The Vegetable Patch Mark 2

[MereDintofPandiculation]

A continuation of the thread for those of us growing edibles, to share triumphs and failures, swap expertise and solve problems

Just repeating my last post

Lots of tomatoes and one slightly overgrown courgette.

Courgettes have been a bit disappointing given a promising start.

It seems only the tomatoes and chillis have appreciated the warm weather. Unfortunately I now have covid and can't taste a thing so can't even enjoy the tomatoes :-(

Photo

Similar issues with courgettes this year @tizwozliz. Onwards and upwards for next year hopefully. I do want to get self pollinating ones for next spring hopefully.

Loads and loads of tomatoes here too.

Thanks for the new thread @MereDintofPandiculation

Potatoes, a few tomatoes (think these are mostly over now) and first sweetcorn harvested this week plus some self seeded cosmos which have been a bit slow to get going.

I'm within the tyranny of abundance.

It's why I don't usually go away during the summer as either your plants die or you come back to mayhem.

I've made chutney and ketchup and canned 3 jars of just chopped tomatoes yesterday.

And I'm away for the weekend so I have no idea what I'll come back to, as the tomatoes are still cranking them out, and that's after I took about 10 cherry tomato plants out and composted them.

Made my first apple tart with Cox's Orange Pippin. Digging up potatoes as I need them. With as new baby I had no time to earth them up this year but they were fine.

I'm overrun with cucumbers this year as I wanted to try some different varieties. The Poona Kheera (orange) cucumbers from Real Seeds are lovely. As are the Crystal Lemon (yellow) round cucumbers from Premier Seeds Direct.

Oh and the House Tomato plants from Real Seeds are very cute small plants. Surprisingly the tomatoes are the same size as my large cherry tomato plants. Would make nice gift plants for a non-gardener's kitchen windowsill.

Will just repeat on new thread:
Managed to grow an aubergine!
Also - we planted rainbow chard, Brussels sprouts and beetroot this afternoon.

hello everyone 🖐

I'm interested to know how many tomato plants you grew @AlisonDonut

So am I!

Estimate, 36 Vines in one poly, with another 10-15 bush that have either now been pulled or have ended. I have just 1 left of those. I also have turmeric and 2 gingers in there.

18 in the other, smaller poly, with about 4 bush that have long finished.

About 20 outside, slower and later growing.

I've taken about 10 out today as they were coming to the end/taking up space from my chillis and peppers.

2023 will be less cherry sized, more medium sized and more chillis and peppers in the big poly.

Yay! 👏 I managed to grow my first this year too. It's such a good feeling 😊

 @AlisonDonut 😮😮!! I thought I overdid it with my 5 plants. Even then I have such an influx of tomatoes I just don't know what to do with them. No wonder you have so many tomatoes. Mind you I also have a tiny garden so need to be smart how much of what I plant.

We moved to France last year to become more self sufficient and I've been preserving tomatoes for years. But even I'm beat this year!

I've got a trug full, from yesterday and now on a train to Bordeaux so I have 48 hours away from tomatoes.

To put it into context, I bought a new polytunnel from a proper polytunnel company at the start of lockdown. Last summer I weighed and counted just my tomato harvest. At Waitrose prices, one seasons tomatoes more than paid for the polytunnel. And I grow in it year round.

@PoseyFlump
Oh congratulations!
I was ridiculously pleased. Xx

That's amazing! Something I can try and aspire to one day @AlisonDonut

I'm getting loads of tomatoes too, although quite a few are oddly shaped they still taste fine and at least they haven't been hit by blight like every other year.

My autumn fruiting raspberries aren't doing so badly, possibly because we've been watering them. I've oven dried my first batch, I use them to make white chocolate and raspberry cookies.

We've also got lots and lots of apples and pears. We have a fruit store in the garage but it's full so am having to frantically chop and turn into applesauce in jars / for freezing to make more space for the rest of them!

@CrabbyCat Whereabouts are you? I haven’t started picking apples yet. I’ve found, as a general rule, that the earlier the apple, the shorter time it will keep, so that Worcesters, ripening in August, keep only a fortnight, whereas Cornish Aromatic and Brownlees Russet, ripening late October, can keep through till March. So if yours are mainly earlier varieties, how long do you find they keep?

Hello 👋 I have an allotment and it's a shambles every year. I start the season well and full of good intentions but I have a very weedy plot and keeping on top of it is overwhelming. If I go on holiday for a week I know it will be horrific when I return and then I can't face it and don't go and then it's lost in no time. This year I have managed to grow raspberries and apples. There are some onions and potatoes under there somewhere.
I'm absolutely determined to not let this happen next year. My youngest starts school tomorrow and I will have one whole day a week with no children and no work. This will be my allotment day, this is my time 😂😅

@MereDintofPandiculation I have several trays of Victoria Early cooking apples from my parents, which always ripen in August. As you say, as early apples they don't keep long - probably 4 or 5 weeks. I do a bit of baking with them now, but they mostly get frozen / turned into apple sauce for storage, but it'll take me a few weeks to process them all so they are in the fruit store until then.

Our main apple tree is a Fiesta. They normally ripen in September, and as you say that means they keep a lot longer - we usually finish eating them January ish so don't know how much longer they'd keep. This year however, they are ready a lot earlier than usual, to the point ripe undamaged apples were falling off the tree (we've been watering fruit, so it's not draught caused). We're in central England, so not especially far south but we do have a particularly sheltered garden so I'm wondering if they just got started much earlier than normal with spring being fairly warm this year.

Superb news. My OH hates aubergines and had some yesterday in a terrine and now wantse to grow them so the challenge is on for next year.

so I'm wondering if they just got started much earlier than normal with spring being fairly warm this year. Think mine are earlier, though being in N Yorks early is a relative term

Hello.I’ve dipped in and out of this thread, mainly out, but lurked. Had a terrible veg plot summer, altho the raspberries and tomatoes were good. I thought I would try late sowings as the ground is so warm. Planted Brussels, chard , kale , carrots, leeks, spring onions , echinacea and various salad greens. In the greenhouse, I have more salad, coriander, parsley, plus short rows of kale and chard. I know that even if it’s warm, shorter days inhibit growth, but it’s an experiment. I won’t mind if it fails. I am really bad at netting brassicas with home made contraptions, they fall down and old net curtains get covered in mud and slugs, gets ugly and useless quickly. Does anyone have recommendation for reasonably priced alternatives?

Hi @Zebracat I use mesh like this www.amazon.co.uk/wohohoho-Netting-Mosquito-Gardening-Vegetables/dp/B09CPCYL7V/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=micro%2Bmesh%2Bnetting&qid=1662380821&sr=8-9&th=1
over wire hoops pegged down with metal pegs (the ones like tent pegs that you can get in garden centres). Not this exact one as I have had mine years (I have two large pieces about 6ftx20ft each) - mine have been outdoors permanently for several years and apart from being dirty are as good as new. I use them for brassicas and strawberries.