The Vegetable Patch

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Now bookbook has sadly left us, and stirred into action by @DobbleDobble, I think it’s time to start a general thread for those of us who try to grow edible produce, fruit, veg, herbs, to share successes, failures, questions and answers

@takeabrolly - in an ideal world you'd repot only a little bigger each time. However, if you're very busy and know you'll never get around to it, I think it's better to pot into a big pot.

The disadvantage of that is lots of compost round the edge which can sit damp and encourage disease. What you could do is stick some supermarket herbs or any spare seedlings round the edge to fill the extra room, then move them on when the pepper needs the space

Well I am feeling a bit disheartened by slow progress of everything this year. And not having room for anything.

I have been watering more assiduously using buckets of kitchen wastewater and rainwater when I have it, which is helping growth but also the slugs and snails which just seem to own two areas of the garden.

I've got a giant sunflower and loads of dwarf french beans which are currently looking very healthy in cardboard tubes but desperately need to be planted now I'll drench them with garlic and chilli to try to protect them, but I also just need to find space for them in amongst all the sickly pissed off looking aubergine plants.

I bought a cheap arch from Wilko which looks a bit tacky but the plan is to grow squash over it. Squash is in on one side (tiny but healthy, possibly a bit too near neighbouring pumpkin). The plan was to dig up the turf on the other side to grow another to meet it. But the ground is rock hard and the no mow May grass is about ten foot tall so I haven't managed to dig it out yet. I should have killed the grass with weed membrane but I was all idealistic and thought I could keep the turf to put back in the autumn 🤣🤣🤣🤣

On the plus side the fruit trees are growing really well and the quince has less powdery mildew than normal so they obviously like having regular buckets of old washing up water tipped on them.

I did nematodes a few years ago when I first got my allotment and it did seem to keep the slug population down for a good few years but think I might need to do it again. The last couple of winters I have been putting cardboard and compost/manure on the bare soil over winter which has been great for soil condition and weed suppression but is probably an ideal slug breeding environment.

@deplorabelle thank you!

@MereDintofPandiculation Thank you. The nursery bought bush beans now look well gone. I've removed them and put in some that I grew from beans. They look a bit tired but I hope they may fair better. The runner beans I put in (both nursery bought and grown from bean) seem to be okay.

Hello all,

Managed our first harvest today, plucked some rainbow radish and put in my broad and runner beans. Put my tomatoes out too. Squash isn't growing but isn't showing signs of any problems either. It's been in limbo for a few weeks now. One pumpkin plant is doing well, the other seems a little yellow. Hope everything takes well to the outdoors.

@MereDintofPandiculation you can use one of those miracle gro hose feeder attachment things if you have one.

Much faster.

Trying to decide whether to put my courgette plants in the ground. Normally I wait until they're a bit bigger, but they were sown late this year and I could really use the space where they are right now to move my tomatoes into.

I have some tomatoes set already even though my plants are tiny.

I've got greenfly on my chillis too, normally I stick them outside when they get greenfly but it's cold here at the moment.

I've put mine in the ground @tizwozliz. I too wanted to wait but lack of space plus the late start made me think they may fare better outside. They certainly have. They've doubled in size and have fruit. I put them in 3 weeks ago. My tomato plants however are really not liking it outside :(.

Decided to hedge my bets @greenerfingers and have planted one of each variety - I've sown 3 varieties, and have two of each.

I'm aware that 6 courgette plants sounds like loads, but I've perfected my freezable recipes for surplus!

First portion of spinach picked today to go with my poached egg

I'm aware that 6 courgette plants sounds like loads, but I've perfected my freezable recipes for surplus!

@tizwozliz I would love a peek at those freezable recipes if you're up for sharing please?!

I planted out my squash Monday and we had terrible rain and hail yesterday and haven't been down the allotment yet to check on them. The weather is soooo annoying right now!

These courgette fritters freeze really well, can be heated up from frozen

www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/indian-spiced-courgette-chickpea-fritter

Then this cake, I make it in a loaf tin and then freeze in slices. This is gluten free but there are lots of similar recipes about

thepinkrosebakery.com/2015/03/17/courgette-lemon-cake/

Hi all I totally forgot i was on this thread!
Will have a proper read through later.

I'm not growing as much as I did last year but hoping I can catch up a bit. Our greenhouse got alot of damage during the storms a few months ago and we've literally just last week managed to get it cleared, fixed and up and running again.

We have strawberries and snow peas growing. I think I've made a mistake with the strawberry plants and they are all going to be ready at the same time, I should have staggered them. Also recently planted courgettes they worked so well last year, and French beans and runner beans.

