Post-vacation harvest

What survives, survives. In this case, it was summer squash and greengages which greeted me on arrival. Not as many greengages as last year but they alternate in years. There are a few tomatoes which should be ready in a couple of weeks (good for the cold and rainy weather we've been having) and the raspberries are gearing up for another harvest.

What didn't make it through: gooseberry bushes have again been stripped by caterpillars and they are now officially abandoned (also, I didn't like their spiney defences). No white beetroot this year either. No jalapeno peppers. Not a great gardening year...

Planted!

Finally the weather is improving and I had some time so the great planting exercise of 2012 was launched. Everything went in at once because it's really late in the gardening year to get going.

Although it doesn't look like much at the moment, I got the tomato plants and the lemon cucumber plants in there, along with two different kinds of mixed salad leaves and what I believe may be some raddichio (the packet it came in was not in English). Also I direct-sowed some climbing beans.

In the back of the garden we have rows of carrots, white beetroot and kale, topped off with patty pan squash, zucchini, and a mysterious plant which could be one or the other (a snail ate the label off the pot so I couldn't tell).

I may have to invest in a bigger watering can because the hosepipe ban is still in operation (and the hosepipe connector doesn't fit onto the tap anymore anyway since I changed the tap). Now let's hope for some nice weather, and hopefully my bamboo defences will deter the cats from digging up the seeds and the snails and slugs will leave the starts alone.

Autumn yet?

Didn't manage to post something last weekend when I was actually doing the work in the garden. It really felt autumnal then but of course the English weather threw a googlie this weekend with pleanty of sunshine and high temperatures.



Anyway last week I ripped up the tomatoes (damn that blight) and consigned the beans to non-harvesting mode (only waiting for beans for sowing next year now). Found a patty pan squash which had sprung up unnoticed. The only things that are left now are raspberries, kale, carrots, some beetroot (mainly for the leaves) and patty pan squash (I live in hope). I have some potatoes tucked away and a the world's tiniest Turk's Turban squash is growing up the fence.

Had a good browse through the seed catalogues and I think I got some ideas for next year...October is usually ordering month.

Definitely a month ahead...

A longish post before I go away for a week and everything shrivels up - it's going remarkably well and the garden is a full month ahead.

The evidence: the first raspberries. I checked back over the blog and the last two years the first few ripened end of June/beginning of July instead of beginning of June.

Strawberries also ripening in the pot and I picked a couple - so sweet! I fear however that the snails are getting to them before I will, even the copper tape doesn't seem to stop them.


The squashes, cucumbers and tomatoes are growing well, too, although they could do with more watering. I ended up with three different kinds of cucumbers (lemon, ridge and "Delta Star F1" mini cucumber) alongside my six varieties of tomatoes (the first ones are now flowering). Patty pan squashes are only two varieties, to keep it simple ;)




In the other bit of veg garden there are the curly kale (starting to curl), the beetroot, carrots and leafy lettuce mix (need to remember to pick before it bolts) and the pole beans (getting there but no Jack and the Beanstalk material).




Overall the garden is looking very nice. Very "orderly" - veg on the left, flowers on the right. The level beyond the curved path hides more veg and flowers. Now I do hope that it rains a bit over the next week so it doesn't all die...

May...or June?

This weather is crazy. It's been so warm and, especially, dry that everything is at least a month in advance. The kniphofia - Red Hot Poker - is already coming out and I have this feeling that all the flowers are going to be over and done with in a month. This is also bad news for the veg. I'm struggling to keep up with watering. One of the cucumber is really not looking happy. However, the germination of the lemon cucumbers was a bit hit-and-miss so there may be an underlying problem anyway. I also bought a ridge cucumber in the local shop today to see how that will do.


However, the gamble with the tomatoes and patty pan squash last month paid off. They are not that big yet but then again it's still early days. I spotted the first flower buds on one of the tomatoes today. I managed to mix them all up and didn't label them so it'll be a surprise when they ripen.



The herbs love this weather! The fennel, thyme, oregano and purple sage are nearly taking over!

The rest are also making progress. Kale (lost one to the snails), pole beans, and my rows of beetroot, carrots and salad mix are doing quite well. And just in case you are wondering - the bamboo BBQ sticks are cat defences.





