are poor this year.

 

[Moobee]

So far so good ... I have lots of green tomatoes - no signs of blight ...yet (I know there's still time). Need a few more days of sun to get them ripening. Cut all the lower leaves off them to give them air around them and expose the fruit a bit more - I hate seeing them looking naked like this without all the lower leaves but I know it helps. The cherry toms (Cherry falls) are stuffed with fruit - I grow them in hanging baskets - again, still green and need a bit more sun - a few a darkening up so only a few days away.

The Mini Munch cucumbers are really starting to fruit now ... already had a couple of thumb sized cucumbers off them but there are loads coming along .. hopefully they will not all be ready to pick at the same time - unless anyone has some good ideas for preserving mini cucumbers ?

Runners and French beans continue to give almosty daily pickings. My one over winter chillie plant is covered in small yellow heart shaped fruit - I'm not sure what flavour they are - if they turn red I suspect they could be Dragons Breath - which is a bit of a worry as they are almost off the Scoville Scale in terms of heat and I have no idea what to do with them ... I'll see what happens as they ripen. The rest of my chilli plants are just starting to flower so, unless we get a very long summer I'm not hopeful for them except as anoher overwintering experiment !

Cultivated blackberries are starting to ripen but they are very small this year .... perhaps need a bit more feeding.

So much to do out there at present ...hard to keep up with it all.

I've got a great recipe somewhere for chilli sauce which I'll try to find. You can dial the heat up or down depending on how many chillies you add (i add more peppers to make it less explosive) and it has a touch of fruitiness from the secret ingredient (a tin of peaches!)

 

[Moobee]

Been picking cherry tomatoes for a while and processed the first lot of paste tomatoes yesterday. @JamezF your Amish are looking really good, but still green. Tried onions in the polytunnel over winter. They've matured maybe a month earlier than the ones outside but they are huge. I left a couple to seed. Mini cucumbers have largely finished and I've pickled a few. @pargyle slice and pickle with a few sprigs of dill. Lemon cucumbers on stream, they are really tasty. All potatoes are just about ready and we've left them in the buckets for now. We've grown International Kidney, Charlotte and Sagitta. Thanks @enrico for the tip. they are great spuds. Courgettes only just starting. Peppers and Aubergines are poor this year.

The weather has been too unpredictable for us - great crops of tomatoes from July onwards but cucumbers are struggling as the greenhouse keeps getting too hot (never thought I would say that back in May...), beans and courgettes also not doing great as it's been so dry here - we've had no rain for ages - and it seems as soon as they are watered, the ground is just rock hard again despite mulching and planting them in troughs to concentrate the water. On the plus side, the bees are making up for lost time.

 

[Erichalfbee]

On the plus side, the bees are making up for lost time.

Yes. I’m getting mighty twitchy about two which haven’t so far made swarm preps. Looking in today

 

[pargyle]

I've got a great recipe somewhere for chilli sauce which I'll try to find. You can dial the heat up or down depending on how many chillies you add (i add more peppers to make it less explosive) and it has a touch of fruitiness from the secret ingredient (a tin of peaches!)

yes please ... I like a hot sauce... the family not enamoured !

 

[Moobee]

Yes. I’m getting mighty twitchy about two which haven’t so far made swarm preps. Looking in today

Ooh I’ve got one of those….. lots of drones but not even a play cup yet

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ooh I’ve got one of those….. lots of drones but not even a play cup yet

I posted this just now elsewhere

Check two colonies I was getting twitchy about as I hadn't looked in for two and a half weeks.
One a queen from Laurence that I overwintered in a nuc. No swarm preps and none still
The other made swarm preps last week in June so I tried Pete Littles method which seems to have worked....I'm pleased to say. Queen there and laying. 7 supers on top, most full. Have to get them off next week. I may well do this again if the bees decide to go late.

 

[enrico]

We are desperate for rain again. Grass going brown and trees closing down by shedding leaves. The outdoor tomatoes are as good as the greenhouse ones. Can't dig the main crop spuds as the ground is just rock hard. All chilli jam made, loads of chillis and peppers. The chillies we planted in the ground in the greenhouse are four times bigger than those in pots! Will always plant in the ground from now on. Also doubled the size of the pepper pots and that has reaped dividends

 

[pargyle]

I bought three grape vines from Asda (Who in their right mind buys grape vines from Asda ?) I bought then more out of sympathy as they were looking at bit as though they desperately needed water, the leaves were turning yellow and dropping off but for £6 each ... I smuggled them in (More plants are as much a no go as more bees with 'er indoors). Anyway, I hid them in amongst the Blackcurrant bushes in their original pots and did nothing but water them ...they did nothing.... (who buys Grape vines from Asda ?) and to be honest, I forgot about them.

