It's A Start

The late sowing of runner beans is starting to produce at last. This might seem a small harvest, but it's very welcome after the poor year we've had, and they'll go down very well with the roast chicken dinner I'm cooking tonight. I had decided not to grow runner beans this year, opting instead for French beans, but things didn't go to plan when just about everything got munched by slugs at the start of the season. In the end, I decided that I'd sow some runner beans after all, other people have had lots of success with them in the rainy weather we've had. They were sown very late and I didn't know if I'd manage a harvest from them at all before the weather turned, but providing the weather stays on an even keel for a little longer, there should be plenty more to come. The plants are literally dripping with lots of tiny beans. It isn't only the runner beans either, at the same time as these beans were sown, I decided to give French beans one last try this year, and although I haven't harvested anything from those plants as yet, there's plenty of beans growing.

The tomatoes have had a reprieve. I was all for taking the green fruit off the plants at the weekend and having a go at ripening them indoors, but more of the tomatoes on the Gardener's Delight plant in the greenhouse are now starting to colour up, as are a couple of the tomatoes on the Tigerella plant outdoors. I shall see what happens this week and if not much progress is made, I'll remove them at the weekend.

Hubby has spent some time at the allotment this weekend clearing beds and digging the ground ready for winter. We always seem to fall behind at this time of year, the bad weather creeps up on us before we know it, and then we're always behind when spring arrives. It would be nice to get ahead of the game this time.

Starting To Turn

At long last, the first couple of tomatoes are starting to ripen. This is Gardener's Delight, usually a guaranteed performer, but not this year with the weather being how it is. This plant is in the greenhouse, along with five other tomato plants, and I also have five plants outside too, but these are the only ones which show any sign of colour, all the other fruit is staying resolutely green.

I'm now getting a couple of courgettes to harvest each time I go to the allotment. It's not the glut I've had in previous years, but a steady supply is welcome nontheless. I've noticed in previous years that the yellow varieties I've grown never seem to produce as many courgettes as the green varieties, and it's the same again this year.

The weather's turned much cooler today and there's a strong wind to boot, though the sun is still shining through the showers. I think autumn is definitely knocking on the door.

Bucketfuls

My best crop this year is without doubt the potatoes I've grown in containers. I first grew this variety, Arran Pilot last year, and was impressed not only with the flavour and yield, but also the fact that the potatoes don't turn to mush when boiled. I decided to grow the same variety again this year, and can see that it will be one I grow most years as I think it would take some beating. I started out with fifteen containers and started emptying them on the third of June. I've given lots to my mum and dad as well as harvesting them regularly to eat ourselves, and there's still five containers left to empty. You can see all the compost used to fill a container in the photo. This doesn't go to waste after the potatoes are harvested as it's used to improve the soil at the allotment.

I'm still hoping that I might get a bean harvest this year from my late sowing. The runner beans have reached the top of their poles and the dwarf French beans have been left alone by the slugs, and both are flowering so there's hope.

We've got a sunny day here today, though it's a little breezy. The forecast is for the sun to stay around for a while so my tomatoes might decide to surprise me and turn red. I'm starting to wonder if I should take the plunge and remove the fruit from the plants to try and get them to ripen on the windowsill. I think I'll wait and see if the sunshine we're forecast does anything for them first.

Nearly Made It

The Birthday Rose nearly made it in time for my big day. It's my birthday today and as you can see, the half standard rose which Hubby bought me as an early birthday present has just about bloomed in time. The photo which was attached to the plant showed a white rose with a light pink tinge, but I'm always wary of going by these photos as the flowers themselves often look nothing like. It looks as though it might be a good likeness in this case though.

The sun is shining, for a change, and as Hubby has the day off work, and the kids aren't back to school until tomorrow, we're heading off to Bridlington on Yorkshire's east coast for the day. I hope the weather stays fine.

Beetroot In A Bath

I haven't managed to get a single beetroot to grow this year. The seeds I sowed direct at the allotment must have been washed away in the rain. I tried again to no avail. In the end I decided that I would sow some beetroot seeds in modules and transplant them. At first, they were going to be planted out in the ground, but seeing as how the carrots which were sown in the old bath at the allotment got eaten by slugs, I decided to plant them there. In the meantime, three seeds have germinated in the ground. The plants in the old bath look ok, but I think it's a little late to expect much from them now. If they get to golf ball size I'll be happy.

I've been looking for some purple sprouting broccoli seedlings but the garden centres all seem to do big tray fulls and I only want a few plants. One of the local markets usually sell them, but they haven't got any this year. I'm missing my local nursery already.

