The ups, the downs and the insides out of growing your own in 2025!

Farway

KajiKita said:

 Question for the other growers here - I have some huuuge ones, way bigger than the ones I could find in the shops this spring. Could I keep them and replant them next year as I should get a better crop again from them, shouldn’t I?

KK

Yes, using the larger ones is just natural selection.

I knew someone who used to save the smoothest, least knobbly, Jerusalem artichokes, and in time he had nobble & bump free ones

greenbee

Does anyone have any idea what kind of squash this is? I was given two, which are taking over the garden, but don’t know whether they are summer or winter squash, and what I should be doing with them! 

rtandon27

@greenbee - looks to me that it may be a Red Kuri Squash, Japanese origin and a Winter one! - Appears to be more yellow than orange, but that may be because it's not yet ripe?  I'd treat it like an acorn squash and cut in half & deseeded, roast in a tin cut side down.

greenbee

Thanks - that makes sense as my mum (who delivered them) couldn’t remember the name but did mention nutty flavour. I assume I wait for them to ripen then cure in the greenhouse or summerhouse and store. I’ll have to see whether i can organise the workshop as suitable storage. I saw something about putting boards under them too, to stop slug damage or rot. I do have bits of old bath panel/old loft boards/tiles from the side of the bath if i need to do that.

Suffolk_lass

I really only grow potatoes as a soil conditioner, because we grow roots in that bed the following year, and the potatoes leave the beds crumbly and lovely so the carrots etc don't split.

I have grown Charlotte as 2nd earlies for the last three years as there are lots of little ones for having with salads in summer. They are a nice waxy variety

KajiKita

Suffolk_lass said:

I really only grow potatoes as a soil conditioner, because we grow roots in that bed the following year, and the potatoes leave the beds crumbly and lovely so the carrots etc don't split.

Oooh, interesting insight … 🤔 Thank you 😊

KK

Suffolk_lass

KajiKita said:

Suffolk_lass said:

I really only grow potatoes as a soil conditioner, because we grow roots in that bed the following year, and the potatoes leave the beds crumbly and lovely so the carrots etc don't split.

Oooh, interesting insight … 🤔 Thank you 😊

KK

I think that is the thinking behind the crop rotation sequence. After roots, it is brassicas, which typically harvest much later and don't seem to need the top up nutrients. Once the brassicas have gone, it is legumes, which, not being hardy, go in much later in spring (beans, more than peas) and then when they finish, let the roots stay in the ground after the top growth is removed, and through winter so the nutrients then feed the potatoes that go in the following spring, after digging out the bean roots.

Suffolk_lass

Oh dear, I have two separate problems with my raspberries this year. At one end, the raspberries are magnesium and iron deficient. We used very different compost on the beds this year and everything is out of balance now. the symptoms are yellowing in between the veins and brown edges to the leaves, with slightly more spindly growth. The berries are plentiful at the moment but the plants are clearly struggling. I will water using a can with an iron feed.

The other end of the run, in a bed with a Victoria plum at one end, and an old russet apple at the other, the raspberries appear to have a virus, spread by raspberry aphids that is resulting in stunted crumbly seedy fruits. I think I have had this for ages, and I thought it was just the summer fruiting raspberries that were under the tree (and I assumed it was lack of light and nutrients). We grubbed them out but now it is evident in the autumn fruiting suckers that came up in the asparagus bed. I am intending removing the (over ten year old) asparagus this autumn so the raspberries will go too, to avoid it spreading further. We will buy new canes and plant them the other side of the vegetable garden, adjacent to the fruit cage, and properly tied in.

Having mentioned the plum tree, it has suddenly developed clumps of brown rotting fruit. We always have a bit of codling moth damage, which we tolerate (maggots in the first batch we pick are one of the symptoms), but the recent rain has resulted in whole clumps and shrivelled, rotting fruit. These have happened around the codling moth (and ladybird larvae) damaged fruit as the rot gets in through the damaged skin. Our gardener was asked to remove as much as he could for burning (you mustn't compost them) on Thursday, and I will prune the tree (a week or so later than recommended) to open it up and improve air flow and light, which should help.

Meanwhile, the carrots are lovely, some beetroot are ready and the chard is too plentiful to keep up with and is bolting and seeding (as are lettuces, but more have been planted out.

Runner and French beans (dwarf and climbing of the latter) are cropping prolifically, even though we reduced our number of plants to a half a dozen for 2 varieties of each. Just the first few, poor crop of courgettes so far. Again, we think the compost was not balanced.

My other job today is to pot up some strawberry runners, ready to remove from spent parent plants

greenbee

for anyone with a glut of courgettes, I've just tried this recipe on the recommendation of one of my US colleagues: https://www.loveandlemons.com/zucchini-pasta/#wprm-recipe-container-78941

I'm going to try freezing the sauce without the pasta and seeing what happens. 

carinjo

Love that website @greenbee, they have such nice recipes. I'm going down the savoury bread route. Freeze the slices. Will post recipe once i've done it again. 
Have some blossom rot on the first red tomatoes in greenhouse. Honestly no idea if it over or under watering. It on the sunny side of greenhouse, so maybe just been too hot. Have been watering consistently and not too much at a time...one mississippi, two mississippi...😂. Dave, the neighbour said i need to get rid of some branches. I still have loads of flowers and not a lot of fruit, it all a learning experience this year, our first year with greenhouse. 
@Farway, between ms C and myself we picked almost 4kg of red gooseberries last week. She has to fly to portugal tomorrow, so will remove netting by the weekend for the neighbours to help themselves.
This weekend was a good time for harvesting, including gifting from 2 neighbours.
No time at the moment to sow anything, maybe by saturday.