The ups, the downs and the insides out of growing your own in 2024!

Silvertabby

Finally started to pick toms - and they are in a greenhouse!  Loads of good sized green ones, so dare say the whole lot will ripen at once.  

Have been picking chillies from a bought plant for a couple of weeks now, but the ones I grew from seed (heated propagator, end of Feb) have only just started to really flower in the last week or so.

Everything seems to be behind the drag curve this year.  

FreeBear

droopsnoot said: On all my tomato plants, I've got four fruits, and some more flowers.

You're doing better than me by four fruits AND flowers. I have neither on any of my plants.

The cucamelons have withered and died.. About the only thing thriving in my garden is weeds.

droopsnoot

FlorayG said:

droopsnoot said:

On all my tomato plants, I've got four fruits, and some more flowers. I've got one pepper plant with peppers on it on a plant I bought, none of the ones I grew from seed have any flowers. There are some signs that flowers might be coming on some of them, but by the time they get here I think it'll be too late for them to turn into peppers. I planted spring onions and silverskin onions in a couple of pots so I could keep the garden pests away, they've come up but they seem to have stalled growth now. Bit of a waste of time this year, I think.

Peppers and chillis need to be started really early with bottom heat if growing from seed...like, February 

They probably were started around February, in pots on the windowsill inside the house. There's no bottom heat, no artificial heat at all (other than the house heating) but there wasn't last year either, and I got better results. 

Sweetbriarrose

alicef I made the plum sauce recipe you kindly posted, it was lovely, I plan to make more, I have plenty of jars. I added it to my cheese on toast and curry, I have more plums gifted to me from a friend who has a huge plum tree, this year branches are propped up with her clothes line.
I know this is a garden forum but if anyone’s interested I tried Twinks hobnob recipe kindly mention by Foxgloves I’m gluten-free, its a long time since I had eaten a hobnob, they were delicious.
Yesterday I was looking forward to a shower of rain, I think it evaporated before it got to the ground level.
I’m using water I’m saving from washing up etc. to take my water bill down.
I am happy with the way the garden is gorowing, I have cucumbers, and my tomatoes, still green and I think the green beans will do better in the cooler weather.

Suffolk_lass

Sweetbriarrose said:

alicef I made the plum sauce recipe you kindly posted, it was lovely, I plan to make more, I have plenty of jars. I added it to my cheese on toast and curry, I have more plums gifted to me from a friend who has a huge plum tree, this year branches are propped up with her clothes line.
I know this is a garden forum but if anyone’s interested I tried Twinks hobnob recipe kindly mention by Foxgloves I’m gluten-free, its a long time since I had eaten a hobnob, they were delicious.
Yesterday I was looking forward to a shower of rain, I think it evaporated before it got to the ground level.
I’m using water I’m saving from washing up etc. to take my water bill down.
I am happy with the way the garden is gorowing, I have cucumbers, and my tomatoes, still green and I think the green beans will do better in the cooler weather.

I can vouch for those twinks hobnobs too @Sweetbriarrose - they are a firm favourite here. I was just going to add that my friends in France have four water butts, tagged together outside their house that collect the roof water, but also the grey water from the bathroom and kitchen taps, washing machine, showers and dishwasher. A brilliant way to help reduce clean water use. No gutters on our house (it's thatched) so not sure how many might work here.

alicef

@Sweetbriarrose I'm so pleased you like the plum sauce.  Do you have a link to the hobnob recipe?  and can they be frozen as my OH rarely eats anything cake, (I had to freeze most of my plum cake), or biscuit like, because he's diabetic. So it would be just me and the hobnobs.

Sweetbriarrose

Hi alicef, 
sorry I couldn’t work out how to do the link so I have copy and paste it here.
enjoy.
I added 1tsp of baking powder and used gf flour. It makes a lot of mixture, as there is only me to eat them, I baked 1/4, 8 biscuits.
the rest of the mixture went into the freezer in three separate containers.

twink said:

this is the recipe i use
8oz sr flour
8oz sugar
8oz porridge oats
8oz margarine
1tbsp golden syrup
1tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp bic soda
mix flour, oats and sugar, melt marg, syrup and water in a pan stir in bic soda and add to dry mix, mix well, make smallish balls and put on greased tray and flatten slightly with a fork, 180oc for 15 mins, cool on the tray, you just want them golden in oven not brown


8ozs = 225 grams

Sent from my iPhone

alicef

Thank you @Sweetbriarrose - I'll have a go on Sunday!

Suffolk_lass

Sweetbriarrose said:

Hi alicef, 
sorry I couldn’t work out how to do the link so I have copy and paste it here.
enjoy.
I added 1tsp of baking powder and used gf flour. It makes a lot of mixture, as there is only me to eat them, I baked 1/4, 8 biscuits.
the rest of the mixture went into the freezer in three separate containers.

twink said:

this is the recipe i use
8oz sr flour
8oz sugar
8oz porridge oats
8oz margarine
1tbsp golden syrup
1tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp bic soda
mix flour, oats and sugar, melt marg, syrup and water in a pan stir in bic soda and add to dry mix, mix well, make smallish balls and put on greased tray and flatten slightly with a fork, 180oc for 15 mins, cool on the tray, you just want them golden in oven not brown


8ozs = 225 grams

Sent from my iPhone

Just to add, leave them to cool on the tray until they firm up!

alicef

Thank for the tip @Suffolk_lass - I wonder if I can stick a few sultanas in, or would they burn? 

My GYO input is diminishing.  I need to get onto other things that I've let slide (mowing for example).  I was chastised by a female pheasant I disturbed when picking the sweet peas. She was most put out and hissed at me.  I beat a retreat with half the flowers picked.  I found some potato plants once I had cleared away some borage.  I think I will leave these in the ground and mark with a cane then dig up for Christmas lunch! The squirrels are making inroads into the walnuts.  The paving is strewn with chewed remnants.   Some of the sunflowers were tied in.  Still haven't cut the box hedging - this weekend - definitely....

edit for spelling