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

Oh wow, my tomatoes are miles off yet. Surprisingly the ones I planted have almost caught up with some of the small plants I bought.

I've picked my first courgettes this week

I ate my first ripe cherry tomato yesterday but the rest are green!

More courgettes and the first mange tout yesterday. I'm picking the courgettes quite small as there's at least 4 more on the plant.

To your point @tizwozliz my toms are really behind - they are still flowering or very small green fruits, at least 3 weeks behind @BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn

I do have a wonderful colourful harvest of chard with lovely yellow, green and red stems, that we had to cut today as they're threatening to 'bolt' - segregated into 2 colanders, one for steaming (large leaves) and another for salad leaves (small and tender).

I'm grappling with me melons! I've never grown them before and don't have a clue whether to support them up bamboo canes or let them drape along the ground. Gourds are less of a problem, as they don't grow quite so big, but still scratching my head wondering what to do with them.

Loads of raspberries this evening.
Agree with previous poster who said her allotment pays for itself in raspberries....
huge portions for me and DD (with Greek yoghurt).

Hello!
I hope you don't mind me joining? Very very new to gardening, I have a tomato plant that I think is doing well.
The other day i noticed the bottom leaves had been feasted upon so i had a rummage and found so many of these caterpillars! I'm presuming it's these eating them.
Now I love butterflies, but don't want my tomato plants being savaged!
Any advice?

@LemonFrosting not sure about the caterpillar but that doesn’t look like a tomato leaf.

For those who grow raspberries, how do I know when a golden raspberry is ripe please?

My blueberry bush is doing great this year. DH thinks the birds are picking off all the ripe blueberries but really it's me.

The birds have eaten all the gooseberries though.

It could be a close-up

@Wildernesstips ripe raspberries slip off easily leaving the central plug behind

@LemonFrosting pick them off or brush them off with a small paintbrush then either a) drop them into a wild bit of your garden - they probably won’t survive as they’re very specific as to food plants, or b) put them in a dish and leave them out for the bluetits

Yeah just give them a very gentle tug. The plant will let you take them if they are ready.

Cool, thanks for the raspberry advice - I suppose I could always do the taste test 😄.

Golden raspberries also turn slightly more peach when ripe.

Thank you for your advice! Definitely a tomato plant, that was an extreme close up picture!!

I didn't realise how much damage caterpillars cause, I thought they were lovely little insects that turn into gorgeous butterflies! I was excited when I saw a couple of caterpillars.....then I saw the rest and realised what had been eating the leaves!!

My son has been learning about the life cycle of caterpillar to butterfly at school, I was looking forward to showing him at home!

A similar question - I have an aubergine of unknown variety. No clue what size or colour the fruits should be when ripe. They start purple with a bit of pale striping, and so far are remaining purple with a bit of pale striping.

Any ideas for when to try picking one?

I think the tell tale sign for aubergines is when they feel firm with a little bit of give and the skin has gone shiny.

Not shiny yet. I'll wait a bit, then.

I have loads of green tomatos on my plants but only the first ones are turning shiny (the weird potato leaf variety). I am hopeful that they will ripen the next week or so.

@Wildernesstips Inhave those raspberries too, they taste amazing. Agree with the others, they turn slightly pinker and slip off the stalk easily when they are ready. If they get overripe they tend to fall to pieces when you pick them. I've only had a few so far, I cut them down in spring so they crop late July onwards. But I leave a few uncut every year and they start cropping about now.

Still picking pounds of strawberries here, nothing else cropping yet (I sowed and planted out a little late this year) but everything looking healthy and growing well.

It was a good move to pick the courgettes smaller as 4 days later I've got another 4!

Just been to do a bit of weeding and watering, and pick a few bits. Brassicas aren't doing so well at the allotment, the bits I have at home are looking much healthier.

Tizswozliz - that’s a good haul. I picked the sum total of 4 blueberries today!

I'm pretty much picking a courgette a day at the moment, and a handful of beans a day too. I've resorted to freezing everything as there was going to be a mutiny from my family if I made them yet another courgette dish 🤣.