Kitchen Garden Forum

Elmigo wrote:

retropants wrote:Elmigo, maybe they are having a little rest?

Perhaps, I would be tired too from all that running!

With the intense showers today and high wind forecast for tomorrow (here in Hertfordshire), the mention of tying up the sunflowers reminds me that mine have several feet of growth above the last tie.
Something to get out and do before the breeze gets up.

Well, I now have a lovely vase of sunflowers and dahlias - found broken off in the garden, due to the horrendous winds. But at least the power stayed on.

Not too much damage here, apart from my tall Zinnia's for cutting, they have taken a bit of a battering.

Good drying day, if only my washing remains pegged to the line!

Wondering if my beans are starting to forecast my lucky Lotto numbers ?
Does anybody know what causes these deformations?

We have picked this weekend to come away for a week ,I've spent the day up to now trying to stop our caravan awning blowing away I think I'm winning but only just and the wind is forecast to get stronger before blowing itself out

Good drying day, if only my washing remains pegged to the line!

15.5 mms and counting! Might beat the 29.2 of yesterday.

robo wrote:We have picked this weekend to come away for a week ,I've spent the day up to now trying to stop our caravan awning blowing away I think I'm winning but only just and the wind is forecast to get stronger before blowing itself out

I hope you have saved your awning. I don't know what it's like up the road at Dinas, but here in Chwilog the wind has dropped to a gentle breeze despite the forecast for strengthening gusts through the next few hours. Looks like all we'll get is a bit more showery rain.

It's blowing a hooli here and forecast in till midnight I hope it drops off

Lottie Show today, complete with squally showers & mega gusts. I was pretty chuffed, I managed to enter 6 classes & got 5 cards, (no firsts), but cheered me up no end after the poor start to the season, especially the highly commended for the Runner beans - they (or rather birds & mice) were quite a challenge & I was concerned I might miss out on a crop completely!

Not as chuffed with the wind damage, the late sow fingers crossed, runner bean frame was down. Stakes holding the netting over the brassicas were blown out of the ground & blown around a fair bit afterwards, fortunately all landed between crops not on them, but plastic netting torn where it was blowing loosely. Tomorrow I shall be re-building the runner frame from scratch & collecting up & sorting the masses of windfall fruit to salvage what I can, but trees still holding lots so OK! It is still gusting big time currently, so I could be banging in the stakes again as well!

I have been quite lucky, the wind caught only two out of my half-dozen sunflowers, which I restaked and dug back in.
Meanwhile, the dwarf french beans are absolutely delicious! (Opera from T&M) also they are cropping heavily. I'll do more of these next year.

Primrose wrote:Good drying day, if only my washing remains pegged to the line!

Wondering if my beans are starting to forecast my lucky Lotto numbers ?
Does anybody know what causes these deformations?

Irregular watering as far as I know.

Today I got injured when trying to remove some dead kiwano leaves. On older parts of the plant these hairs become less and less soft. Me being completely unaware of this grabbed the kiwano stem and it felt like I grabbed a cactus! Deciding to grow it next year? Be aware that kiwano originates from a desert so it will behave like that too. Luckily, the hairs wash off your skin very easily with some cold water from the garden hose.

Despite the lack of sun at the moment, summer gives us some amazing fruits and vegetables! I didn't believe they would grow as last year all the cucumbers died. It was my first attempt. This year they do very well and grow fast in a short period of time, just like our unexpected kiwano

I like to hold the pictures next to each other. You can really see the similarities and differences here.

It,s lovely to see the progress of everything Elmigo. I think your balcony experiments have given you a good grounding for when you move into your new garden which will obviously bring different challenges and experiments.
Incidentally that melon looks as if it's coming on steadily. Have you decided yet at what stage you're going to pick it. Is it the only fruit on the plant?

Yes it's the only one as the plant dropped all the others. I think to put all energy into this one melon. Some people on this website and other places taught me about the tendrill next to the melon, it has to be brown and dry when it's time to harvest. I'm waiting for it to get to this point.

It doesn't lay on the ground, otherwise I could have looked at the bottom for its color to be ripe enough. Next year will be our first year on real solid land with new challenges. Probably a lot more weeds and animals!