Help MBE grow his dinner 2013.

Badrick

mrbadexample wrote: »

I've got a couple of nice little squashes coming, and most other stuff is doing ok although my runner beans aren't setting.

I'm in the same boat with the runner beans, according to the RHS it appears to be down to the higher temperatures recently, particularly overnight, seems it interferes with pollination, but things should improve as we go into September.

Great shed Annie, awesome colours, should brighten things up especially in the depths of winter.
btw. thanks for the meteor heads up, not seen any info for them this year.

annie123

mrbadexample wrote: »

This is really an allotment vegetable.

No just the variety you chose. The BNS fairy gave you Ponca last year which is compact and more suitable for gardens.

Nice looking squashes though, you've got more than me but I do have runner beans probably because I've misted the flowers, helps them set when it's hot.

Have a nice weekend MBE away. If you're down at your folks you'll have a great view of the meteor shower.
I'm down there too but only visiting mum for the day so I'll have to make do with light polluted London and keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks for the nice shed comments. Hubby has never built anything like that before so to design and built it from scratch, I think he's done really well. That roof's so strong you could hold a party on it. Looking forward to planting the ground around it.
It's down the no slug pellets allowed end of the garden (that's where the birds are fed) and as hard as I've tried, I can't think of anything edible that likes early morning and late evening sun only and is munch proof.
Can't put raspberries there they spread too easily but if anyone has any ideas I'd be glad to hear them.
If not then it will be ferns, foxgloves and bulbs etc

Fay

Hi everyone :wave:
Your shed looks great Annie, I love the colours.

I feel I've been rather neglectful of late as I've had 4monster cold sores in a row that have left me feeling rubbish. So my potatoes (first earlies) are still in the ground and need digging out, my pea patch never reached its full potential because I didn't plug the gaps, my competition beans aren't going to win any prizes, my broad beans haven't produced any beans!
But, better things have been: French beans have done great, tomatoes are looking very healthy although I still haven't had a ripe one yet, peppers are doing ok (chillies not so much), and my first ever courgette I can't tell-no fruits yet but lots of flowers.
The weather here has been erratically boiling hot or hammering down with rain, so most of my flowers look as though someone has sat on them. Another great gardening year he he.

lolly5648

Fay wrote: »

Hi everyone :wave:

I feel I've been rather neglectful of late as I've had 4monster cold sores in a row that have left me feeling rubbish. .

I really sympathise with you - I have also had a monster cold sore - never had one so big before and I can feel everyone staring and being too polite to mention it. It worries me that you said you had 4 in a row, mine usually have large gaps between them

It has made me feel very lethargic and the garden is suffering, haven't got the energy to do anything apart from pick raspberries and tomatoes.

Little_Vics

I've just eaten my first ever home grown courgettes and they were scrummy. Hoorah.

lemonjelly

mrbadexample wrote: »

This might be the year of the squash.

Nope - this is the year of the cucumber.

Had a shock this weekend. Turned round in the chair I was sat in to see ahuge (for me) cucumber had formed & grown on the ladder! Already about 7inches long! Very pleasing. Lots of other little fruits on there - so veryhopeful. Couple of others nearly as big too.

Have emptied & eaten a tub of carrots. Made some lovely salads, as well assome carrot & leek soup.

Still waiting for my first tomato! They're all still green. That said I amnoticing more & more appearing on the plants though.... However, ampreparing to make more of that soup, having brought in 2 tubs of carrots. I'llonly have 4 more tubs to harvest (before getting to the ones in the ground!)

I did transplant some beetroot out from tubs, & was worried that theywere struggling in their tub. They didn't seem to be taking, so I intended toharvest them this week, but got tied up 3 evenings running, then saw they werefine. Few leaves starting to look a bit rough, so will possibly harvest themnext weekend.

PS, Annie, great shed. Just needs a fridge, tea maker, & a comfy chair!

