July Update: What are your growing in 2006? (Tips on fruit/flowers/veggies)

pickledtink

soba wrote:

Was wondering the same thing myself, I've got three pots of peppers and they're about two inches long, but I don't know if they'll grow as big as shop bought ones, and how do I know when they're ready - or can they be picked at any stage?
Blueberries are doing well and tumbler toms, herbs are going great guns but absolutely no blackberries at all on my thornless blackberry bush, so I suppose I've done something wrong - maybe they need to be in a deeper container.

Peppers need lots of feeding and watering once they've produced fruit to get them sizeable. You can pick them at any size but they'll be green if they're small. They have to stay on the plant to ripen and turn red.

Your Blackberry bush wil need a year to establish itself but should give you fruit next year.

cathybird

hi there, thrilled to see this thread as I'm reasonably new to this site and have been wondering if there's a "grow your own" section. I've got quite a big allotment which truth to tell is probably a wee bit too big for one person but have managed to get it under some kind of haywire control. I've put in some fruit trees down the bottom half (though brambles are still a bit of a problem in patches there), so this year I've got quite a few apples of different sorts coming along. The new plum tree produced all of three plums two of which had some sort of bug in them (grrr) but the third one tasted delicious (one plum - wow - but at least I can say I grew it!!) I put in lots of courgettes and potatoes which have done really well - I find you get a really good yield from them compared to effort, which you can't say about everything you can plant. I've got a herb bed that trundles along without too much attention. And some strawberries, which did really well this year. Anyone out there have an allotment they've used a bed system for? would like some tips on how you work the bed edging/paths ...

Lychee

How would you know when carrots are ready to be pulled out?

cathybird

these two links may be of some use

http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/1999/C/199902523.html
http://www.ghorganics.com/page15.html

spraying a milk solution on your courgettes may help - I've not had to deal with this problem so can't vouch for whether it works but it's cheap, organic & worth a try probably!!

cathybird

sorry just realised original message saying courgettes had mildew was 18 July & halfway through thread! (haven't woken up yet). anyway, if they still do milk might help!! (the ghorganics site offers loads of useful organic solutions for common plant problems in fact)

SisterSeph

Hi Cathybird,

Thanks for the link, that's very useful. Unfortunately since I posted my courgettes have suffered a radical haircut (!) in a bid to get rid of the mildew - had tried a bicarb solution but it didn't work - and now I think they have given up the ghost.... . I will be ready with the milk solution next year though!! Happily all my other plants seem to be growing okay and I think the mildew threat has passed...

Cheers,
Katie

apprentice_tycoon

Can someone remind me what can be sown at this time of year please - I've lots of bare earth!

cathybird

http://gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/veg_planner.asp
gives details of when to plant, sow & harvest veggies

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/todo_now/veg_gard_now.php
has a longer list of what you can sow, you have to scroll down to "continue to sow outdoors".

sashacat

I have just sown my winter cabbage and some more lettuce and herbs. I am told that if I plant spuds now I will have new potatoes for Christmas, but I simply don't have the time

wigginsmum

I'm waiting for spuds to arrive so we can do Christmas new potatoes too (allotment bed is dug in preparation). We're having a go at Carlingford. Also got two types of onion and one type of shallot set coming to be planted around Christmas Day.