My tomatoes are still refusing to ripen, it's been a terrible year for them. I've got more fruit on the plants now but nowhere near as much as usual. I've decided that I'm going to have another go at growing some outdoors again next year, I don't think the results I've got this year will be typical so I'll give it another shot.

A Tight Squash

My squash plants are vying for freedom. They've put on lots of green, lush growth, I expect at the cost of fruit, and the bed is looking very full. The Uchiki Kuri squash has a couple of small fruits, but the Sunburst don't seem to be even trying to produce anything. Unfortunately, I think it's too late now for any fruit to come to anything so I shall cut my losses and try again next year.

The Birthday Rose which I bought in the local nursery sale last weekend looks to be coming in to flower. It's my birthday next week so that would be lovely if it's in bloom then. It's just in a black pot at the moment, but I'd like to get a nice glazed pot for it, though the problem with decorative pots is that they don't often stand up to the weather. I'll have to have a look round and see what I can find.

It's Bank Holiday Monday today, and right on cue, the rain is coming down in buckets. We went to Brimham Rocks yesterday and did a bit of bilberry picking, you can read all about it on my Through The Keyhole Blog. I'm glad that we went yesterday rather than put it off until today, the weather being how it is. I'm hoping that the weather bucks up for the rest of the week.

There's Still Hope

I decided not to grow runner beans this year. We all favour French beans so I sowed lots of them early on in the season hoping to get a good enough harvest to freeze some for the winter months. Unfortunately, the wet summer we've had has encouraged slugs and snails to come out of hiding, and they've munched away on just about anything I planted out. The French beans came to nothing so I sowed again, but the second attempt was also in vain. I decided enough was enough, I'd better get some runner beans started, they just might do better. I believe the variety is White Lady. This photo shows what they're like now. They've just reached the top of their wigwam and now have flowers. I might still have time to harvest a crop if we get some sunshine. Incidentally, I also sowed a third batch of French beans at the same time as the runner beans and they look to be doing ok too. It's a race against time now to see if the plants will produce.

I'm now getting a steady flow of courgettes. It's not the glut I've had in previous years, but I don't mind just so long as there's something there to harvest. I've got two varieties in the ground, Mikinos which is green and Soleil which is yellow. The Soleil hasn't produced anything yet, but again, I live in hope.

Hubby has a week off work next week so I'm hoping that we'll be able to spend a little extra time at the allotment. There's so much weeding and general tidying up to do, as well as getting a patch ready for the fruit bushes I bought last weekend. The back garden is also in need a good tidy so let's hope that the weather cooperates.

Bargain Hunting

Our local nursery is closing down. It's such a shame as I've used this family run business for years, and I don't know of any other decent nurseries nearby. We've got quite a few garden centres close to where we live, but I've heard that two of those are closing down too, a sign of the times.

We visited the nursery at the weekend and as they were having a closing down sale with 50% off marked prices, managed to pick up a few bargains.

I've been wondering about adding to my patio fruit tree collection, so couldn't resist picking up a plum tree. It's a Czar which is known as a culinary plum, but with a little research I've found out that it can be used as an eating plum if the fruit is left on the tree to fully mature as the flesh becomes much sweeter. I also added another apple tree to my trolley. As I bought a red apple tree earlier in the year, I've gone for a green one this time, Golden Delicious.

I don't have much soft fruit so I thought I would remedy the situation. I bought a gooseberry, Uva-Crispa Pax, which is a red thornless variety. Gooseberries can be extremely thorny so I thought this was the best bet to avoid my arms being cut to shreds when harvesting. I also got a Tayberry which is a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, and a rhubarb crown, variety Stockbridge Arrow.

I've had lavender in the garden for a number of years, but it's gone really woody. I was going to take some cuttings from it but seeing a lavender plant at the nursery with 50% discount, I decided to buy a new one instead. I'm still going to take some cuttings though, as I'd like to have some plants at the allotment to encourage the bees.

Last but not least, I got an early birthday present. I've been looking for a rose which I could grow in a container for a long time but I've been very fussy and haven't found one at a reasonable price which I've liked. The nursery was selling their half standard roses at half price, and I loved the variety The Birthday Rose so Hubby bought it for me. I'm looking forward to it blooming to see it's true colour as I don't think roses ever look the same in real life as they do in a photo.

All in all, I think I did really well with the bargains and I'm hoping for plenty of fruit to come. I just wish the nursery wasn't closing down, it's such a shame.

