Kitchen Garden Forum

The title says Summer Bits and Bobs but for me it might aswell be Autumn Bits and Bobs. It's raining like the summer is over and there is not much sunshine anymore. I might even have to put the kiwano, cucumber and melon back indoors! If we don't get a bit of sunshine soon, I'm afraid some fruits may not ripen properly. I'm praying for the peppers too! Let's hope this summer takes a turn for the best.

I know what you mean about the weather Elmigo. Early this morning there was a distinct feel of autumn in the air here although it,s warmed up since then. It,s strange isn it? When you're used to being outside and monitoring temperatures and seasons you begin to feel a little like the herds of wildebeests in Africa where they lift their heads up into the air, sense and sniff the changes and start gathering to migrate.

My peppers are still outside against the house wall and bearing lots of small fruits but I may have to start covering them over with some fleece or a net curtain at night just to protect them feom the dropping temperatures. We may be lucky enough to get an Indian Summer towards the end of this month or in September but it's noticeable now how the evenings are starting to draw in and it's getting darker earlier.

It's really dark in the mornings now, when I get up.....

Well OH, you get up very early compared with some of us !
I feel quite a lazy sloth when I crawl out of my bed at a more civilised hour and see some of the times you've been doing your early morning emails .

Yes Primrose, that is exactly how I've been feeling! Our instinctive animal senses don't play around, they feel what's about to come. Or so I like to believe It definitely feels different from the past couple of weeks with daytime temperatures dropping from 40°C all the way down to 20°C over a period of just a few weeks.

The weather report said showers! Well technically, right but they went on & on! I was in & out of the shed lots for cover. Tidied a bit of the shed while sheltering but then a huge spider popped up so risked the outside! Yep wet & cold but got the last of the summer raspberries cut down & even managed to mulch 1/2 the bed as well! Another plot holder as mad as me & digging, told me until the end of August this is what to expect but September will be mild & dry! Methinks I'll wait & see, I don't disbelieve but heard it all before & the proof is in the pudding as they say!

Wondering what is the benefit of growing sunflowers, do they do anything for the soil or is just for fun of growing them?

Colin, sunflowers produce very tasty seeds after flowering! The seeds on the outside have a hard shell but the inside of it is edible. They can also be used in various recipes. They sell them at the local market near my place. They have a stall for nuts and seeds and they sell sunflower seeds too. I always buy a small bag and it's gone before you can say the word "sunflower". And then comes regret, regret for not buying a larger bag

Thanks Elmigo, sounds like a good alternative to peanuts.

Rained off here today after having 2 loads of free wood chipping dropped at home this morning, rain game down after second trip to plot.

We always grow huge sunflowers, both in stature of the stem and the circumference of the flower, but unfortunately, the seeds never ripen or grow large enough for human consumption. Sometimes the seedheads go mouldy whilst still on the plant but usually the birds will peck them to pieces. When eventually digging them out, I am always amazed how few roots they have and certainly not very deep, whereas the stems are thick and almost indestructible!

This is amazing! Didn't get to sow them this year but last year I had sunflowers with seeds too small for consumption too. Not a big surprise, they were put in small pots on my balcony. There are a few things that I can think of like shaking off all the water after rain on your sunflowers. Moisture introduces mould faster than anything! Next year I'm sowing the largest sunflower seeds I could find. They do need full sunlight. Mould also exists easily in shade and sunflowers love a lot of sunlight! I didn't realize how obvious it was untill I wrote this Anyways, perhaps we can try that out next year as that'd be my first time on real solid land!

I have a few sunflowers, partly for decoration partly for the birds.

I,ve grown them in the past, mainly for decoration because Itoo have never had any successful attempts at harvesting them for seeds, and have occasionally left the usually moulding heads for the birds. I think for edible seeds you really need a hotter climates like Spain Or Italy.
Of course we always have competitions for children too, I.e. Grow the tallest sunflower but they often fall victim to heavy winds or you cant find a stake tall enough to anchor them.

Personally I love the seeds and often sprinkle a handful on my breakfast muesli or on top of ice cream if I want something crunchy.

This year is whizzing by, first preseason friendly against Old Albanians today.

All the way from Albania? (What happened to the young ones?)