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

moneyistooshorttomention

Just been out on inspection patrol and cautiously optimistic that the flour/bicarb. of soda dusting might be more effective against those caterpillars. I guess the idea is that they breathe it in and choke to death. By now - that's just fine with me....

It's feeling more than a little autumnal out there now. It's clearly been very windy during the night/still is:( and I can see some of my tomato plants and one of my sweetcorn are skewwhiff lying on the ground.

I'm still getting my head round my garden being in a different part of the country to where I thought it would be once I got a "proper" one (ie worse weather here). So I get caught out by things like that....

I think that, next year, I'm going to have to support my tomatoes to a "higher than normal" level - maybe use lengths of wood (rather than bamboo canes) to tie them up to in the garden and tie up several times - rather than just once or twice. Hopefully that will cope with going from a climate of occasional wind/very few gales to one where there is very frequent wind/a noticeable number of strong gales. The garden plans I have had in my mind for years are based around mild breezes and standard amount of rain - so quite a lot of "tinkering" to figure out how to have "my" garden in this climate....

Could be worse - if I were up north in Scotland too - then I'd also have worse temperature problems to contend with instead/as well....

Dizzy_Ditzy

Moneyistooshorttomention what I do with my tomatoes is stake in at least three pieces of wood vertically - one at each end of the row then depending on how long the row is, one or two more in the middle but always at least three.

I stretch wire across all three pieces horizontally a few times every few inches then pretty much either train the plants to thread through the wires alternately or just tie them in to add extra supports. It's harder than I thought to explain

I saw it in a garden in Greece once and it stuck with me. They did it with tomatoes, peppers and sweet peppers. It made perfect sense I'll see if I can find a pic at some point

determined_new_ms

Hi everyone! Just got back from a massive session at the allotment my lovely oh went down an hour before me and finished digging the 1.5 x 2.5 meter bed :A

Planted 2 rows each of beetroot (Cylindra) and turnip (Goldana) purchased both of these and calabrese ( Blue wind) (what we call broccoli in the supermarket as apparently broccoli is really the sprouting variety and the big green tree is calabrese) as they are rapid growing and you can sow in August for a harvest :T

Courgettes, squashes, runner beans, dwarf french beans & radishes all coming along nicely. Will pick my 1st 2 courgettes & radishes this week :j picked a kilo of blackberries and also a few windfall apples to make a apple sauce.

Gosh it's so soul nurturing!

Tonight's veg with roast is all hg :T

My running total of produce so far is £198.59 :T so that now exceeds my total spent :T

moneyistooshorttomention

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

Moneyistooshorttomention what I do with my tomatoes is stake in at least three pieces of wood vertically - one at each end of the row then depending on how long the row is, one or two more in the middle but always at least three.

I stretch wire across all three pieces horizontally a few times every few inches then pretty much either train the plants to thread through the wires alternately or just tie them in to add extra supports. It's harder than I thought to explain

I saw it in a garden in Greece once and it stuck with me. They did it with tomatoes, peppers and sweet peppers. It made perfect sense I'll see if I can find a pic at some point

That sounds a possibility to me. I think I can picture what you mean - but, if you do find a picture, that would be good and then I'm quite sure I'm visualising the right thing.

Always open to learning new ways to do things better...

zafiro1984

WoW Queen of Cheap - you have been busy - I envy you your energy.

Yesterday son went home with two mushroom boxes full of produce, runner beans, beetroot, potatoes, tomatoes 3 varieties, cucumber, peas, dwarf beans, courgettes yellow and green, sweetcorn and salad leaves, today gave a similar mushroom box to the person who works for us which leaves me with 6 overgrown courgettes trying to be marrows, enough tomatoes to make yet some more soup and baby carrots or should I say thinnings (baby carrots is too posh a name).

Not too happy with the rain but we can't have it all ways, anyway stayed indoors and did badly needed housework.

Autumn brassicas coming along nicely, kohl rabi and fennel almost ready, leeks fattening up, onions need collecting as soon as the rain gives way to sunshine and my green house is as full now with seedlings/young plants as it was in the spring so quite happy. Just one big downfall, the plot looks an untidy mess, my excuse is I've been busy I haven't had time to tidy up: as my mother would say 'it looks like it's been dragged through a hedge backwards' Never mind - it's individual.

spendinglikemad

Yellow and red raspberries picked. Runner beans that I missed yesterday added to the larder, dug up one potato plant with some massive spuds - won't need to dig up any more this week. A few beetroots - hopefully will get these used this week as a roasted meal or pickled/chutney.
Weeded, dug and hoed a bit and watered - hopefully will do the same each day this week and get the plot sorted!!
Need to think about what I can plant in September...

So raspberries used in a tray bake (raspberry crumble squares - yum especially nice with the mix of gold and red rasps) and made a choice cake and a raspberry brownie cake which is the best brownie ever.

Made a batch of sticky onion marmalade with allotment onions and shallots with port and chinese wine vinegar and it is really really good - I got dd to test with some cheddar!!

Rainbow chard is doing well and will harvest some this week for str fry and sweetcorn looks to be coming on nicely!!

Not totting up any money saving but apart from bananas and peppers I am not buying any veg at the markets!!

Need to get the strawberry patch weeded and the asparagus bed - first year of plums and damsons and they are a bit dodgy!!
SLM

zafiro1984

Morning all,

Sweetcorn has arrived :j

Recommend courgette, potato and cheddar soup - really tasty but I did add slightly more cheese than the recipe stated !!
Also cucumber and avocado soup is good both hot and cold.

Ok: I will learn by my mistakes, planted out a whole packet of runner beans - any ideas for the surplus before I get a phobia, they remind me of the film 'The day of the Trifid' - Oh dear, that shows my age!!!!

Fruittea

Hi Everyone
A lovely sunny day here but a little too hot for me.
Zafiro here's a link for some runner beans recipes https://www.homemadebyyou.co.uk/articles/cooking/7-super-recipes-for-runner-beans
Some look very good. I just had a runner bean salad for lunch - blanched and chilled the beans, cut them finely and then tossed in some lemon, olive oil and toasted sesame and pine nuts. Served with some smoked salmon. Would also be nice with boiled eggs - very refreshing. I've also put a few bags outside for sale. £17.50 on produce sold at the gate so far.
Everyone sounds as though they are doing so well with the growing.
I like the sound of that sticky onion marmalade - any chance of the recipe Spending I have plenty of onions.

zafiro1984

Thanks Fruittea I actually have all the ingredients to make the grilled nectarine parma ham and runner bean salad which sound quite delicious in this weather- so that's tea sorted - thanks

determined_new_ms

zafiro I have been freezing runner beans I won't use up within a day or two. I don't blanch them as I will use them up within 6 months. So it's just a matter of slicing and bunging them in a bag. Easy peasy!