The ups and downs of growing your own dinner 2016...

creativemieu

This year I am really hopeful I will have a meaningful crop of home grown tomatoes. For me there is absolutely nothing to compete with the flavour of a home grown tomato. I live in Cornwall and do not have a greenhouse. So the climate and lack of protection has lead to year after year of blight destroying my hopes. This year I bought a very cheap "tomato greenhouse" basically a metal frame with a plastic cover just big enough for one grow bag. I bought three tomato plants, two Alicante and one Shirley. The Shirley which is an F1 hybrid is almost twice the size of the old fashioned Alicante and already has two fruits set. Every day I open up the "greenhouse" to give the tomatoes plenty of air and every evening I close it up in a ritual of putting them to bed. It is so early to have actual fruit on the plants that I am now really quite confident that I shall have lovely home grown tomatoes as long as the blight does not come in early. Fingers crossed.

Fruittea

Morning Every
Bit of a weather warning coming up for next few days. Wet and warm and I've just heard on a FB page that people in Guernsey and West Cornwall have blight on their first earlies - not a good sign. Maybe time to spray potatoes with a copper solution!
The strawberries sound fantastic Zafiro well done. I've only had a couple but I can see they're on their way.


Quote from Creativemieu"I live in Cornwall and do not have a greenhouse. So the climate and lack of protection has lead to year after year of blight destroying my hopes. This year I bought a very cheap "tomato greenhouse" basically a metal frame with a plastic cover just big enough for one grow bag. I bought three tomato plants, two Alicante and one Shirley. "

I think given the blight warning Creativemieu you have done the right thing with the tomato bag - so good luck. Last ear I grew Crimson Crush which is supposed to be blight resistant but outside it still suffered. Strangely enough I can't grow toms at the allotment but outside in the garden in pots they do brilliantly - I have about 20 all counted but I agree you can't beat the flavour of a fresh tomato.
I had my first broad bean yesterday - podded in a salad - it really made it feel like Summer. Also the last of the leeks processed - so some for tea with veggie sausages and about a kilo in the freezer.
No allotment for me today as it's a trip down to Burnham on Sea for lunch - don't think I'll be playing on the beach though as I think it might rain. I'll do some shopping and my Veg Plot update latter. Have a good day everyone.

UnluckyT

Had to put something netting wise round some of the sweetcorn that had been out as something had been pecking at it?
The peas have been going well too? And 2 of the 3 fruit trees we inherited seem to be growing, along with the raspberries, so quite pleased.
Been hit and miss with seeds, although it trial and error.
Especially as we've had to (mum and I) had to improve very wet clay soil, but in 3 months not done too bad.

Kantankrus_Mare

About time I rejoined this thread.

Took on new overgrown allotment last September with my dad.

First few weeks was hard work trailing sheds and greenhouse around from my old allotment and reassembling whilst strimming the whole plot and painstakingly digging it all over with all the twitch that accompanied it.

Cant believe how good it is looking now!! I moved rhubarb plants, managed to rescue enough strawberry plants for one bed full.

We moved my apple tree and it seems like its taken!

We have created a fruit tree area with raspberries, goji berry, blackcurrants and gooseberries which are all doing well.

Have onions and garlic growing. Both over wintering and summer.

Some carrots have sprouted. Sweetcorn is planted out and have about 8 rows with a mixture of new and maincrop potatoes.

I want a colourful as well as productive allotment so we have had daffs, tulips and now sweet peas growing. Have planted a clematis which will hopefully spread and give a bit of summer colour.

Dad is a bit negative and doubted that my rhubarb would take from my old plot but Ive had it for ten years so I knew it would.

Picked my first rhubarb today and it looks delish. Im not sure if it was last years thread but someone posted a recipe for rhubarb muffins which were lovely. Can anyone help me out with the recipe?

Its great to read others adventures with growing stuff.

determined_new_ms

I picked some rhubarb out of my garden yesterday and made these:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1263686/rhubarb-crumble-muffins

so good!

zafiro1984

Kantankrus_Mare wrote: »

About time I rejoined this thread.
Took on new overgrown allotment last September with my dad.
First few weeks was hard work trailing sheds and greenhouse around from my old allotment and reassembling whilst strimming the whole plot and painstakingly digging it all over with all the twitch that accompanied it.
Cant believe how good it is looking now!! I moved rhubarb plants, managed to rescue enough strawberry plants for one bed full.
We moved my apple tree and it seems like its taken!
We have created a fruit tree area with raspberries, goji berry, blackcurrants and gooseberries which are all doing well.
Have onions and garlic growing. Both over wintering and summer.
Some carrots have sprouted. Sweetcorn is planted out and have about 8 rows with a mixture of new and maincrop potatoes.
I want a colourful as well as productive allotment so we have had daffs, tulips and now sweet peas growing. Have planted a clematis which will hopefully spread and give a bit of summer colour.
Dad is a bit negative and doubted that my rhubarb would take from my old plot but Ive had it for ten years so I knew it would.
Picked my first rhubarb today and it looks delish. Im not sure if it was last years thread but someone posted a recipe for rhubarb muffins which were lovely. Can anyone help me out with the recipe?
Its great to read others adventures with growing stuff.

