Mid-summer Bits and Bobs

[oldherbaceous]

Anyone tucking into Mr Fothergill's Courgette Zucchini...not very pleasant apparently.

[Primrose]

I once put A trailer load of very fresh manure on a large area of freshly dug earth in the middle of a heatwave. By golly it really stunk the garden out and as you can imagine I was not too popular with the neighbours for several days. As Monika says, if it's mature and well rotted the smell should have disappeared.

[vivienz]

I planted Mr Johnsons courgette 'gold didn't and it's been a prolific cropper, far heavier than the standard green zucchini. Not that the green one isn't working hard, but gold rush is terrific. My generate broccoli is still going well, too. I've been giving it regular feeds of tomato food and the side shoots are still coming.
I had a cut work problem in my raised beds and lost quite a few young brassicas and lettuce to them so watered in some nematodes a couple of weeks ago and it seems to have done the trick.

[Cider Boys]

Due to all this shut down (and I hadn't bothered to order any seeds) I've had to put up with what seeds my sons have bought me. I've always grown Black Beauty courgettes from Wilko and like them but this time I've grown Johnsons All Green Bush and they have grown well but cook too mushy and watery for my taste. I have just lifted some more of my potatoes with my old potato fork but the ground is still very dry so not a great yield but they taste very nice. I just wish that I could remember what variety they were.

Keep digging
Barney

[Geoff]

Have you got one of those masks with a hole in for sucking cider?

[Cider Boys]

No Geoff, but it sounds like a good idea. I have not made cyder for a few years now and lost three good old trees recently but thankfully was able to take some scion whips from them a couple of years ago and graft them on M25 rootstocks. Whether I'll still be around to make cider from them is another matter.

Barney

[vivienz]

My greenhouse tomatoes are ripening! They lost their labels very early on this year but I can say for sure that quite a few plants are the Yellow Delight that came with KG magazine. They are very beautiful toms and tasty too - I picked the first one that was just about there yesterday. My first marmande is starting to colour up and I have a few normal red ones from an unidentified variety given by a neighbour. Although the donated plant is incredibly vigorous (it has been nicknamed 'the beast'), the toms are a bit woolly and don't have much flavour, which is a shame.
My straw bale aubergines are doing well, too. I bought a packet of mixed variety seeds from Lidl and got great germination. They're a mix of green, white, purple and shades of greenish purple. The white ones are diminutive and by far the biggest plant is the deep purple fruit.
I'm thinking about taking a chance on sowing some more runners and French beans as it looks like my outdoor purple mange tout are coming to their end which will free up a bit of space.

[Stephen]

This article entertained me.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/11/allotment-hobby-lockdown-lifeline-trade-deals-britain-food
I disagree about feeding the 5,000. Allotments are great fun and make an impact on my grocery bills but more than anything it is about a better diet, fresher food and a really enjoyable hobby.
Allotments are not going to provide flour, cereals, milk or cheese, (a few will provide eggs) but mine is brilliant for vegetables and soft fruit.

[Westi]

I was happy that when lockdown came & I could go down regardless! It was the same as norm - bemoaning the birds, rats, mice, mole & slimy things & cursing a fair bit! Persistence pays & funnily our waiting list has not gone up very much! I think the emphasis has switched to home growing in a pot!
vivienz - first & last year for the hay bales on the plot! Mine are outside not in the tunnel - alive is all I can say! But not willing to waste space in the tunnel to repeat the experiment but could be better in the green house at home as plants are in pots as too much builders rubble in the soil to dig out!

[Claire65]

This article entertained me.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/11/allotment-hobby-lockdown-lifeline-trade-deals-britain-food
I disagree about feeding the 5,000. Allotments are great fun and make an impact on my grocery bills but more than anything it is about a better diet, fresher food and a really enjoyable hobby.
Allotments are not going to provide flour, cereals, milk or cheese, (a few will provide eggs) but mine is brilliant for vegetables and soft fruit.

But wouldn't it be great to be completely 'off the grid' when it comes to food supply... not sure that's even doable without owning a huge lot of land

[Primrose]

I agree. We,d probably be eating a pretty unbalanced diet if we had to rely on our allotmentS or garden plots to feed ourselves. I know these made a big difference during the last war where all foods were in short supply but we have a much bigger population now and certainly would never be able to provide all the things like wheat, diary and meat that the country requires.

I think Dairy particularly has suffered greatly in recent years because so many dairy farmers have gone out of business - hardly surprising when many were actually selling their milk at a loss so consumers could buy cheap milk in supermarkets. Ni key benefits from this type of economy in the long run, especially those who end up losing their livelihoods.

[Elmigo]

not sure that's even doable without owning a huge lot of land

Most of us have almost completely empty and flat rooftops, just hinting here

The rental houses here don't allow anything to be placed on rooftops, mostly because it's dangerous. But if you've bought a house yourself, why wouldn't you? It just requires a little careful calculating masses and weight. House owners probably know the maximum support weight of their rooftops.

If only I could, I would!

[peter]

Believe it or not these are first earlies, Foremost, baked.

20200720_193613.jpg (2.49 MiB) Viewed 2570 times

[Geoff]

Great crop of beans.
We've been baking and chipping Rocket, better than they are boiled.

[Shallot Man]

I once put A trailer load of very fresh manure on a large area of freshly dug earth in the middle of a heatwave. By golly it really stunk the garden out and as you can imagine I was not too popular with the neighbours for several days. As Monika says, if it's mature and well rotted the smell should have disappeared.

May late Dad always said breath in deep, it will put hairs on your chest.