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florain

Tomato Blight

I now use soluble aspirin to spray both outdoor tomatoes and potatoes regularly through the summer and have good results.
A quick search will bring up lots of articles and videos. I first saw James Wong enthusing about it some time ago.
Hope that helps.

unrecordings

florain wrote: »

Tomato Blight

I now use soluble aspirin to spray both outdoor tomatoes and potatoes regularly through the summer and have good results.
A quick search will bring up lots of articles and videos. I first saw James Wong enthusing about it some time ago.
Hope that helps.

Interesting - I get blight as well late in the season (I really must fix those leaky greenhouses). Funnily enough part of my medication is 3g of Adcal (calcium carbonate) per day, so maybe that solves the blossom end rot problem (joking)

dancing_star

Adcal? I'm on that too. Fragile bones?


I'm in a grump today. A few weeks ago I took a couple of spare Ailsa Craig plants to my dad. I'd reared them in the greenhouse and hardened them off for a couple of weeks. Dad continued that, keeping them in the summerhouse with doors open, and sticking them outside eventually. I went round earlier (with a bag of lettuce, I've a glut) and he'd supplemented the two tomato plants with four he'd bought at a nursery recently. St Perre or something like that. Well, those beggars are about six inches taller than the Ailsa's, and are setting flowerheads way ahead too. I'm obviously a rubbish nurserywoman!


Also worried about my pepper plants. They're in the greenhouse but they aren't any more than about eight inches tall. I've fed them today but I can't see them growing any peppers this side of a miracle.


Again, Dad had a couple of pepper plants from the stupid nursery, about a foot tall and thumbing their noses at me.


Everything else is going along nicely in my garden, though I've had to thin out the nasturtiums in between the beans as they are growing like mental and blocking the light from the bean plants.



Lamb's lettuce and nasturtium leaf salad for lunch today then. And tomorrow probably, and likely all of next week too!


Picked some chard and kale as well, earlier than the books say but they are huge and needed thinned out.

unrecordings

dancing_star wrote: »

Adcal? I'm on that too. Fragile bones?

chemo/steroids - makes my fingernails & hair grow stupidly quick (not that I'm complaining)

In terms of your peppers, it's bushiness rather than height that counts - pinching out the growing tip at 6-8" makes for a bushier plant and therefore more chillis - so on that front I think you're winning

dancing_star

unrecordings wrote: »

In terms of your peppers, it's bushiness rather than height that counts

I'm still losing. Mine aren't very bushy either! And it's only the tallest that are 8 in in their high heels. The weediest is hardly even a seedling!

euronorris

My big black tomato plant lost a branch! It had snapped off the side. Such a shame as it was flowering as well!

Managed to get out for about 15 minutes yesterday afternoon, before the heavens opened again. Harvested a spring onion, a beetroot, a carrot and some lettuce. Cut some of the damaged leaves off my pepper plants. They have new leaf shoots, so wanted them to put their energy into that, rather than the damaged leaves.

unrecordings

dancing_star wrote: »

I'm still losing. Mine aren't very bushy either! And it's only the tallest that are 8 in in their high heels. The weediest is hardly even a seedling!

I guess it depends on the variety - my thai cayenne vary in height and maybe half have only just got to the pinching out stage, the habanero are still only about 3-4"

Pablosmummy

Ok I think I have a survivor! Actually first of all my sunflowers are recovering well, the hail just made them leafless stalks waving around but they've already started growing new leaves so I might have sunflowers yet!
I also noticed a new leaf on one of my pumpkins yay!!! Cucumbers dead and the other pumpkin no life yet but if I get one mini pumpkin I will.be very happy.
My pansies are also looking lovely this morning which helps, if it stays dry for a bit longer I'm going to put my sweet peppers into their final pots.
Have a good day and happy father's Day to everyone!

carinjo

Got a letter from local council yesterday asking me to tidy up the (1/2) allotment! I injured my back beginning May and not been able to do anything. Send a very apologetic email asking for some time and going to invest in a cordless trimmer to tidy it all up. Got tarpaulin and plastic sheet going to cover up most of it, ready for next year.
On the plus side, the shallots, dwarf broad bean and main crop potatoes all made it. The fruit the previous holder planted are doing well and saw some raspberry and pear inbetween the shoulder height grasses.
I asked some advice from one of the allotment neighbours and he talked me through how to deal with some of the weeds. I love how free everyone are with sharing advice always.

At home 3 of the tomato plants grown from seeds survived as did 2 nastursiums and all the chilli plants. The sunflowers and courgettes all drowned after replanting. I blame being heavily medicated against pain when i done it.

Got a question: on the plot got 2 tall metal poles with a cross pole which i assume was for runner beans or similar. It's placement is a bit odd with only about 80cm space between that and some fruit bushes. Does one plant only on one side of a "net" or does one do 2 sides, like a very narrow tent shape? I was thinking of moving it, but don't want to loose the shade it will provide, so need to have a think.

silverwhistle

Talking of untidy allotments I saw a few of what looked like untended plots near home when I was out for a run last week, I might have to investigate.. So get well soon, us vultures are hovering!;-)



Had some of my first teeny zucchini in a risotto yesterday. If I did more frying I might have had some battered flowers too, but missed the opportunity. No watering for a bit with the weather we've had, even for my earthenware pots. Next watering will definitely need a feed for my peppers and toms.