Help MBE grow his dinner 2013.

Little_Vics

back from 4 days away to find my salad leaves have cooked yet again, despite them being in the open. Any tips on how to revive them? They are currently enjoying a long drink in my kitchen.

Little_Vics

so our town flooded again last night. Sigh.

I think I'll try to grow rice next year.

annie123

LV, watercress could be an alternative


John, my parsnips are under attack :eek: Not been in the garden since Sunday and since then they have been covered (80%) in black fly and the underneath of 1/2 the leaves have very small caterpillars, around 30 to a leaf. All leaves seem to have either nibble holes or just skeleton leaves left or have rotted places due to the black fly.
I had none last year and this year the black fly have been the worse I've ever had. Tried soapy spray a few weeks ago and that hasn't stopped it, and so far, I've never used a bug spray in my life, but am giving it serious considerations.
I've cut off the skeleton leaves and a few with the most caterpillars on and binned them and soap sprayed the black fly.
I have counted 2 parsnips with no damage, the others all have some, and some worse than others as they have hardly any leaves left

How do I save what's left of my parsnips? and to prevent the same problem next year I'll net them, something else I've never had to do here.


On a positive note, my redcurrant bushes are great this year, picking daily still, the yellow french beans that I don't like are still producing so they're going in the freezer and I'll chuck them in a winter casserole in the hope of not tasting them, the number of red toms are getting better, and I picked several chills this morning, first of the season

djohn2002uk

Just had a look at mine and there's nothing. No Blackfly and they are right next to the Runner Beans which have only had the smallest amount of Blackfly which soon met thier demise with one spray of Rapid which you can't buy anymore. No caterpillars either but when I pulled my peas up last week there was loads of small light green caterpillars on the ground. They are the same as the ones I've been picking off my Tomatoes in the greenhouse and they strip leaves to a skeleton in no time. They are from the Tomatoe moth which I had loads of about 8-10yrs ago for 2yrs.
I can only sugest you pick off the caterpillars and get a good aphid killer for the Blackfly. Good Luck.
Just a little aside. I've not been very active here this year due to my wife having a massive heart attack May 19th and she's just getting back to her old self now. So the gardening has been all my efforts alone this year (perhaps you remember the posts last year which sounded as though I only had a bit part :rotfl:). Anyway the main thing is, she's on the mend .

annie123

djohn2002uk wrote: »

I can only sugest you pick off the caterpillars and get a good aphid killer for the Blackfly. Good Luck. DONE, found reduced price bug killer in wilkinsons.
Just a little aside. I've not been very active here this year due to my wife having a massive heart attack May 19th and she's just getting back to her old self now. So the gardening has been all my efforts alone this year (perhaps you remember the posts last year which sounded as though I only had a bit part :rotfl:). Anyway the main thing is, she's on the mend .

You didn't tell her you'd be back seat gardening again this year did you But seriously, I'm really sorry to hear that news and really pleased you are both still here with us, must have been very frightening for both of you. Wishing her a speedy and complete recovery.

annie123

Bl**dy hot here today, but used the heat to bake hard the paint and varnish on the shed door.
We've been monitoring the roof which is 1/2 full of soil type stuff and lots and lots of rain. No sagging which is good and it does pool in the back left corner where we wanted so hubby putting the drainage hole in and connecting the water butt this weekend. Then that's it, I'll paint the inside at the end of the season. So I will bore you all with shed pictures this weekend.

Moved loads of containers back where they should be etc and discovered 2 runner beans hidden a tiny baby BNS and lots of other squash vines trying to take over anything they can. So I've moved some of the toms from my tom wall and tied in squashes as they need as much sun as they can get right now.

Planted my late leeks just before the storms came and rather than being in puddled holes they were fully covered not only in soil but 5 cat poos :mad: so I cleaned that up, oiked the leeks up, rinsed them and puddled in again but this time I've covered them in chicken wire.

Must get some spinach sown this weekend, and going to do some late calabrese. Some years it's worked for me others not, all depends on autumn, but earlier in the year always bolts so don't bother any more.

Fay

John, sorry to hear your wife has not been well but very glad to hear she is on the mend.
My garden seems to look good one day and like a jungle the next. I just can't seem to get on top of it. But I have finally started harvesting. I had a small harvest Thursday night with lots more French beans to come. I'm not sure I want to eat the cucumbers-I don't think I will grow them next year!


In other news, my competition beans have finally started producing. I was 3 weeks behind the other competitors but quite a few of them have only just started seeing beans. So here are my first new enorma competition beans!


There are more beans now so I'm going to select the best ones and take the rest off to try and concentrate the energy.

Badrick

Finally got a sowing of that dratted strawberry spinach to germinate.:j
1st toms ripening nicely and picked the first of many cucumbers today (note to self, just because you grew 3 cucumber plants from seed, doesn't mean you should plant them all! ).
My alpine strawberries are the biggest fruit I've ever had from them, dunno if it's down to the tomato feed or the better weather this year but I'm getting raspberry sized fruit.:)
Didn't realize strawberries from seed took 2 years to bear fruit when I spread an overripe supermarket one (from a very tasty batch) onto compost last year, no flowers but they're putting out runners, so they must be happy, I'm just hoping the taste is worth the wait as the parent may be a hybrid.
The grapevine has finally reached the greenhouse apex and is making it's way to the other end.
Not been lucky with the runner beans this year, loads of flowers, but only 2 beans set despite being frequented by bees.

Glad to hear your wife's on the mend John, don't give her anything bigger than a window box to do until she's fully recovered.

Little_Vics

John - so sorry about your wife. Hugs and prayers....

In failint-to-grow-stuff news, I have 2 - yes, 2 - aubergines and a lot more flowers. My courgettes have a new lease of life and have gone a bit mad with some gorgeous orange flowers. I have a sole loganberry, and a couple of teeny tiny green toms.

What's the betting it all starts to become edible when I go away for 2 weeks?

grandmasam

So cross!! Went up the garden to shut chickens in, left gate open behind me, as I usually do, turned to go back out and there is my hound, Rosie, carefully stripping the raspberry canes of fruit! She left the plugs behind so gently 'sucked' the ripe ones off! I was planning on having those with my cereal for breakfast, 'stamps feet '!
Caz