Kitchen Garden Forum

Thought it was due...

Just managed to get some ground dug over, ready for a new sixty plant Strawberry bed, before the heavy rain started.

Too wet to garden today, pottered in the greenhouse and ate a cob of sweetcorn for my breakfast and that's it for the day.

Nothing done at lottie today as rain came in earlier than predicted & still hasn't left. I was hoping to go down & prune the grape vine as it's got too much foliage on it to allow the sun to reach some of the bunches. I will do that tomorrow when down & replace the membrane path as rocks have worked their way up & worn holes in it. This part time works lark has found me with all the beds & paths weeded, but after the incessant rain today I'll be back at that soon.

Distinctly autumnal this morning. Yesterday's rain was welcome - my new rain gauge tells me we had just over half an inch yesterday and all the water butts are full. Isn't it irritating that the rain didn't come when it was most needed? Still, it's greening up the grass gently and steadily.

Does a sudden change (drop) in temperature cause tomato skins to split? . I've been watering mine regularly so don't think it was necessarily that which is causing my problem but it seems to be happening across all varieties

I've had a few tommies split too Primrose, I put it down to temperature swing, still have a few with green backs after the heatwave too, they're alright cooked.

Some of my tomatoes have split as well, these were grown in greenhouse ground & hanging baskets, out side in pots, on allotment with care and just let them do there own thing.

Found gardeners delight very poor.

I read on face ache this morning that fried green tomatoes taste great anyone ever tried them when green

I don't believe a word posted on Faceache, even if I were to post it myself...…………………….

Don't be too critical of 'Faceache', please: I have recently joined our local village page and it is proving very useful in warning us of sheep on the road, problems with newspaper deliveries, recommendations of trades people, sales of children's toys and books, lost pets etc etc, so much more instantaneous than the monthly parish magazine.
A beautiful double rainbow on Friday provided a stream of excellent of photos, too.

There is plenty on FB if you get off your main feed, that is the most annoying one for me - as much as I like my friends I'm not interested in their babies tooth and get insanely jealous when they post holiday pics - well initially until I see there are 60+ pics!

Try searching gardening, crochet, geology or whatever else you have an interest in & take your choice. I like these most as hear & see how others are faring around the world as that is what FB is best at, it's world wide.

As for green tomatoes robo, they must be pretty tasty as they named a movie after them. I saw the movie & as I recall they looked like big beefsteak toms done in a crumb which probably has herbs & stuff in it. I'm sure there are plenty of recipes on your preferred search engine! Off to 'face ache' soon to check the allotment site (most boring site ever as can't post) but heard there was a bit of an upset at the lottie show with cupcakes winning best in show - not sporting is the talk as nothing on it was from the allotment! Just want to check they are spectacular cupcakes with a bit of rhubarb or berry!

I got a phone call from my mate who is looking after the chickens and pollytunnel while we are away ,tells me something is eating my tomatoes he said there isn't one with out a small round hole in them

Slugs or snails probably, although I'm having trouble with earwigs on the ones on lottie and they start as a hole initially until the whole family moves in. I take them off the plant and put them a bit away to entice them to the one they have already tasted to save the ones they haven't found. It has been pretty successful to date.

A sudden emergence of lots of small tortoiseshell butterflies today! I assume they are the second brood, following the few we saw in June's warmth.

We have had an explosion of butterflies, Peacocks and Red Admirals mostly

Makes you think of Christmas.....

It will probably only be Monika that's thinking about this but, I have just potted 100 prepared Hyacinth bulbs for forcing and ready for Chrismas.......it really doesn't seem a year ago I was doing this job...