Most liked posts in thread: The Vegetable Patch

The frogs in my pond usually take care of them.

 

I had a pond and frogs did good. However pond now gone. Strange to think the world could be defeated by slugs.

 

I've discovered a blackfly infestation in my greenhouse , predominatly on my new fruit shrubs . Looking at suitable " organic " solutions . Not overly keen on aerosol insectacides .

 

I disconected my " mist system " in the greenhouse , seemed to work for a while . I'll have a go with the ladybirds though .

 

Strawberries have flourished in their protected enclosure; 6 quarts already gathered, more ready to be picked later today. Some have become jam, the rest, desserts. About 50 parsnips have sprouted, and the peanuts have come up as well. And the rabbit has returned after a spell away, but so far is keeping to grass.

RCB

 

Just out of interest @River_City_Bantam , how long is the growing season up there, and when can you usually get on with planting?

 

Bad news! The cherries are starting to ripen and go red, The birds are already vying for position on the fence waiting for the moment

 

Fecking birds!!!!!!!!!!

 

Mine have been queueing up for the raspberries...but as I've already picked some 16 quarts of the things, I don't even mind! Sparrows and finches perch on the canes, robins and grackles generally jump up from the ground to get at the low-hanging berries. I expect the local cardinals have had there share too, but haven't actually seen any in the patch.

I noticed that some of the berries had white patches on them, where the drupelets hadn't developed, and wondered if there was some disease attacking the canes. Nope. White Drupelet Disorder: if it suddenly gets very hot and sunny, the raspberries won't develop properly, I've learnt. It went, here, from reasonable mid-20s temperatures, to mid-30s for an extended spell, with minimal clouds and less rain. All one can do is i) water from overhead at the hottest parts of the day, and ii) shade the berries somehow. I ended up doing both, using some bedsheets tied together for the shade and just draping them over the canes from mid-morning through to evening. It worked -- the disorder diminished greatly.

Started gathering the blackcurrants today. The bush has been extremely productive -- 3 quarts gathered, and I guess there's at least another 3-4 quarts still on the bush. I still have blackcurrant jam from last season, so this year there will be jelly-making. Might have to make my own Ribena as well.

Meanwhile, the other veggies and herbs have been good as well, though the parsley keeps getting eaten by the rabbit before I get at it! So far, it has been an excellent year for garden produce.

RCB

 

2 day nightmare down the allotment. Very heavy winds caused chaos bringing down all 3 of my bean canes and drawing hundreds (not exaggerating) of slugs and snails. Weather calmer today so we will see what we can salvage. Picked as many as possible in the wind and rain yesterday so not exactly short but very disappointed. Most plots took a kicking sadly.

 

New season, new veggies!

The Welsh onions have, as usual, been the first garden produce of the year -- had some on the 9th April again. Chives will soon be ready too.

I decided last year to keep some parsnips in the ground over the winter, just to see what happens; pulled a few in about January, and they were good; pulled the remainder over the past few weeks, and they have been excellent. Today had the last, roasted, with a nice roast beef. Keeping them in the ground really does make them sweeter.

A bit late with planting this year, but the weather promises to be decent later on in the week, so should get the first seeds in.

The usual battles with rabbits have started up as well -- my wild strawberries were growing nicely, and then most of the leaves and shoots just disappeared! I expect they'll recover, but now I have to start with the chicken-wire fences around everything. There are enough hawks flying around, but I suppose there are more rabbits than even they can eat...

RCB

 

Hot weather has turned the 2 cucumber plants at the end of the greenhouse into triffids

This was early June:

 

Bit of a slow start over here this year, as March and April were cool. But the Welsh onions came in first as always; ready to eat by 16th April. The chives are nice; the rhubarb has provided several tarts already. Oregano is growing like a weed; I've already harvested some by the simple method of digging up entire plants... The gooseberry is looking more like a proper bush this year, and seems to have a fair amount of berries coming; the blackcurrant is thriving and threatening to again overwhelm me with blackcurrants. The strawberries are also blooming away; I've made a new "cage" for them from 2x2s and chicken wire, to keep out the rabbit(s). Now I have to make some "lids" to stop the birds from getting at the berries... And this year I actually have some straw to put down around the plants; hopefully that will improve the crop. The raspberries are mostly doing well -- the types (Heritage, Willamette, Meeker) I want to do well are, and the type I'm less fussy about (Latham) will be adequate.

Seeds and onion sets went in late, but the onions are growing nicely, and the lettuces and radishes are coming up. Carrots, parsnips, and beans have been sown, but are not yet above ground.

The rabbit(s) had a good go at destroying my new blueberry bushes, but now that they are fenced in, they might just survive after all. New leaves are appearing, at least, on the surviving branches, and each has a new shoot coming up from the roots.

So far, so good.

RCB

 

Quick question folks....
I have an aphid problem on a couple of honeysuckles.
Is a washing up liquid/water mix sprayed over as good as shop bought chemical treatments to get rid of tge blighters?

 

Not a quick fix but if its just one or two specific plants its a sign there is too much nitrogen in that spot. I could be wrong because I picked it up off a permaculture youtuber but his logic makes sense. Does the dog pee there or has there been a compost heap there in the past?

 

Thank you!

 

Been given a bag full of French Beans and a bag full of Runner Beans from someone with an allotment. Any suggestions as to what to do with them? Will they freeze?

 

Very good advice.