Toddler has one of those children's growing kits of tomatoes, which they are loving checking on even though they haven't even germinated yet.

What else is quick and easy to grow? I've got some basil seeds to plant. I don't really want to to grow salad bits tbh.

Re courgette recipes...DH and I really like a warm courgette salad and it's super easy.

Griddle or lightly fry some courgette slices, place to one side. Do the same with some halloumi slices. Add bothe to a large bowl with spinach and stir it so the spinach cooks very slightly, add a tin of green lentils, a glug of good quality olive oil and some lemon juice. It's a lovely summery meal.

I think I've made a mistake with the strawberry plants and they are all going to be ready at the same time, I should have staggered them. They don’t all ripen at the same time, just one or two on each plant, so you need several plants at the same stage to get a decent picking. I’ve never heard of succession sowing for strawberries, and next year they’ll all be synchronised anyway.

Netted my redcurrants yesterday, they're just starting to have a first hint of pink and I noticed a lot of bird activity already. Should have probably done it a bit sooner.

Also picked more rhubarb and spinach. That's probably the last of the rhubarb I'll pick this year.

@MereDintofPandiculation commercial growers succession plant strawberry plants from cold storage to massively extend the season as they fruit about 2 months after planting rather than just in June then, although I don't think that's what @Plantsandpuddlesuits meant. @Plantsandpuddlesuits toddler's are anything like as keen on strawberries fresh off the plant as mine are, a large number of strawberry plants is the only way you'll get to eat any strawberries at all let alone get any as far from the plants as the house...

The only other thing I've found very easy to grow but does take up space is pumpkins / squashes. I've also had success outdoors in a sunny spot with cucumbers which are as easy as courgettes - they are prickled ones, but the prickles wash off.

Does anyone know anything about early blight on tomatoes? My outdoor ones are not looking happy after our weird hot/cold weather.

@tizwozliz thanks for the recipes, especially the curry fritters, made my mouth water just reading it! And do you make the fritters and freeze them just like that?

poseyflump - i dont think tomatoes like wide variations in temperature, so they may be sulking due to current weather. I didnt think you could get blight this early in the year and its caused by damp and hot conditions which we havent had anyway. my tomatoes got frosted last year, killed above ground and then regrew back - so hopefully they will be ok

Thanks @dreamingofsun my outdoor toms got late blight last year (greenhouse ones were fine)

I think you're right, they're probably just sulking (as are all my squash etc!) but they just look slightly wrong, can't put my finger on it.

Got back after two weeks away and most things seem to be doing ok. I had a friend watering everything, and apart from the squash seedlings it's all survived! I can't tell if the squash just died or was eaten - I have watered in nematodes this year so was hoping for a higher survival rate for everything. The birds have gone for a fair few of my peas and beans but some of them are definitely still thriving. I need to re-pot all my tomatoes soon! But first I need to catch up on the weeding...

Can I join and ask if anyone is growing raspberries/blackberries/blueberries/wine berries (any sweet berry basically!) in a pot or large container? If so, any advice as I'd like to try fruit next year if this years harvest goes well.

Currently I have 2 raised beds full of: spinach, lettuce, kale, broccoli, carrot, sweet peas.
All seem to be doing well so far. Pigeons are watching the peas though.

Also have several tomato plants that have been outside since June, unfortunately they've not grown massively in the last week due to this hot and cold weather perhaps? Worried about blight!

Checking back in. I finished planting everything out about 10 days ago, so am mainly watering and weeding now. Also picking strawberries, which I have netted. I went to net my redcurrants but realised the bush is now far too big for the piece of netting I usually use - does anyone know when the right time is for pruning?

Raspberries are setting lots of fruit - I have always greown them as autumn fruiting (cut back to the ground in Feb/Mar) but I decided to only cut back half this year and see if I can stagger them a bit, I’ve noticed in previous years if I miss a few canes they fruit sooner). However the whole lot seem to be progressing at the same speed.

Everything that was transplanted is doing that transplant shock thing where they don’t do much for the first couple of weeks after planting out but hoping things will start speeding up soon. My onions and garlic are looking very good and broad beans, which I sowed directly about a month ago are looking good too, as are potatoes.

looking forward to planting out my tomatoes tomorrow.Got lots of lettuce, spinach and radishes to harvest too.Left my peas unetted for past 4 weeks, yesterday looks like birds or animals have chewed them to buggery.
sweetcorn,squashes and pumpkin doing well and of course the potatoes have flower buds