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2023 - the good, the not so good but hopefully not ugly of growing your own!
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I have plenty of green tomatoes on my plants, a handful of red ones, but as we head into September I wonder if the rest are actually going to ripen at any point. I'm still getting new tomatoes starting, too. I have a similar issue with chillies, but as I've lost track of what types are growing, I don't know whether they're all actually supposed to turn red or not.3
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droopsnoot said:I have plenty of green tomatoes on my plants, a handful of red ones, but as we head into September I wonder if the rest are actually going to ripen at any point. I'm still getting new tomatoes starting, too. I have a similar issue with chillies, but as I've lost track of what types are growing, I don't know whether they're all actually supposed to turn red or not.Fashion on the Ration 2025 27/663
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I've used the very ripe tomatoes as a spread on bread. The rest in fridge and am making a paste for pizza.
@droopsnoot i culled the branches with tiny tomatoes and just left the ones that had proper trusses.
My pickling cucumbers are not playing along. I have 2 ready to pickle and the rest very tiny! My first year growing these, so might have to try again next year.
We had a huge thunderstorm here, so no need to water over the bank holiday weekend.It's good for the soul to walk with your soles on the soil.5 -
Finally harvested my first sweet pepper of the season! It’s been such an unproductive year here! 🤷♀️KKAs at 15.06.25:
- When bought house £315,995 mortgage debt and end date at start = October 2039 - now £234,698
- OPs to mortgage = £11,338 Interest saved £5225 to date
Fixed rate 3.85% ends January 2030
Read 33 books of target 52 in 2025, as @ 6th July
Produce tracker: £201 of £300 in 2025
Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.Watch your actions, they become your reality.3 -
None of my peppers are going yellow, despite being in the greenhouse. I have picked three to put in with the picked windowsill tomatoes, to see if that is better. As for chillies, the Jalopeno and Cayenne are fine. The 6 tabasco plants are only now developing flower buds so are likely to be a write off.
I'm not a fan of the ethylene from bananas to ripen tomatoes as my experience is that the tomatoes rot really quickly.Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here4 -
carinjo said:For how long can i leave green tomatoes on the windowsill to ripen? At some point i guess it safer to turn it into something like chutney?3
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alicef said:
Interesting about stopping watering, I might try that on a couple to see what happens. I've been lopping the tops off, but all the tomato plants are very tall before they even started flowering. I've heard of putting them with other stuff, for me it means buying bananas specially for the job, which is perhaps no big deal. Pity it doesn't work with bruised windfall apples as I keep cycling past a big tub of them.2 -
@droopsnout I always start with best intentions on making notes; labelling; succession planning - then it all goes to pot. The labels for the garlic, particularly, always seem to disappear from the end of the row.
I think there are a myriad of fruit/veg that give off ethylene - so you don't have to buy in anything special. Tomatoes do - so if you have some that are ripe then put them together.
It's so nice for people to put out fruit for people to take away - all you need now is to cycle past some blackberry bushes and you're set - I adore apple and blackberry crumble/pie/anything with that combination!
Fashion on the Ration 2025 27/663 -
Ooh, that has just reminded me, I've got a tray of blackberries in the freezer, that I picked on the dog-walk yesterday. It is an excellent year for themSave £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here2 -
Its been fairly unproductive here in south wales with veg wise. I have had a few rough months though so concentrating on the garden was put on the back burner.
Was happy yesterday to see I have a good few cucumbers on the vine after I actually managed to get five to pin them up to let them see the light of day,
then decided to move all my strawberry plants since they are overtaking the bed they were in and I was finding runners everywhere.
Found a bag as well that I remembered putting spuds into and the leaves were dying back so pulled them to find a nice little haul in there too. Will do us for tea or two anyway and I have another 3 bags and 2 tubs to pull at some point but Im so glad I staggered their planting,
other than that Ive been out blackberry picking, no one round here seems to do it so I will continue to make the most of it. Made a batch of blackberry jam this morning and now its cooling on the side.
Time to find me again4
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