How does your garden grow? (Fruit & Veg)

It's edible at any time Complainer. Around August/September or so (depends on variety) the bulb will have reached it's maximum size. Push over the green part so it lies flat(ish) and leave for a week or two. Remove onions from the ground and hang to dry in a shed with some ventilation. Onions left in the ground will rot. Other veg is better left in ground until needed; ie carrots, parsnips, beets, leeks.
 
Any of my fellow gardeners have experience growing marrows? I picked up some seeds recently and have a few on the go. Also giving Chinese cabbage a go as well, from the picture it looks like enormous lettuce! Anyway,looking forward to tasting it, assuming I can keep the slugs at bay.
 
We left our Halloween pumpkins in the garden to rot down. We now have about 20 very healthy looking shoots growing in and around where we left them. So much so that we are leaving about 6 of them to see what happens. If it works then we will hopefully have some halloween pumkins for this Halloween.
 


I love pumpkin. Particularly pumpkin soup. Can you eat halloween pumkins?
 
Well things are growing very fast now, started harvesting my first radishes the other day and i'll have my first peas very soon too. Bought a new green house and have about 15 tomato plants inside and they are loving the extra bit of heat
 
Oh and my potatos are just about to flower as well, so i'll be digging for dinner very soon
 
My potatoes have lots of greenery no flowers. My peas have started to flower. My strawberries are green and small. My cabbages are taking over. I can't eat all the lettuce that I have. My green beans are slow. My carrots and parsnips are getting there. My garlic and onions need a month or two. I don't know how I am going to pay for my water when the charges come in, will it be cheaper to buy them in the shop?
 
I'm frugal with water, but it's been so dry I've had to use some. I usually water late at night so as to minimise evaporation. I'm also wondering how to get rain in tubs and also recycling the water from the washing machine. I need some gizmo from getting it from the drain to to some kind of storage.

I think we'll all need to review how to manage water. I must look into ways of helping preserve water in the soil. Mulching works to a degree, but I wonder what other possiblilities there are?
 
I have radishes aplenty right now and some lovely lettuces. I even have two hazelnuts forming on a small tree I bought last year. I've planted out a marrow (1st time growing this!) and have some baby bear & summer ball pumpkins on the go. I've winter leeks growing in a tray for planting out. I've sweetcorn started up indoors, but how they'll do in this rubbish weather is anyone's guess.

I've really noticed that the cold weather is slowing down growth. Anyone else experiencing this?
 
a few pics would be nice lads, anyone got such a thing as a curved raised bed? Im hoping to put one in over the summer.
 
Is it possible to eat the leaves of Beetroot and also the young leaves of cauliflower?

I also planted potatoes in a shaded part of a garden beneath a tree. The plants are growing verry leggy. Will this be a problem?
 
BOXtheFOX said:
Is it possible to eat the leaves of Beetroot and also the young leaves of cauliflower?

I also planted potatoes in a shaded part of a garden beneath a tree. The plants are growing verry leggy. Will this be a problem?
Click to expand...

Yes to both Beetroot and Cauliflower leaves



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Have your potatos flowers yet? Have you earthed up? Potatoes can go leggy if as they search for light, but at long as you earth up properly I wouldnt see much of a problem. If they have started flowering you could have a little look to see if there's anything under the soil
 
Thanks Ronan. I think I will try out the beetroot leaves but leave the cauliflower ones for the moment as there is little information about. I am not sure what "earthing up properly is". What I have done is add shovel fulls of topsoil around the growing potato stalks as it grows. My potatoes look as if they are growing out of the top of a small volcano. My potato leaves are in some cases two foot high at this stage and I am having difficulty keeping the sides of my volcano high enough. How much earthing up does a plant need?
 

Cauliflower leaves are perfectly edible. Earth up spuds as much as possible. I wet soil and pack it with my hand to keep the volcano as stable as possible. Don't let them dry out and feed as well. You can use a potato feed or just use some well-rotted manure and some chicken pellets watered in. Top soil shouldn't be needed unless the soil is generally bad - it's the most expensive too.
 
Tip for my eco and recession minded gardenin buddies. Boil up rhubarb leaves and use the water to spray against aphids. It contains an acid that kills em. Avoid spraying when bees and useful insects like ladybirds are around.
 
Was late getting started as sowing and planting only started mid May and continues now...

I have celeriac, parsley and cabbage plants growing and red & white onion sets in...
Seedwise, I have sowed carrots, spring onions, beetroot, rocket, lettuce, turnips and sweetcorn (not hopeful on the corns!!)...
Have another bay nearly dug and manured, so any suggestions for this time of year plantings?? gratefully received...!!

Also, even though I sowed carrot seed and there is nothing appearing out of the ground, I have alreday covered with fleece...is this ok or shoudl I wait til growth appears ??
 
tripmeup carrots have a long germination period so it might be a while and the cold weather doesn't help. My carrot results have been patchy so far. Be careful of weeds too.

As for you're new bay ( is this a patch ? ) You have lots of options, but grow what you will eat. A quick growing and very tasty veg is Pak Choi. Basically a fast growing cabbage with a mild taste, and often in stir-fry's. It over-winters well too. If you have a good hot windowsill/green house, bring on some winter leeks for late planting. Do check you buy winter leek seed, and not the ordinary ones. You could also do the same for sprouts/caulies, or buy some already started. Swiss chard is another of my favourites. It overwinters well and is very tasty. You might also try some Chinese cabbage. I've grown it this yr (seeds from Lidl) and it will last well into winter by all accounts. Also consider more beetroot as it's nice to pick your own thro winter.
 
Horusd,

Thanks for the reply…

In terms of the carrots, am I ok leaving the fleece over them so, even though no sign of growth yet?

Yes, the “bay” I refer to is another patch in the garden…(my veg garden part is on a slope so I have a path down the centre and 3 separate bays at different levels on each side enclosed (for support) with planks left over from my house build!!)
Pak Choi sounds good as I have had it before and really liked it…When you say overwinters well, I presume yiou mean it can be left growing on upto November or so...?

Where is best to seek “already started” plants like cauliflowers, sprouts etc?
The garden centres around me dont seem to stock much Veg seedlings for some reason...
I have some beetroot seed left so will use that up too…

Thanks again
 
We got our partly grown cauliflowers from Woodies. Our peas our filling out nicely but not a huge crop...maybe it's a bit early yet.
If successful this year I am going to set up a second vegetable patch just for potatoes and sacrifice some of my lawn area.
I have access to wood chippings. Would these be useful to place around vegetables to retain water etc or would they harbour pests?
 
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