Leif

I've been eating Maskotka tomatoes for weeks, very tasty although the skins are a bit tough. Two Sungold plants are now producing, they are tasty with thin skins, although both plants are about 10 feet across. They have huge numbers of tomatoes on them, so a success. I only picked up 2 plants from Longacres on the spur of the moment as everyone said they were so good. They are not as tasty as Maskotka (they lack the acidity), but they are more productive and have a better texture.

The courgette is rampant, I've had to give some away.

I've harvested plenty of Burpees Golden beetroots, very nice, and some more went in a few weeks ago, so easy to grow. Salsify look good.

Mange touts from Homebase did well, but I should have sowed seeds in succession. The Norli mange tout seeds were rubbish. The pods were tiny, so I allowed them to grow, and they became tough. A failure.

The 2 butternut squash are doing well, loads of small fruit on each one. I don't know if they will ripen in time before the frosts arrive.

The 10 year old Rocoto chilli (Capsicum pubescens) is doing okay, it has large ripe pods on (4cm across), and the 1 year old Lemon Drop (C. baccatum) has been producing loads of pods for months now. The Orange Habenero are flowering thanks to the good weather. I might have some ripe pods before the frosts hit.

Chinese cabbage in pots were mostly a failure, as they went to seed, or were attacked by insects. I think they are best grown in the ground, with plenty of slug pellets. The rocket in pots was a failure, it went straight to seed, hopefully it will do better in the ground. Overall I have found plants do far better in the ground than in pots, although the Maskotka tomatoes in pots have done just as well as the one in the ground.

The raspberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant and rhubarb plants planted this year are growing well. The Medlar planted this year should produce some 'dog's bums' this year. The quince and plums look healthy but will not produce for a few years.

The marjarom, hyssop and oregano are pulling in huge numbers of bumble bees.

I've had a lot of black fly so I will plant some wild flowers near the veg patch which I hope will bring in the predators next year.

The field bindweed in the veg patch is a pain, and I pull out as much as I can each day to exhaust the roots, but I know they go down metres if not more. When I dug the veg patch, I followed roots down 1 metre, and found tightly bound coils that stretched out to many metres long.

Oddly enough, the new area of lawn I sowed over the old septic tank is lush, dark green and long either side of the tank, but where the tank is, the grass is short and pale. The tank is 12" down. Above the opening of the tank (filled with stones) the grass is long and dark green!! It is bizarre, but that is how they discover long buried remains of Roman and prehistoric buildings.I can only assume that the soil 12" down is an important source of moisture for the grass.

Dizzy_Ditzy

I've just potted up 6 new aloes from my 2 original plants

I've also potted on some eucalyptus, although god knows what I'm gonna be doing with that I didn't expect it to take, so now that it has, I am all *shrugs shoulders*

I've taken the cucumber plants out of the greenhouse now that they've served their purpose, the sunflowers are all gone and bought loads of stuff today for storing seeds and a notebook for all the tips I've been picking up

My big chillies are starting to turn orange and my little ones are all growing very nicely, but I've had some blossom end rot on a few tomatoes. I thought it was odd that I had one single red one of the beefsteak toms, then when I looked closer I spotted it

annie123

lemonjelly wrote: »

]PS, Annie, great shed. Just needs a fridge, tea maker, & a comfy chair![/SIZE][/FONT]

Probably have to settle for a flask of tea and a stool

My yellow courgette has given me the first one today. Looks pretty and will find out later if it's tastes as nice as the round ones I have which have gone into overdrive again so dehydrating them.

My apples are looking tasty, not many of them but it's only big stick in a pot really. My parsnips seem fine now and those that had their leaves eaten have produced lots of new growth quickly to replace them.
French beans have now finished, which is just as well as the vines are over running them.
Whilst clearing the beans and moving the vines out of the way I found an aubergine plant 30" tall looking very green and healthy but alas no fruit. Can't see it ripening in time even if it was pollinated today so will clear that too.

But that reminded me, How are the aubergines growing in the mini competition?

mrbadexample

annie123 wrote: »

But that reminded me, How are the aubergines growing in the mini competition?

Mine's coming on better than expected, actually: