veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

elsien

My mangetout glut is continuing - wondering whether to try freezing some. Do they freeze ok and do I need to blanch them first, does anyone know? (I'll probably use them up in stir fries.)
I'm also eying up my courgette plants in alarm - a week ago I was worried there were no flowers so I gave them a nitrogen feed. Now I've never seen so many flowers on one plant - it's going to be courgettes for breakfast, lunch and dinner at this rate. That's the thing with this gardening lark - it does seem to be a bit all or nothing!

kimmee

I have finally got some female flowers on my courgettes and (at the last count) seem to have at least 3 baby courgettes :j

My cucumber is about 6 inches long and fairly fat so I think I'll be harvesting it at the weekend, also have at least two more baby cucs on the way (gawd, I sound like an expectant mum :rotfl:)

Harvested a good few carrots over the last few days, they were delish as were the peas though I can see why others have said you don't get much of a yield - think I'm going to grow an awful lot more next year as I love the fresh peas so much.

My tayberry bush has produced a lot of fruit this year but just about coming to the end now - anyone know if you have to prune them? I didn't do anything to it last year (planted last year) but wonder if I would have had more fruit if I had cut it back.

Harvested a few spring onions and they were fierce but yummy. Still harvesting and growing more salad leaves, and have an enourmous amount of toms growing. Chillis and peppers are growing and sprouting lots of flowers but very little fruit as yet.

Happy weekend growing folks

Chimera

ausmummy wrote: »

Yesturday I had none - today another story. I have green aphids starting on my a couple of my chilli and pepper plants. Black aphids have attack my courgette. Some black ladybugs seem to be keeping guard but the aphids have just come from nowhere.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51344096@N03/?changedlayout=1

tell me about it, I have loadsa greenfly on my salad leaves, been a spraying nutter (soapy water) .. and makes me itchy just looking at them. Salad leaves appear mostly ok though, had some tonight (very carefully washed).. found black ones on a sunflower today - I'm afraid the got the full pesticide hit!! Just hoping they all get the message and don't spead, I've got a tiny garden and everything is crammed in. Lots of beneficial insects buzzing round, though I've seen no ladybirds yet

zarazara

where theres aphids ladybirds will follow,if pesticides havent been used.

ausmummy

I have red and black ladybirds, so hopefully they will be happily feasting on the black aphids. I don't think they have found the green ones yet though.

soullessfire

I planted the Cabbage and Cauli seeds back in early april. Might have been too soon or something but they seem ok, so I'm not moaning Can't post a pic this weekend as the camera's been nabbed by a relative for a wedding (Is it bad I typed weeding twice?) so I'm camera-less until Monday.

soul619

my caulis were indoors end of march and i have 5 with small actual caulis this week

Mrs_Veg_Plot

:hello: Hi everyone I'm a veg growing novice. Found this forum a couple of weeks ago and found it so useful I have read it from start to finish! Lots of useful advice. Have had a raised bed built and filled with top soil for free this year and so far have had success wioth salad leaves and Pak choi. Onions, leeks , purple sprouting broc, carrots and onions looking good. Can't get radish to grow though. Have checked the seed packet and they are in date.
Have my first courgette on the plant, only about 3inches long but one end is green and the other end is yellow. Any ideas what might be wrong with it?

Have never posted on a forum before. Hope I have got it right.

elsien

Hi, and welcome.
My courgettes did that last year, don't know why as they seem to be ok so far this year. Are you feeding them properly (just a guess.)?

izzwizz_2

Mrs_Veg_Plot wrote: »

:hello: Hi everyone I'm a veg growing novice. Found this forum a couple of weeks ago and found it so useful I have read it from start to finish! Lots of useful advice. Have had a raised bed built and filled with top soil for free this year and so far have had success wioth salad leaves and Pak choi. Onions, leeks , purple sprouting broc, carrots and onions looking good. Can't get radish to grow though. Have checked the seed packet and they are in date.
Have my first courgette on the plant, only about 3inches long but one end is green and the other end is yellow. Any ideas what might be wrong with it?

Have never posted on a forum before. Hope I have got it right.

Hi Mrs Veg Plot, welcome and yes you've got the posting right! I'd guess your courgette has "blossom end rot" (starts to rot from where the flower has rotted) or else it wasn't fertilised when the flower was open. Either way, cut it off and use the good bit now, or it will just rot off. You can use them any size and they are good & tasty when small. Hope this helps and hope you join in the fun with the rest of us