Tidying things up today I stumbled across them. They are like triffids ... one must have put on the better part of 6 foot of growth !.. I've potted them all on.. there's a red, green and yellow grape but I know nothing about growing grape vines. We had one in a greenhouse, it was well established - about 20 years old, at our first house and all I did was pick the grapes and cut back the side shoots in the autumn.

They are going to have to live in tubs for the next year or so as we hope to move house so I'm in uncharted grape vine terrirory here - I really did not expect them to survive,, let alone thrive !

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I bought three grape vines from Asda (Who in their right mind buys grape vines from Asda ?) I bought then more out of sympathy as they were looking at bit as though they desperately needed water, the leaves were turning yellow and dropping off but for £6 each ... I smuggled them in (More plants are as much a no go as more bees with 'er indoors). Anyway, I hid them in amongst the Blackcurrant bushes in their original pots and did nothing but water them ...they did nothing.... (who buys Grape vines from Asda ?) and to be honest, I forgot about them.

Tidying things up today I stumbled across them. They are like triffids ... one must have put on the better part of 6 foot of growth !.. I've potted them all on.. there's a red, green and yellow grape but I know nothing about growing grape vines. We had one in a greenhouse, it was well established - about 20 years old, at our first house and all I did was pick the grapes and cut back the side shoots in the autumn.

They are going to have to live in tubs for the next year or so as we hope to move house so I'm in uncharted grape vine terrirory here - I really did not expect them to survive,, let alone thrive !

About 6 or 7 years ago I bought a couple of Home Bargains grapevines in pots and planted one next to a pergola and one next to a shed wall. They did nothing for the first year then began to grow. They were thirsty plants but once in their stríde grew like mad. The grapes they produced were bitter although the pergola provided a cool outside shady space. Last year I decided they had to go as I wanted some edible grapes from the garden. Accordingly the chainsaw came out and the vines were removed from ground level then two edible variety vines planted a short distance away from the original rootspace. Again very little growth first year but things are moving on apace this year and I'm hoping for some home grown grapes next year.

 

[pargyle]

About 6 or 7 years ago I bought a couple of Home Bargains grapevines in pots and planted one next to a pergola and one next to a shed wall. They did nothing for the first year then began to grow. They were thirsty plants but once in their stríde grew like mad. The grapes they produced were bitter although the pergola provided a cool outside shady space. Last year I decided they had to go as I wanted some edible grapes from the garden. Accordingly the chainsaw came out and the vines were removed from ground level then two edible variety vines planted a short distance away from the original rootspace. Again very little growth first year but things are moving on apace this year and I'm hoping for some home grown grapes next year.

The labels on the ones I've bought say they are good eaters - sweet and juicy .. It will be a couple of years before I know for certain ... I've just been down to Asda for some groceries and they had a fresh crop in - and were selling off the remnants of the last ones for £2.40. Who can resist a grape vine for £2.40 so I bought a different flavour - this one is Regent .

"Grape 'Regent' is an early ripening variety, producing excellent quality fruits with very high sugar content - ideal for wine and juice making. In good growing years they are sweet enough to be eaten as a dessert variety."

Time will tell.

 

[enrico]

The labels on the ones I've bought say they are good eaters - sweet and juicy .. It will be a couple of years before I know for certain ... I've just been down to Asda for some groceries and they had a fresh crop in - and were selling off the remnants of the last ones for £2.40. Who can resist a grape vine for £2.40 so I bought a different flavour - this one is Regent .

"Grape 'Regent' is an early ripening variety, producing excellent quality fruits with very high sugar content - ideal for wine and juice making. In good growing years they are sweet enough to be eaten as a dessert variety."

Time will tell.

To be honest grapes are a bit of a waste of time in my opinion. We have red and white seedless. They all ripen at the same time and there is only so many you can eat. I can't be bothered with wine and even grape juice is a bit if a faff. We end up selling most of ours on the gate!