Help MBE grow his dinner 2011

aplaceinthesun

mrbadexample wrote: »

Hmmm...can you make pie?

:j Yep pie .... , crumble, jam, fool :rotfl:

HelenYorkshire

Hello everyone
I hope this is the right place to ask....
I'm hopefully relocating soon to a rental house with a bit of a garden. It is scruffy and overgrown but seems to have been looked after at some point; I don't know the soil type. It's a very old cottage, so I'm guessing it's been cultivated for veg in the past.
I have a little veg patch where I am now, and obviously most of the crops will be lost (well, eaten by other folk!) but can any of the following survive being dug up (or cutting taken??) and transported a few hours in this hot (!) weather
Soft fruits - alpine strawberry, gooseberry, raspberry
Herbs - valerian, chamomile (or is it not worth taking this one)
Rhubarb - I could take a bit if/when the crown is lifted and split - sometime in winter I presume?

Does anyone have experience with so-called "family" fruit trees - I've seen ones that have a plum and a nectarine on the same rootstock, for example.

Also, any tips for getting a neglected patch up and running? As in, do a bit at a time vs blitz the lot ASAP to avoid weeds spreading. I'm interested in permaculture/no dig methods, but found square foot gardening to be a disaster. Soemone above mentioned a "lasagne" method?

I would also ask what could be planted in Autumn, but between a new job and home I don't want to guarantee getting anything ready in time

If it helps, the garden is in Northamptonshire (so far south! :eek: ) and wraps around the south, west, and a bit north of the property. It's a few metres from the house each way. Unfortunately the south facing bit is the front, so pretty AND edible things are needed :rotfl:

lemonjelly

Been away a while.

My toms still are flowering, but not actual toms yet.

My beans are flowering, yet no actual beans yet.

I pulled up all the potato plants growing from all the composted peelings I'd buried. One or 2 had the starting of potatoes on them, but no major loss. I do fear the peas have been badly affected by that and as a result, my crop will suffer!:(

My onions are tiny (about as big as a spring onion!) I checked one out & replanted it in the hope I was too early.

Should I be worried about my lack of toms and/or beans yet?

mrbadexample

HelenYorkshire wrote: »

Hello everyone
I hope this is the right place to ask....
I'm hopefully relocating soon to a rental house with a bit of a garden. It is scruffy and overgrown but seems to have been looked after at some point; I don't know the soil type. It's a very old cottage, so I'm guessing it's been cultivated for veg in the past.
I have a little veg patch where I am now, and obviously most of the crops will be lost (well, eaten by other folk!) but can any of the following survive being dug up (or cutting taken??) and transported a few hours in this hot (!) weather
Soft fruits - alpine strawberry, gooseberry, raspberry
Herbs - valerian, chamomile (or is it not worth taking this one)
Rhubarb - I could take a bit if/when the crown is lifted and split - sometime in winter I presume?

Does anyone have experience with so-called "family" fruit trees - I've seen ones that have a plum and a nectarine on the same rootstock, for example.

Also, any tips for getting a neglected patch up and running? As in, do a bit at a time vs blitz the lot ASAP to avoid weeds spreading. I'm interested in permaculture/no dig methods, but found square foot gardening to be a disaster. Soemone above mentioned a "lasagne" method?

I would also ask what could be planted in Autumn, but between a new job and home I don't want to guarantee getting anything ready in time

If it helps, the garden is in Northamptonshire (so far south! :eek: ) and wraps around the south, west, and a bit north of the property. It's a few metres from the house each way. Unfortunately the south facing bit is the front, so pretty AND edible things are needed :rotfl:

Hmmm...I hadn't replied coz I was hoping other people might know more than me.

I'd take the gooseberry if it was small enough to dig up easily. It's probably sulk, but should recover. Rhubarb crown too, but if you're moving, can you still go back and split it in the winter?

I think a bit at a time is best for getting your veg patch up and running. Get something in, then attack the rest.

Hopefully other people might be able to assist further.

Patchwork_Quilt

Take the rasps and strawbs too. They should survive. As to 'family' trees, we used to have one with gages and Marjorie plums on it. It seemed to do all right but the gage side seemed to be taking over. Unfortunately, we moved before it really got going. You could splash out and buy heat-treated (?) strawberry plants this autumn and they should produce some sort of a crop next summer.

My advice to get the plot going for next season is to cover it all up immediately with a tarpaulin or whatever comes to hand. Peel it back a little at a time to take off the turf or whatever is underneath and save this - it will make good compost. Hopefully, whatever is underneath your tarpaulin will die before you get to it and make the job easier. Also, don't be afraid to use weedkiller in the first year and if you plan to stay there for a long time, get your fruit bushes/trees into the garden this autumn.

Good luck.

djohn2002uk

For MBE. Please note the large green things on the left in todays menu. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Fay

Oh dear I think I might have blight on my tomatoes...can anyone identify if it is? They're in the greenhouse and I was wondering if this is some kind of sunburn if not blight?? (really really don't want to have blight my first time of growing!)

Lotus-eater

It's not blight, I think it's a combination of lower leaves dying off normally from old age and some upper leaves getting to close to the glass, or getting sun scorch.
But all these things are difficult to diagnose via a photo.

Skint_Lynne

Fay,

They look as if they've been scorched by the sun. Hopefully, they'll be okay.

mrbadexample

djohn2002uk wrote: »

For MBE. Please note the large green things on the left in todays menu. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

What are they then? Dwarf french beans? :rotfl:

You've got lots more than me. I have to say I don't think my beans are doing as well as in previous years, even the non-competition ones. My longest competition bean is a foot long - so about a third grown.