Not So Sweet Corn

This year was supposed to be my Year Of The Sweet Corn. Before I had my allotment, I successfully grew sweet corn in containers in the garden. The pots I used were buckets which were just slightly larger than normal utility buckets, and I potted up two plants to each container. Sweet corn is wind pollinated so I stood all the containers next to each other to help with pollination. Since I've had my allotment, things have gone downhill. I haven't managed to grow any decent sweet corn for the past three years, so at the start of the year I decided that I would go all out to produce some decent cobs this year. Unfortunately, the weather has conspired against me and it doesn't look as though I'll be harvesting anything decent off my plants yet again. Although the pollen bearing tassels have been produced and silks are showing, the actual plants themselves are only between a foot and two feet high and the cobs feel empty. The better weather we've had just lately may bring them on yet, but it doesn't seem likely.

Hubby has been tidying up the front garden this week. It tends to get overlooked in favour of the back garden and allotment, so it was in a bit of a state, even though there's only a small flower bed. I've had some crocosmia here for a few years now, but it just doesn't seem to want to flower, it obviously doesn't like it's situation. My son got the electric shears out and gave the hedge a good trim, it was desperate for it as it was so overgrown. All that's left to do now is weed between the block paving, a job I hate.

According to some news reports, today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year. It's typical then that it's clouded over and we've already had a few spots of rain. It's not surprising though, my son is just on his way out to play cricket. It's been the norm this year for rain to stop play.

One Lovely Blog

I'm thrilled to bits to have been awared the One Lovely Blog award by Mum from Mum's Simply Living Blog. Thank you Mum, I'm so pleased that you enjoy reading my blog.

The award comes with a few rules.

1) Thank the person who nominated you.
Thanks again, Mum.

2) List seven things about yourself.

3) Pass the award on to fifteen blogs.

I've listed many things about myself in the past, but thought, as this is a gardening blog, that I would list seven facts about myself with a gardening twist on things.

1. My favourite gardening tool is my Felco secateurs. I managed to pick them up in Wilko's sale with a whopping 75% off. They only cost me £10.

2. Tomatoes are the thing which I enjoy growing the most.

3. My wedding bouquet had a lilac theme and included sweet peas and fresias.

4. I got my allotment in March 2009.

5. The only indoor plants I grow are orchids.

6. I always receive something in my Christmas stocking for my garden or allotment.

7. My allotment costs me £24 per year, which I think is a bargain.

I'm supposed to pass this award on to fifteen blogs but I'm going to break the rules and pass it on to just five.

Elaine from A Woman Of The Soil
Flighty from Flighty's Plot
Sharon from Wigglywoo and Chickens too
Liz from Suburban Tomato
Caro from Urban Veg Patch

I hope that you will accept the award, though I understand if you'd rather not. I just wanted to let you know that I enjoy reading your blogs.

The Start Of A Glut

I'm hoping so, anyway. It will be the only glut we get this year as everything else has failed miserably. I can't believe that at this time last year, I was filling the freezer with surplus beans, mange tout and peas ready for winter. This year, the only beans which I've managed to grow are broad beans which I've never grown before, and therefore, I only grew a dozen plants. I haven't had enough off them to squirrel any away, though I did get another good picking off them this week. I haven't had any courgettes yet, but I've got a few plants and each is now just starting to produce so I'm hoping that this is something which will do well for me.

We popped to the allotment last Sunday to check on it after our holiday and it was even worse than we feared. The shallots and red onions have rotted in the ground, and the Bedfordshire Champion onions which I grew from seed are very small, I don't think we'll get much from them. Only three parsnips have germinated from three rows which were sown, and the carrots which were sown in the old bath have been eaten by slugs. The French beans and mange tout got eaten by slugs before they even got a chance to grow and the peas never took off at all. My squash plants are still hanging in there but haven't started to flower, never mind produce fruit. The whole place is covered in weeds and will take weeks to bring back under control again. I'm finally calling it a day as far as the allotment is concerned this year. I've decided that the majority of the plot can be dug over, it will give me a head start on the preparations for winter and hopefully, we'll get a better growing year next year and I'll be all ready for it.

I'm not giving up completely. I haven't managed to get any winter brassicas growing from seed as they're something else which have been devoured by slugs, so I'm going to buy some seedlings and get them in the ground. I've also got some dwarf French bean seedlings which are looking quite healthy so I'll also plant those out, I might just catch a late crop if I'm lucky and this lovely weather continues. Why couldn't we have had a little of this sunshine earlier on in the year? It might not have come to this then.

Don't Get Excited

We came home from our holiday yesterday after having a wonderful fortnight in Cornwall. We were very lucky with the weather, it was beautiful for the duration of the first week, and although we had some rain in the second week, it didn't stop us from doing anything we wanted to do. I was straight out to the greenhouse when I got home, expecting the good weather to have brought on my tomatoes. The plants have certainly grown, and I excitedly looked for signs of tomato growth but all that's there so far is the grand total of one tomato, and as you can see, it's still a tiny thing. All hope of a decent tomato harvest is now ebbing away.