So... all in all not bad but I wish it would rain now and again - overnight and then stop in the morning ;)

Glorious spring and early planting

I'm chancing it this year by planting out my tender plants early - a bit risky before "Cold Sophie" (May 15th) - but the weather has been really clement and they may actually do better in the ground than in pots. I still have some cloches on standby should it really get cold (and also to keep the snails at bay).

So I have six different kinds of tomatoes:


Two different kinds of patty pan squash:


And cucumbers:


I also have some kale starting up, another cucumber and some chilli plants:


I have also direct-sowed white beetroot, carrots and mixed salad leaves. The pole beans "Panthenon" have also been planted. Not bad going for Easter weekend!

Beetroot harvest

I never think of having beetroot during the summer. Something about it spells autumn for me - the earthy taste perhaps. My summer exception is a Turkish beetroot salad but I never make that for myself. Today I finally decided to pull up half of the white beetroots I have in my garden. Marvellous stuff - they don't bleed and you can eat the leaves too.


The beetroots are now roasting in the oven, sliced along with the carrots from last week and a rough-chopped patty pan squash in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some herbs (sage, thyme and oregano). The leaves are throroughly cleaned, one by one (I don't fancy eating tiny snails), chopped, and now I have two bags of them in the freezer. Autumn is going to be full of delicious produce!

Harvest for dinner

Dinner was a stir-fry and alongside store-bought supplies I also did a quick harvest of veg to go in it - carrots, a patty pan squash, some beans and the tops of the white beetroot (taste like spinach - they were declared "very nice" by a beetroot-hater). Still leaves me with two lemon cucumbers and the beetroot for another day.


Today is drizzly, too wet to stand there and water the garden but yet not enough to quench the thirst of the plants. Hope it'll give it a good drenching overnight.

On another thought, I need to check whether there are any greengages this year (I think the tree is suffering from some kind of insect infestation that makes them drop off before ripening) and figure out what to do with my three (!) gooseberries. I also now have some blackberries coming up. Maybe just a square of puff pastry with an assortment of fruit on it?

Dead of winter

Lots of snow this year and cold too. At least next growing season there should be fewer snails and slugs (hopefully).

The garden is mostly shut down. I left some white beetroot leaves out there, not sure if they survive or will be any good. Raspberry canes have been cut down. Plenty of material from guinea pig cage cleaning is being dumped on the beds. The ornamentals look a bit bedraggled but that is to be expected in early January (especially as there are some where frost-hardiness is doubtful; at least I managed to bring my pelargoniums inside).

I still need to go through the seeds which I ordered and that have arrived (rhubarb will arrive for planting in March). There are some items in there which I may be able to start off early inside. I am also contemplating getting a cheap greenhouse, which means I can move things (like tomatoes) outside much earlier. This year I am going to try the individual growing medium, having not had much success with the toilet roll method and also the normal seed trays.

Still haven't had a chance to build myself a better compost bin - lack of light/time and surplus of snow has been against me. As soon as it warms up a little bit I shall try though.

Probably not much happening for the rest of January...

it's nearly autumn...

Time marches on but my camera doesn't (it keeps running out of batteries). So just imagine a picture of a bountiful harvest, including raspberries, patty pan squash, cucumber and a few tomatoes. In fact, probably your imagination is better than the picture would have been...

The bean pods are turning a deep purple and the beans inside them are now a near-black. Maybe I can recreate a vaguely authentic Mexican dish with them. I used some of the beetroot tops fresh and they tasted more like spinach, very delicious. Too much in one go, so I processed the rest by cutting them up and putting them in the freezer.

More patty pan to come (the other bush now finally has female flowers) and lots more tomatoes hanging on the bushes (I think most of them will ripen on the window sill in the end). Although the garden is still producing, there is the definite nip of autumn in the air. Hoping for a few more nice, sunny days.

finally...another harvest

Finally - some ripe tomatoes (plum, yellow and cherry) and some patty pan squash! I even found some more raspberries.


I pulled a few more white beetroot -- not sure how good they are going to be -- and a cucumber.

Not too thrilled with all of it and intend to make some changes next year:

• Grow fewer tomatoes, get them in earlier and in a sunnier spot.
• Patty pan is fine but grows too big and two out of the three I planted only produced male flowers. Maybe see if I can get a variety that is smaller.
• Dwarf zucchini - give up on them, grow proper ones.
• Don't grow white beetroot, grow leaf beet instead.
• The cucumbers have too many seeds and are too spiny for my liking. Look for a different kind.
• The beans are too stringy to eat as green beans. I'll harvest them later but I think I'll switch back to runner beans "Painted Lady".

first real harvest of sorts

I realise I have been spoilt in Portland: everything grows so much faster there. Nevertheless, my first harvest in London today, apart from picking the occasional mange touts and raspberry.


