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Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Allotment /Veg patch thread 4 "Lettuce and Peppers and Pears OH MY!"

999 replies

agoodbook · 30/07/2015 22:25

as per Cupcakes :)
come and join in the harvest !

previous thread here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2386388-The-2015-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-Part-3-already?msgid=55842529

OP posts:
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55
bookbook · 20/08/2015 22:45

I hope it isn't going to rain here - hoping to get some weeding done tomorrow, ready for shallots and spring cabbages :)

smink · 20/08/2015 23:08

It might have been all the windy weather that stressed them but it might be that this has cross pollenated with something wild and nasty. Will see but really, I have tasted bitter courgette and cucumber before but that is a whole different league of really, really nasty. So much so that I'd be reluctant to even taste another one in a few weeks.

OriKumi · 20/08/2015 23:14

I just read an article about a couple in germany who had food poisoning from courgettes. sadly the man died.

apparently fruits from the cucumber family used to have quite a lot of that toxin but it was bred out of them. but sometimes it can resurface if for example you harvest your own seed and the plant has crossed with an old variant.

AsTimeGoesBy · 21/08/2015 00:02

Another namechanger here, I've been thinking about changing it for a while and although I don't think it makes any difference WRT the hacking, it gotme to thinking about the whole internet safety thing and a new name just popped into my head yesterday. I just wanted to share my first cucamelon with you all!

Allotment /Veg patch  thread 4 "Lettuce and Peppers and Pears OH MY!"
bookbook · 21/08/2015 08:42

Morning!
OriKumi - thats dreadful, and poor smink - all that hard work with squash mountain to get that.
AsTime - the trouble is , my brain fried thinking up 3 passwords all in 2 days, so no ingenuity when it came to user name- so are you going to share the cucamelon? Grin
well, sat here working out todays to-do list
It goes

  1. weeding
  2. more weeding
  3. even more weeding
4 Harvest/pick
shovetheholly · 21/08/2015 10:16

Blimey, I had no idea curcurbits could be poisonous! It sounds as though it's quite extreme and obvious that the fruit isn't edible, smink? It really is horrible when you put in loads of work and the edible result doesn't come right. There's something that feels just so unfair about it!

I am off to visit my lovely brother-in-law today, so I put together a veg box for him and his partner entirely from stuff in the allotment. They've just moved house, so I'm hoping some fresh stuff will be welcome. It is very rewarding to be able to give it away!!

SmallLegsOrSmallEggs · 21/08/2015 10:59

Nc. Tbf it (squash mountain) was not that much work..just stuck it in thete and left it to it as main purpose was to break down turf pile. Maybe the lack of care caused the bitterness!

Next year no summer squash though. Yuck. Will go for a nice butternut or a pumpkin.

bookbook · 21/08/2015 21:50

Evening!
well, I managed bullet point 1 on my list and 4...
small - I am still waiting for butternuts to set - they have only just started to flower. Crown prince squash (winter, keeping one) is doing well, and has been very reliable for the last 3/4 years. It is big, but good to store. I ate the last one in March from last autumns harvest . I didn't have so much success with uchi kuri - quite a few grew, but they didn't keep very long for me.
Having to keep quite a close eye on my little spring green seedlings - I have had to rub off eggs every day - even a couple of tiny caterpillars, and a snail had snuck up on them as well. Obviously delicious, even if they only have 4 leaves.
I have tried my hand at beetroot chutney today- got something of a 'too many' planted thing going on there...

SmallLegsOrSmallEggs · 22/08/2015 18:58

book how does crown prince taste?

I got an email from allotment officer saying not enough of my plot is under cultivation. Don't know what he means. Its about 85% planted and about 5% paths. So there are a few small patches where things failed or where I have just harvested.

I presume he means it needs weeded. There are a few bits where the crops are not entirely obvious for the weeds.

Either that or he was looking at the abandoned lot next doorConfused

Anyway much weeding has ensued in the hope he will see it is planted!!

SmallLegsOrSmallEggs · 22/08/2015 18:59

Have also ordered my phacelia for filling in the gaps.

bookbook · 22/08/2015 20:44

evening
Small - best description of taste is somewhere between a butternut and a pumpkin. Much better in my mind than pumpkin.
It has been totally reliable for me, though I seem to think shove is having issues with them. Lovely roasted with garlic and rosemary, then nice used in a risotto, or made into a salad with spinach, mange tout and pine nuts. They can get quite large. I will try to remember to take a photo of mine tomorrow for you.
Its a bit off about the cultivation, sounds harsh to me, especially at this time of year.
I would double check it is you, and not next door !
shove - its lovely to beable to 'gift' lovely fresh fruit and vegetables isn't it? It gives me a nice feeling inside. Almost as good as feeding people ( which I also love to do!)
News with us - at our site we now have a toilet !!!! - and very nice it is too

bookbook · 22/08/2015 20:45

and boy, has it been hot today- and dry, -same tomorrow, though funnily it all feels a bit 'back end'

SmallLegsOrSmallEggs · 22/08/2015 20:53

Thanks book i shall crown my mountain with crown prince next year. Sounds nice.
Have to say bitter squash has lovely big flowers on it. So if mothing else it looks pretty.

bookbook · 23/08/2015 12:59

afternoon
what a lovely time today- it was 22º at 9.1 this morning, though windy.
One of the wigwams with climbing borlotti beans ( very heavy foliage) is leaning a bit...
Dug up potatoes - these have been nice quality, but mot very big - more like biggish new potatoes. Mind you- probably better than last year, when they were big, bit full of holes!
for Small - pics of my squash bed . I am cutting off all the excess trailers, and have cut off all the little squashes that are not going to do any good - (they go yellow, and then get nibbled) so I think I have 10 or 11 crown prince. Still no butternut . There are 4 crown prince and 3 butternut plants in this area - its about 3m x 2m I have another couple of butternuts stuck in elsewhere - they were late germinators .
Hopefully it will rain tonight :)