I haven't visited the allotment yet so I don't know how things have fared there. The broad beans which I harvested before my holiday were eaten with bacon and home grown potatoes, and I shall definitely grow them again next year. I'm hoping there are more to pick when I venture down there.

The tops on some of my container grown potatoes have died right back, so a couple of containers were emptied out. I got a good haul, one load for us and another load for my parents. I enjoy sharing the fruits of my labour.

More Tomato Talk

If I could grow only one thing it would be tomatoes, even though there's other things which I prefer to eat. I don't know what it is about tomatoes, I just love choosing the varieties I'm going to grow, sowing the seed and watching them grow and produce fruit. The taste of home grown tomatoes is far superior than anything you can buy in a supermarket too, just picked from the plant and warmed a little in the sun.

My tomato growing experience this year has so far been disappointing. I started out with big hopes as this year I was going to have a go at growing lots of plants outdoors in addition to the half a dozen I grow in the greenhouse. The seeds took a long time to germinate, and once they had, the seedlings seemed to stand for weeks without putting on any growth.

The plants are now in their final positions, and the ones in the greenhouse have put on quite a bit of growth since they were potted up but none of my plants look to be really healthy specimens this year, I can only put it down to the weather. I've ended up with just five plants outdoors, I was hoping for quite a few more, but I wasn't going to pot up plants just for the sake of it. There were some really sick looking ones, and when I tipped them out of their pots to put in the compost bin, I could see that they'd hardly made any roots.

So the tomato plants I've ended up with this year are as follows. In the greenhouse I have Tangella, Pannovy, Gardeners Delight, Black Cherry x 2 and Eleanor, a variety which was bred by Kath at Vegetable Heaven. Outdoors in the garden I have Tigerella, Ferline, Pannovy and Incas x 2. The indoor plants have put on more growth than the outdoor ones, but both have just started producing their first flowers. Let's hope it's not too late for them to produce some fruit which will ripen before autumn.

We go away for a fortnight on Saturday to Cornwall so the tomato plants will be left in my dad's capable care. I'm hoping to see some tomatoes on the plants on my return.

A Harvest At Last

At last, I've managed to harvest something from the allotment. These are the first broad beans I've grown, and they look pretty good. I remember hating broad beans when I was a child, but I think it's time to give them a go again, I'll never know if I like them now if I don't try them. I've harvested quite a few pods so there's plenty for all the family to try. I've heard that broad beans suffer quite badly with black fly but my plants haven't been touched, I haven't pinched out the tops either, it must be beginners luck.

My tomato plants are only just beginning to produce their first flowers. They're really late this year so I'm hoping that there's enough time for fruit to set and ripen, if not we'll be eating lots of green tomato chutney. I've heard weather reports that say September and October are going to be warm so perhaps we'll all get late harvests this year. I'm not holding my breath though.

My greenhouse is full of seedlings waiting to be planted out at the allotment. Most things have had to be resown this year as the first batch of veggies have succumbed to either the weather or slugs. I'm hoping that they'll get planted out at the weekend so that they can get established before we go on holiday. I've got visions of coming home to find that the same thing's happened with this next batch but there's not much I can do about that, it seems everything's conspiring against the gardener this year.

Time For Tennis

I'm not a lover of tennis, but I do love it when Wimbledon comes round each year as I know I'll be eating strawberries, one of my favourite fruits. I've created a new strawberry patch at the allotment this year and the plants haven't really got going yet, but I've got lots more plants in containers in the garden which are producing well. Hubby had started digging up and disposing of the old plants in the last strawberry bed we had at the allotment, but he's only got half of it done so far. I'm not complaining though as we're harvesting bowls full of lovely juicy strawberries from the plants which are left. Strawberry plants are supposed to be at their most productive for three to four years, after which, the amount of fruit they produce will start to dwindle. It doesn't look to be the case with these plants and I'm wondering if we've started to dig them up too soon. I think the plants which are left will get a reprieve, at least until they've given us this year's fruit.

I've started potting up my tomato plants in to their final positions. I'm really not happy with the plants this year, it took such a long time for them to put on any growth, and they don't look to be particularly strong plants. I've got quite a few varieties so it will be interesting to see if any do better than others. My plants are usually grown in the greenhouse, but I decided that I'd try some outdoor ones this year too, perhaps it's the wrong year to be trying this with the lack of sunshine we've had so far this year, but nothing ventured nothing gained. I may be eating lots of green tomato chutney come the end of the year.

It's been forecast that a month's worth of rain is expected to fall in just two days in some parts of the UK this week. It looks like it's already started here, it's been raining all morning with no sign of any let up. I'm starting to think that summer is going to pass us by this year, it doesn't look like it's ever going to arrive.