Fruit & Veg growers Club 2007

[nikkie]

What is everyone planning to grow this year?
I have the bluberry bushes, strawberries,apple and pear from last year and hopefully i will get some proper fruit this year.Will be growing peas/tomatos/lettuce for definate as they all did really well. Cape gooseberry plants did well but fruit needed a couple more weeks of sun and never quite made it ,possibly start earlier this time.

Friend does Rhubarb wine its fab!

I think I have the CJ Berry book - does he looks like Alan Whicker and have cupboards full of wine & wine equipment all over his house? If so, then yes, the book is disorganised and somewhat rambling.

I've missed the boat for elderflower - I've just picked the last good heads, only enough to make about a litre of cordial. Will try an elderberry wine though.

I might start a rhubarb next week if the farmers market has any. I might start a wine thread when I get going

I love Elderflower cordial, not much round by our allotment this year though

for those growing potatoes, ca you describe what the leaves look like at the moment.... mine are going yellow on the lower leaves with the odd brown patch... plants are just starting toflower... hope it ist blight!

Ours are like that too

This weather is a pain, isn't it? We've had one of those really muggy and overcast days that rains you physically and mentally. However, we managed to get raised bed NO.8 started so feeling good.

AND some people who wanted a plot were wandering around and asked to come on to ours for a look round and loved it!!

We are used to being the rookies with the mad ideas so were really thrilled that someone else liked it. Our families encourage us but they might just be kind so it was lovely to have our opinion sort and have to recount our experiences like the old geezers.

Actually it Drains you

Yellowbean - my potatoes look exactly how you describe yours - its the 1st time we've grown them this year - so i cant advise if thats the norm or not. They've got very tall and keep falling over in the rain as well.

My Aubergines have hardly grown and the leaves look abit yellow/brown.

Tasted my first beetroot and peas yesterday and lettuce and spinach is good.

Oh and tomatoes are flowering.

When can i pick my onions anybody?

Over run with peas and lettuce atm!

Loads of strawberries and red currants/raspberries are nearly ther too

Kiwi plant i sgrownig about an inch a day

Oh hello fellow gardeners am about to build a raised bed to start growing veg in - am so excited. Is there anything I can plantnow or soon?

carrots, lettuce, peas will still grow. Or get some seelings from the market or garden centre

I am over rrun with peas today as i let the dds pick them!

I have got some teeny carrots, have already eaten 2 lots of new potatoes grown in pots & have some round courgettes which are really nice - not any bitter skin. Tomatoes have got tiny fruits but lack of sun is taking its toll. Squash plants are growning apace but no fruits yet. The ones I have climb and last year found that it was better to get the squahses growing higher up where they don't get eaten by greedy ole slugs. Aubergines have been an abject faliliure - too cold. Peppers looking promising - have one in a mini greenhouse .

DoubleBluff, you can sow fennel now as well.

oh good, have been holding off on fennel.
is it true they should be sown away from other plants because they stunt growth or something?

Ooooh, dunno about that - have never grown it before. I hope not

coincidentally I just looked it up before coming on MN and sorry to say but it does inhibit growth in all other plants except dill. Apparently it is 'allelopathic' and makes other plants either bolt or die !
Hope it's not too late for you stripey.
Bit difficult not being able to plant them near anything else though....
BTW - wikipedia has a good list of companion plants.

Anyone got a sec to give me your opinion on my potatoes?
I'm popping a photo on my profile in a mo. Does it look like:
a) blight?
b) ready for harvest?
c) rain/wind damage?
Not all of them are this bad. This is probably the worst affected plant. The others have this to a lesser degree. We had a rainy May but not enough lately that blight would be a big problem, however we are quite exposed to wind. They've been in about 12 weeks now and have flowered.

THANK YOU. This is my first year at this and I can't find any photos on the internet of potato plants that are ready for harvesting.

buerk, it's hard to see from the photo. Blight tends to be dark brown blotches on the stems and the leaves and it moves FAST! Looks like someone's gone over them with a blowtorch after a couple of days.

Grub around and pull out some potatoes - if they are squishy and slimy it's blight, if they are ready then they are ready! It's the best way to tell.

burek !! excuse the typo!!

just saw how terrible the quality of that photo is - sorry! must be cos it got reduced.

I hasn't moved fast at all.
Will go out right now and try out your technique - fingers crossed...

I picked the worst looking plant, and found lots of healthy (if small) potatoes until the last one (the closest one to the plant) was all sludge.

How depressing