Allotment /Veg patch  thread 4 "Lettuce and Peppers and Pears OH MY!"
Allotment /Veg patch  thread 4 "Lettuce and Peppers and Pears OH MY!"
SmallLegsOrSmallEggs · 23/08/2015 23:31

Wow those look amazing! I really like the rampant nature of squash and courgette.

shovetheholly · 24/08/2015 07:53

Wow, bookbook, that looks amazing!

small - I bet you the guy is looking at the plot next door and has got mixed up with the numbering. I would take some pictures on your phone and send them to him and ask if he's got the right plot. I cannot believe that they wouldn't realise that your plot is cultivated - even if there are a few weeds, it's not going to be so choked that you can't see the kind of plants that you have growing!

Oh and the reason I chose Crown Prince was that the seed catalogue made a big song and dance about how it was excellent for cool weather climates 'like those of northern England'. Bah, humbug. Sad

I had a squash revelation this weekend. BIL cooked a green curry and left the skin of the butternut squash on before roasting it. And it went all soft and edible. I am now calculating all the unnecessary days and days I have spent peeling squashes!!

Malcojida · 24/08/2015 08:30

Morning Smile

From next Sunday I'll be the proud tenant of half a plot. The local allotments have cleared a big patch for newbies so it's all grass atm.

I'm aiming to have it cleared by spring but hopefully there'll be enough done to plant some overwintering broad beans and some cavalo nero.

DH has come over all competitive and is aiming for the best newcomer award Hmm but seeing as my biggest gardening achievement so far is a basil plant which took ten days to die instead of five I'm not confident Grin.

TheSpottedZebra · 24/08/2015 08:57

Malc morning, and welcome to the thread! (I assume that youre new, and not an nc-er? Im getting confused by who's changed to who, post-hack.) How exciting! Has he gardened much before or are you both flying blind? I took on a new plot, probably just under half sized, at the beginning of the year and i love it so much. It will be fab for you to get some over-wintering stuff in - i have cavolo nero already, and I think I'll try some broadies too. What will you grow next year, have you plans already?

TheSpottedZebra · 24/08/2015 09:04

Yy to leaving the BN squash skin on - it is really thin and it softens to nothing! Or, if you roast it in wedges, you can always peel once roasted, and the skin just slips off easily.

booky your squash patch looks immense (teen nephew's complement of choice at mo). I might join the crown prince gang too next year. I'd also recommend Little Gem squash too - mine is climbing up an arch, tho mostly it's tied in. But it's quite prolific, and seems to be quite robust.

In other squash news, I still have a tiny fruit on a Delicata, but the other plant never really did much. Well, I did have a small fruit the other day - I've not been for a few days as I've been away. I got back yesterday but it was hammering it down, and it's rained all night and is still going. We do need the rain really. Hopefully I'll sneak over today and pick more tomatoes. My Marina di Chioggia plants are more impressive with foliage, but not very productive. There is a biggish squash atop BenSquash, and a smaller one on the plant near the corn, but unless they taste amazingly amazing, neither really justify the space.

shovetheholly · 25/08/2015 13:29

runs into thread looking like a dishevelled purple minion

Waaaaah! Another hack!

And I was going to tell you all about my mahoosive marrow and everything! (Courgette plants definitely enjoying a bit of rain).

I really, really hate these MRAs now. They are stopping me from posting about plants. I will set my triffid army on them.

bookbook · 25/08/2015 17:23

Afternoon!
shove yes, with the triffid army - could I set my squashes on them? Grin
and a marrow - a few of those will be coming along with everyone I suspect with the rain , and yes to leaving the skin on squashes - I roast as much as will fit in a roasting tin, then when cooked , take the skin off. ( By March the crown prince needs a chainsaw to cut into it!)
So back to normal for now :)
Spotted - looked at pictures of the Marina de Chioggia- it looks like a Dr Who baddy ! . I may have a go next year with Little Gem - I take it they are tasty? I may have to try them if I dont get any butternuts.
Hello Malc - all exciting stuff with a new allotment. If its all new grass, then steady as she goes with digging - marathon , not sprint. Ask away for any advice, and someone will know, hopefully. I will say :-
Grow what you like to eat.
Use as good a set of tools as you can - they make life easier !

Konserve · 25/08/2015 17:30

another namechange after yesterday's dos shutdown. was most annoyed as in hospital with dc the whole day (long story) and my good it's boooring without you lot. :o

I will mention comfreyjuice Wink

am rather enjoying the tomato glut. 3 different kinds so far. all very different taste and texture wise.
lots of figs this year too, but they take another couple of weeks.

shovetheholly · 25/08/2015 17:32

bookbook - you made it in!! Hooray!

Yes to squash and triffid army! I have some ornamental rubus that are vicious. They can be in the vanguard.

malc - my best advice is manure and compost. Bags and bags of the stuff. Find your friendly local stables and make them your new best friend!! And prepare to have all your inhibitions about rotting poo and food deleted from your brain!! Grin

bookbook · 25/08/2015 17:45

Konserve - hope dc are okay. Its going to be hard to know who is who! But comfrey juice of course!
I was at work today, but spent all day hoping it would be back up when I got home - it was a bad evening last night - had to resort to cooking pasta sauces and starting crafting for ( dare I admit it ? ) Xmas :)

bookbook · 25/08/2015 17:47

Kornserve - figs? Envy Envy - I adore figs - are they outside or in a greenhouse?