Grow your own fruit and vegetables

[Devonian]

How's this season gone for everyone then; successes, failures?

Spuds: masses, though vulnerable varieties hit by blight which got right into the tubers (I HATE blight!), and other rots seem to be affecting other varieties (notably a heritage variety I'm growing) that I've still to dig. Modern varieties definitely best yielding and most disease resistant.

Toms: disaster, blighted, but not as bad as last year when barely got a fruit. Conclusion? You can grow toms outdoors on a S wall, but you need to Bordeaux mixture them like mad if it's wet (and also spuds).

Onions: quite good, but they don't like it too wet. it's been too wet..

Cabbages: not too many caterpillars, beginners luck I think - so far...

Leeks: looking good, as ever. If you can't grow leeks either move you veg patch or give up growing veg

Mango tout: Amazingly I've got a few, but they don't like it wet.

Brocolli: Got a few plants flowering up, look good atm, but might get caterpillars

Beans: struggled, a few pods about, not a good year?

Beetroot: hate the stuff, never grow it . If I did I'd Dr Johnston it ('...should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out as good for nothing').

Salad stuff: seems to have done well.

[SnowBear]

A very dull year for veg for us this year.

Spuds done ok though earlies were a little sporadic on cropping.

Toms, Like Dev, a bad year though not due to no fruit, there are loads, just many have green back due to wet, dull and cool conditions. We do have some now ripening and are not too bad but certainly not the glut I have had some years.

Onions done ok, both Red and White and Leeks looking like a good crop for later but we always do seem to do well with those.

Sweetcorn? Nowt.

Runner beans done well considering, into third flowering now.

Brassicas look ok, lost some to slugs, but had spare so was able to replace and plants looking healthy.

Beet did ok.

Lettuces...had some huge Iceberg type ones, slugs and snails a pain though.

Green peppers, got many on the plant, done ok.

Carrots and turnips, poor.

Parsnips, growing like a goodun for Christmas they are!

French Beans, nowt.

Spring onions, an ok crop.

[Snowly does it]

Toms - not great and am only now getting some starting to ripen, will use a banana and the windowsill before long

Carrots - fabulous crop this year, best I have had

Peas - OK crop, not a huge number as I only went for one frame but ok and have frozen into handy portion packs

Beans - great crop, frozen plenty off in store for later

Potatos - still in the ground....

Onions - disaster, only got one decent onion out of two rows planted

Spring Onions - limited crop but rather tasty

Salads - brilliant year for mixed leaves, have had plenty of salads and sandwich fillers from leaves. Did not bother with full lettuce this year and am glad I didn't

Radishes - actually a crap year for radishes, cannot work out what went wrong...

Sprouts - it was all looking so good and then the cabbage whites ot involved - utter decimation out there

[pottyprof]

Toms - not great and am only now getting some starting to ripen, will use a banana and the windowsill before long

I'm thinking same with the banana.. 2 years in a row with very few ripening.. Can see it being a chutney year again..

Sprouts - it was all looking so good and then the cabbage whites ot involved - utter decimation out there

Sounds like me with the collies last year.. There were that many caterpillars that you could hear them crunching away.. Might try again next year but ill have a net over them..

[Snowly does it]

I'm thinking same with the banana.. 2 years in a row with very few ripening.. Can see it being a chutney year again..

Sounds like me with the collies last year.. There were that many caterpillars that you could hear them crunching away.. Might try again next year but ill have a net over them..

Yes chutney a strong possibility from here on in.

Yes, a net next year essential, I may just about get something off the sprouts but it does rather wreck the winter stock!

[Chris Knight]

Has anyone any ideas how to kickstart my compost bin/wormery in this cold weather - it has got so full that I will either have to start another bin, or throw away kitchen waste, something I have not done for many years.

[PersianPaladin]

Interesting video on permaculture (an approach which I might adopt for my garden): -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugFd1JdFaE0

[Terminal Moraine]

Has anyone any ideas how to kickstart my compost bin/wormery in this cold weather - it has got so full that I will either have to start another bin, or throw away kitchen waste, something I have not done for many years.

I don't think there's any really effective way to get the worms moving in really cold weather. I know of someone who wrapped their bin with a thick layer of loft insulation but even then the worms migrated to the middle and bottom of the bin and were still quite sluggish.

Having a second bin is a good option, if you've room for it.

[Pamela]

But not everybody has a big garden where he or she can grow all vegetables necessary. Is it really helpful if I only grow some toms and sprouts?

[jethro]

But not everybody has a big garden where he or she can grow all vegetables necessary. Is it really helpful if I only grow some toms and sprouts?