I pulled up some white beetroot which I intend to roast tonight alongside other vegetables and use the leaves as treats for the guinea pigs and as an ingredient for an omelette. Also a handful of mange touts, a little bit of escarole and a few raspberries.



The potatoes I was growing in a pot had all their leaves chewed off so I decided to lift what was there. Delightful little ones (which I expected with "Mimi") which I think will go very nicely roasted with the beets. Looking forward to the ones that grow in the soil and have escaped snail and slug attacks... Also found a few ripe brambles as I was poking around the garden which is an added bonus.

Speaking of snail and slug attacks, the zucchini haven't been doing so great, especially the far one. I was wondering why that should be -- they get enough water, sun, etc. -- when I noticed that the lower part of the stem -- the bit resting on the ground -- was basically missing. London gastropods are bloody vicious.


Other than that the garden is doing quite nicely: it's warm but also rains a lot, evidence of fruit setting, the promise of more to harvest.

PS. Defensive bamboo sticks successful. So successful that I poked myself tending to the cucumbers.

come on, grow!

Update on tomatoes: Managed to save at least one of each but still puny. In the meantime, I bought four plants from the garden centre (Sungold, Sweet Millions, Plum Titania Improved (how so?) , and a beefsteak tomato the label of which I lost cycling home).


Then there is the fruit. Pruned the greengage slightly but still quite a bit of fruit hanging on it. A few small pears on the horizon. Raspberries show signs of blossoms. It will only be a handful but for the first year that is not too bad. Also noticed something that looks like brambles growing wild yet respectfully on one side of the garden.





The other stuff is getting on but I'm getting a bit impatient. Peas are climbing, beans are growing, white beetroots are finding their way. Few more rows of radishes, endive, welsh onion and more beets. With the nice weather though they should go into a growth spurt soon enough. Half of gardening life is waiting - now I am waiting for the zucchini and cucumbers to come up. All in good time, it's only the end of May. In the meantime, I can enjoy some flowers.

String Theory

Had enough time (and motivation) today to put some string up for the mange tout to climb on. Not before time, they are stretching up. Not the prettiest of constructions but I hope that it'll get covered up soon.


I also put some cucumbers, patty pan squash and zucchini in pots to plant out in a few weeks. While I was at it I also sowed some pole beans directly - if they don't get going I'll have plenty of time to sow more - and I left some space for more in a couple of weeks.


Other than that there are now definite signs of growth in the potatoes, raspberries and white beetroot. The greengages appear to have set fruit and barring any infestation or weird weather it looks like there will be quite a few in summer. The herb garden is doing fine - although the lemon balm a bit too well. Anyone got any ideas what to do with it other than make tea?


Had no rain and sunny weather for quite some time and I should have watered the vegetables earlier. I think the forecast for tomorrow is showers but I'll give it a good soaking later on nonetheless.

germination

The tomato seedlings are in. I would say that the germination rate was somewhere below 50%, with Ildi and Tigerella particularly failing. So that's the lot I have to live with, which, considering that I don't have enough space for all of them anyway, is possibly a Good Thing. I was very pleased with the serrano pepper (free seeds from Mexican restaurant Wahaca, originally mistaken for matches). I also got a geranium cutting from my upstairs neighbour.


The seedlings outside the house are doing fine too. The radishes have all come up (I sowed them too thickly in hindsight) and the lettuces are peeping out too.


The white beetroot are just starting to emerge, can't wait to see how they get on (ok, so the picture looks like it's just dirt but honestly they are there).


The mange tout have all come up, no slug damage yet. Excellent. Still waiting for evidence of the Welsh onion though.


The raspberry show strong growth, both from the canes and shoots coming up from the roots. I cleaned out my fireplace and scattered the ash around. Not sure how much good it'll do but can't do any harm.


Need to remember to sow cucumber indoors this weekend. I should really check my plant list more often as I just noticed that I also wanted to start patty pan squash and the zucchini off in pots. It's still quite slow in the garden but with the English weather it's good to give tender things a headstart.