Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 15 - will winter ever end?

[bookbook]

Hi everyone , just putting this up quickly , will add on later
Everyone welcome! :)

ignore the pic , its something totally different!

@bookbook thank you so much! Another friend just said the same thing re possibly squash so off to google and see what I can find - many thanks! And your plants are looking fabulous

Looks great bookbook, welcome lymph I’m of no use to you on plant ID—apologies!
First black currants picked today ready for a black currant and mint sorbet production tomorrow. Strawbs yet to make it home...!

its a pic of one of my aubergines plants ! ( Goodness knows how I added it on , totally brain fried here )

@bookbook that is an extremely impressive aubergine plant, mine are babies compared to that bad boy

It's been a while since I checked in as work has gotten busy and the weather has been too bad to go to the allotment.

Gah about the tomatillos - I've got two but they aren't close enough to support each other. I'll see if I can move them together later today when I pop down. I'm going to see if I can pop some more spinach seeds in as well - we only eat them as baby leaves so hopefully that'll work.

I need onion advice 😁
One of my onions were starting to flower so I thought maybe they are ready to pull, pulled a few but they are not that big but some are looking like they are starting to rot. How do I know when to pull them? What do you do with them once pulled?

Hi Love - first , you need to cut off the flower stalks of any onions - if they go to seed , they are turning the bulb into seeds instead . To know when they are ready to pull - the leaves bend right over just above the neck . Once you have pulled them , leave them somewhere to dry and harden - ( some leave them on the surface of the soil if its going to stay dry ,) but most put them on some sort of mesh grid under cover. They may be starting to rot due to sitting in damp/wet soil , but check them carefully - onion white rot is a fungal disease that is very hard to get rid of .

Morning!
It is due to be so hot these next few days , that I went early this morning to start the annual currant pick . I've done about a fifth/quarter of the white currants so far , a long way to go!
The borlotti beans are just producing the first flowers. Watered the squashes and courgettes, and checked everything over - picked 2 proper courgettes ,the few strawberries and the flowers .
And when I left at 9.30 , it was already 22º..
I've already watered in the greenhouse this morning - and noticed I have a few white fly on the sweet peppers , so need to give them a wash this afternoon with soapy water.

Firs courgette picked, plus a punnet of blackcurrants. Strawberries are very sparse this year - normally I have enough to eat and make jam! Now just a few each picking.

I also picked my first courgette today and was very excited! I also noticed I have 2 tiny cucumbers growing as well as lots of little tomatoes now. My peas are coming on really well and I've nearly pulled all of the radish now. It's great seeing everyone's pictures.. My aubergine plants are certainly way behind the impressive specimen posted above!

I went up early this morning too, to beat the heat. Planted out tomatoes and cucumbers as they are struggling a bit in the greenhouse in too-small pots. It was SO hot. Here's a baby cucumber

Strawberries are very sparse this year Mine are doing well, but I think that's because I'm able to water them every night. Now have 3 tubs (Indian takeaway type) of alpines in the deepfreeze, and for the best part of a week we've been having alpine strawberries on our morning ceral and garden strawberries for tea.

My strawverries are sparse this year, i dislodged a lot of them when weeding round them a couple of months back and it seems to have set them back. However we have a massive glut of cherries so I don't really mind.

Massive glut of cherries sounds lovely!

I got so fed up with rickety cane structures today that I went on a garden supplies site and before I knew it I had ordered aluminium hoops and soft butterfly netting. My brussels sprouts are going to be coddled under the most beautiful structure, but total cost per sprout will be about £2.50. They had better be good.

Hi Lymph is that plant definitely a vegetable? It looks like the Tithonias (Mexican Sunflower) I'm growing, which also has a tendency to wilt at night.

It is and it isn't. They all ripen within about a week and you need to pick as they ripen and either freezer or make jam whatever. Plus the minute you pick them they start attracting ants, you can't leave them. And they need stoning. I'm not complaining but they have taken over a bit this week.

Evening!
TheKickInside - well, now you have the hoops , they will last for years! , I wouldn't be without mine for covering with either fleece or enviromesh.
Expletive - an embarrassment of riches :) - In the hard late frost up here , I lost all the Victoria Plums , and my friend a couple of plots up lost nearly every cherry , so all you can do is enjoy the week !
I have quite a few strawberries , but they are taking their time in ripening.
Another day going early to water and pick . One more push tomorrow ( hopefully ) will see all the whitecurrants picked . Did a few blackcurrants from the early variety . The red currants are nearly there .
Just did a quick bit of hoeing in the brassica cage - there was that haze of green showing lots of weeds to come , so it was worth 20 minutes to save hours later on . .

We were really lucky to find lots of cloche hoops and canes in the shed when we bought our house. I didn't really appreciate how valuable they were at the time.

Strawberries, gooseberries, redcurrants and mange tout picked today. I'm picking French beans daily also but only a few at the time and they're going straight in the freezer.

Chilli only just starting to flower, aubergines don't seem to be doing much. Lots of baby courgettes but a while before they'll be ready even if they develop. I normally find the first couple aren't fertilised.

Pulled half the garlic today, in order to build the Brussel sprout cage. Very pleased with the results, third year of sowing garlic and the first time I have cloves! I'll leave them drying for a couple of weeks before cleaning them up.

Afternoon!
that garlic looks good tiz - mine is going to be an utter disappointment this year , along with the shallots which I overwintered .
Another blistering hot day here
Went and did more fruit picking , bindweed digging, watering and found a couple of courgettes . Will be glad of any rain tomorrow ( if it comes! )
Having to water in the greenhouse 3 times a day - the tomatoes are flagging after a couple of hours , but otherwise seem to be doing okay.

I ended up moving some of my tomatoes out the greenhouse. They all looked so sad at lunchtime but luckily they soon perk up again.

First shiraz mange tout picked today, plenty more to come. Some strawberries picked for dessert too.

I may have to do some potato investigating tomorrow, I forgot to buy any when getting the shopping.

This summer is moving so rapidly. I felt we were only just getting moving with the strawberry season, but we had raspberries for breakfast, and I've just picked some loganberries and tayberries.

We'll have mange-tout later this week, and broad beans.

Do you net your tayberries *@MereDintofPandiculation
Strawberries picked, plus lots of watering here this week!

Bonus potatoes today, these are from potato plants that must have grown from a few potatoes that weren't dug out last year.

Was expecting some rain today but so far we've only had thunder, looks like I'll have to water tonight after all

First time since I planted the tree 6 years ago- I got cherries! To be fair not very many ripe so far but I was so excited .

I’m sacrificing a cucumber plant in the name of gcse science this weekend (forcing it to grow through a maze to light) but hoping I can rescue it afterwards . I’ve got 2 cucumbers with baby cucumbers on now but no flowers on the chillies yet. Life has slightly got in the way recently but I’m hoping to have a full day in the garden tomorrow. I may need the group mind to help in planning a bed which I’ve not managed to make productive and needs a rethink, photos tomorrow. Harvest photos look amazing