The all new good, bad and ugly of growing your own in 2020

carinjo

Courgette slices griddled on the bbq and beetroot wrapped in foil next to the coals. Nothing beats your own food around the campfire! 

Charly27

Have had a lovely couple of hours on the allotment this morning before it got unbearable in the heat. It’s coped as well as can be expected in my two week absence. I harvested flowers galore, a handful of purple dwarf beans, raspberries and plums. I think my tree has also been damaged by codling moth Suffolk Lass. Not sure what to do with the tree or the  plums as yet, probably jam. There were loads more on there but still green.  Also dug up all red and white onions and left them to dry on an old pallet. Will make sure to bring them home before the thunderstorms and store them. Some are quite small but I planted late and close together so I’m not surprised. I have courgettes and pumpkins ripening, red chard &, some lettuce that can be rescued. Salad onions still small, radish went to seed.

Suffolk_lass

That looks great @Charly27 I have just been knocking the damaged plums off because wasps are very active and I don't want them getting the rest of the plums. Underplanted with raspberries that are not the most productive. I think we will have a bit of a sort out this winter. Now we have honeybees I am letting the lettuces go to seed as they seem to like the flowers

MysteryMe

Starting to harvest the salad toms now. The beef toms are growing much better this year although still very green.
I have another marrgette is growing, might leave it as I suspect it's a marrow.

Tabby_cat

I'm enjoying our tomatoes, collecting half a punnet or so, every other day. And I've been harvesting a few chilli's with plenty more to come.

What's not been so successful is the celery. This is the first time I've tried to grow it. I've got 4 plants in a very large container and they look very healthy but, I now think I should have used a shallower pot, to help keep the roots wet. I've watered well but I'm finding the outer stalks are hollow. I've been harvesting the outer stalks and letting the hearts continue growing. Is there a way to save them? It's so disappointing because they look like they're going to be great and they're not. I think I read that celery doesn't like being moved so I'm not sure if I should just persevere and water more, or if I've done the damage now and I'll be wasting my time. Any thoughts? Thanks, as always, in advance.

DiggerUK

Managed to finish everywhere that needs weeding and got everything planted out that needs planting out. Even have got the lawns done and dusted in between downpours.

Got a few items coming on in pots for both flower and veg beds, but not stressing. Now we are stuck indoors with last but one bottle of elderflower champagne watching the downpours. Isn't life cruel at times..._

Suffolk_lass

Moderate amounts of chaos here. Picking for an hour or two every day (beans, tomatoes, chillies, raspberries and now gages, plums and apples). Even my squashes are starting to colour up. Feels too early but I need to pick as they ripen or we won't get enough for winter. Weeds are everywhere (strategically ignoring as not priority)

carinjo

First day on plot in over a week, been raining everyday. Ended up harvesting the nicola potatoes, since some soil washed away.  The first few potato plants on back plot have stuck their heads through the soil! As did some beetrpot and turnips. Will have to cover everything up next week, got warned by a neighbour against slugs and snails now.
Few big courgettes and few handfuls small tomatoes picked. The tomatoes needs some help, not enough support, a few plants toppled over. Done a bit of rescuing, needs some more work though. Fingers crossed will survive till can get back to plot.
Most of the runnerbeans now harvested, might get a few more.
Few more pears and the council pruned the plum tree, looks lovely. 
Spend this evening bottling 3kg of pears and freezing a bit more. Yesterday started a pear liqueur and a pear brandy. First time bottling and doing liqueur, so here's hoping.
Camping again this weekend, so got a long list of jobs for next week.

Suffolk_lass

Harvested most of the remaining purple beans yesterday but the big thing was plums and raspberries. Having missed two days I picked four deep punnets of raspberries and then got DH to pick the plums. I am going to clear the canes under the plum tree and give that a prune too, along with our greengage which yielded 3 fruits this year! Four years old it is trying to outgrow its space (I fear the rootstock is not as sold) and its fruits are just pathetic so far. I need to buy sugar to process things as I have a trug of apples, plus plums and raspberries. 

I did decant my homemade kirsch today. All the little morello cherries are in a jar with a bit of the kirsch - might have to do something a bit different with those - maybe black forrest gateau!

Suffolk_lass

Well I have made bramble and raspberry (mixed) jelly - it smells fantastic. Not sure if the set is firm enough. If not I will add some bramley apples for something different.

It is all harvesting at the moment and yesterday I picked maybe 20 squashes to relieve pressure on the plants and give the smaller remaining fruits a chance to grow a bit. Not as many butternut as previously but two fantastic crown prince pumpkins - too early I expect but a rabbit has dug a burrow about two feet from the plant and I could lose it if there is any kind of collapse. I have left one smaller fruit on it to see how that goes. I have grown Autumn Squash too and have a little row drying on the window-sill in the morning sun (light, there is no sun this morning) - I do this having brushed any mud off so that they store better (in hessian sacks).

Maybe 15k of Victoria plums at the moment and the same of Bramleys (my neighbour offered more but I asked to wait a week or two). I need to process all the tomatoes I have frozen into hm passata to make more room.

The beans are finishing (seems early to me but it has been a weird year for beans in Suffolk) - even my really experienced neighbours agree.