Wow, wish I had that sort of energy
Welcome back, I remember the name from either last year or was it the year before?

Kantankrus_Mare

Probably the year before. Thanks for the welcome.

My old plot got too much for me on my own and my dad suggested joining me as he has retired.

He has done lots of the structural work which I couldnt possibly do on my own. He is a bit fussy about things being in straight rows and looking neat where as I am more of a stick it in and hop for the best kind of girl but I have to say that two pairs of hands make much easier work of it.

Spent all yesterday getting on top of the dreaded weeds so hopefully it should now become a bit easier to keep on top of.

Has anyone got any tips for spring onions? I never did have any success with these and my first sowin got drowned by weeds and pulled up. Did another sowing yesterday.

Fruittea

Morning Everyone
Lot's of fine rain here in Gloucestershire. Great for the garden. Hi Kantankrus great to her your plans and that things are going well. If you enjoy cooking I can recommend a cake that Sazzlebegood posted a few weeks ago. Sour cream rhubarb cake. It was really very good. Here's the details:


Ingredients:185g self raising flour/165g caster sugar plus 1 tbsp/125g butter room temp/85g sour cream/2 eggs/1 and half tsp of vanilla extract/250g rhubarb cut into 4'' chunks/icing sugar to dust/. Crumble topping 35g plain flour/55g caster sugar/1tsp of cinnamon/60g butter/ 50g flaked almonds.
Gas mark 3. grease 22cm pan line with baking paper. make crumble topping using usual method include the cinnamon. Stir in the almonds, cover and put in the fridge. In another bowl add flour,sugar,butter,sour cream, eggs and vanilla beat into a smooth batter. Put the mixture into the greased pan. Toss the rhubarb in the additional sugar, scatter over the top of cake and press into the mixture. Sprinkle the crumble topping on the top. Bake for 1 hour 5mins or 1hr 10mins check by inserting a skewer and it should come out clean. Leave in tin for 5 mins before removing. Dust with icing sugar.Serve with either cream or ice cream.

Kantankrus_Mare

Fruittea wrote: »

Morning Everyone
Lot's of fine rain here in Gloucestershire. Great for the garden. Hi Kantankrus great to her your plans and that things are going well. If you enjoy cooking I can recommend a cake that Sazzlebegood posted a few weeks ago. Sour cream rhubarb cake. It was really very good. Here's the details:


Ingredients:185g self raising flour/165g caster sugar plus 1 tbsp/125g butter room temp/85g sour cream/2 eggs/1 and half tsp of vanilla extract/250g rhubarb cut into 4'' chunks/icing sugar to dust/. Crumble topping 35g plain flour/55g caster sugar/1tsp of cinnamon/60g butter/ 50g flaked almonds.
Gas mark 3. grease 22cm pan line with baking paper. make crumble topping using usual method include the cinnamon. Stir in the almonds, cover and put in the fridge. In another bowl add flour,sugar,butter,sour cream, eggs and vanilla beat into a smooth batter. Put the mixture into the greased pan. Toss the rhubarb in the additional sugar, scatter over the top of cake and press into the mixture. Sprinkle the crumble topping on the top. Bake for 1 hour 5mins or 1hr 10mins check by inserting a skewer and it should come out clean. Leave in tin for 5 mins before removing. Dust with icing sugar.Serve with either cream or ice cream.

Wow that sounds nice! Thanks for that and yes I do like baking. Will print off and have a go at some point.

Fruittea

Hi Everyone
Just popped in to update the Veg plot challenge. This week from the allotment I brought home 2 large artichokes, Pak Choi, Rhubarb, Potatoes, Salad, Herbs, Watercress, Rocket and Radish. For the amount I bought I guess I would have been charged £14 at the supermarket.
Ordered online - Spinach, Broccoli, Asparagus, Courgette, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Mushrooms priced at £15.80. So that's another £14s in the pot for me. I'm not buying fruit this week as I'm focusing on using up the frozen - so I can defrost the freezer.
Down at the plot I have Spinach, Cucumbers, Tomatoes all growing well. Can't wait to pick my own and not have to buy.
By the end of the season the only thing I'll be buying will be mushrooms as I try to eat seasonally so will cut out the asparagus.