Of course, plus you get the joy of eating as soon as you pick; enjoying the best in flavour and vitamin content.

[J07]

I still have tomatoes ripening down here, and tomatillos also. Have planted the autumn/winter brassicas now. White cabbage butterflies are still out in force though.

[jethro]

So, is everyone ready and eager for the new growing season? Hopefully the colder winter this year will have killed off a few pests, fingers crossed.

[Louby]

Yep I was looking at stuff today I have been in the garden today working out where I can put stuff

[jethro]

And so the madness begins....

Wonder if there's a way of setting up a plant swap? I'm going to have oodles going begging, got a border to clear out and nowhere to put it all.

[J07]

Final tomatoes picked a few days ago

Cape Gooseberries carrying on their merry way. Tomatillos ripening still.

Brassicas looking good, just have to keep squashing eggs and caterpillars everyday to give them the best start in life!

[jethro]

Final tomatoes picked a few days ago

Cape Gooseberries carrying on their merry way. Tomatillos ripening still.

Brassicas looking good, just have to keep squashing eggs and caterpillars everyday to give them the best start in life!

I find it really odd imagining picking Tomatoes in April. Do you get any super nasty bugs down there, running riot in the garden or are they pretty much the same as we have?

[PersianPaladin]

http://www.independe...wn-1830666.html

This is a good story.

I also think its time for this approach: -

http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/13699.aspx

Edited December 1, 2009 by PersianPaladin

[J07]

I find it really odd imagining picking Tomatoes in April. Do you get any super nasty bugs down there, running riot in the garden or are they pretty much the same as we have?

Nothing special here. North of Auckland I think they have issues with humidity and hence the various fungal blights, also fruit fly. East coast of Australia also have issues. I think for northern NSW/ southern QLD tomatoes are a shoulder season crop, and north of Brisbane are more like a winter crop.

It's a poor season here for tomatoes. Because the weather has either been excellent (like the 27C on Saturday, with no wind and lots of sun) or terrible (like the 15C max on Sunday, with rain and 52 knot southerlies!) it's been difficult for plants to settle in. As a result, I still only have green tomatoes. Last year I was about a week away from harvesting the first ones at this point.

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

Bump!

It would be good to start this excellent thread moving again. I have just spent time reading through it all again

In terms of my garden - I have a small courtyard area which is largely given over to a wide range of herbs (culinary, medicinal and cosmetic!) I also have a fig tree and two olive treees (which yielded fruit last year for the first time) Also another area of prepared garden space which concentrates on a small assortment of seasonal vegetables.

When my allotment space is ready then options will open up much more to grow a wider range of things - plus soft fruit.

Regarding plant food - I have stopped buying commercial products as there is no need to because instead I make use of the large household fish tank, plus another two smaller one's. There is nothing like waste water from a fishtank to supply all the nitrogenous and organic waste that plants need. The results have been amazing on my graden since I started using it. As around 140 litres of water is changed from the tank(s) every week, this nicely goes into a water butt placed just outside. Recycling and saving domestic water supply at its best

So if you know anyone who keeps fish, ask them for some of their waste water. Not as daft as it sounds. It is more effective than any bought product and it is free!

The system is a godsend in the summer and I always have plenty of water for the garden when it most needs it in the hot weather. When the allotment is ready I will be taking supplies in water carriers down there and steadily filling up another water butt. The allotment is only 5 mins walk from my house so this won't be difficult to do.

Edited June 9, 2010 by North Sea Snow Convection

[Devonian]

I'm growing shalotts for the first time. Anyone know why they are going yellow at the leaf ends - indeed some have gone purple and simply died? I don't think it's nitrogen (I've got them growing is three differing places locally with differing soils and weather and they all look less than brill bar one or two clusters) , I just wonder if they are fussy plants and don't like being transplanted (I stated them off in pots in a poly tunnel, actually to get them off to a good start, and some we're put in place from quite large pots) and also like it pretty warm. I don't think they've finished growing but maybe the have?

Onions look pretty good though, and it's a spudulike kind of year so far. If it can just stay dry, well just the right amount of rain, we might even get some unblighted tomatoes...

[pottyprof]

Not sure what the yellowing ends are Dev. My spring onions and leeks are both suffering the same. Perhaps its due to the dry spring? It's the only thing I can think of....

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

Shallot foliage goes yellow when it is time to harvest.

As long as they are planted about six inches apart and have a good fertile soil they should be fine. Thay can be prone to bolt, like onions, in too hot conditions.

[johnholmes]

one of a number of links that may help?

http://www.hartley-botanic.co.uk/growing-leeks