Mid-summer Bits and Bobs

[Geoff]

Perhaps I should go back to a tough old variety rather than Firestorm and Moonlight.

[Monika]

Geoff, it's the first year this year that I have not grown any runner beans - my OH doesn't like them, I prefer French beans and neither of them freeze well. But the Cobra are doing fine, we have had the first picking and there are plenty more little ones on the way (and I have now fed them with seaweed fertiliser). It's just that they have taken their time. They ARE growing in the most sheltered part of the garden, about 6' east of a tall dry stone wall, heavily overgrown with ivy.

[oldherbaceous]

Just shows how areas differ, my Runner beans are doing better than they have for years!
My eldest Son planted half an allotment with wild flowers, earlier in the year and this is covered with Bees and insects...so wonder if this has helped with pollination....

[Primrose]

Like Monika, I,ve not planted any Runner beans this year. My garden growing space is limited so have stuck with CoBra climbing French beans which rarely let me down as they're self fertile and freeze much better than runners As I find as they stay firmer and less squashy. Decent runner beans seem to be rarely found in commercial outlets. When they ARE sold they!re usual too big and tough. One of the advantages of growing your own is that yiu can pick them when they small and tender enough to be at their best. Commercial growers seem to aim for quantity rather than quality sadly.

[Primrose]

I'm rather disappointed this year. Last summer I had loads of self sown cape gooseberry plants popping up in my border from late fruits Which I allowed to drop off and self seed . Last autumn I allowed the same process to occur yet this year I've not had a single plant appear. Sad as I've never had much luck with packeted seed. Just the luck of the draw I guess. Perhaps the last fruits I allowed to drop off and do their own thing did't contain seed which was mature enough to survive the overwintering germination process?

[Stephen]

Like Monika and others, I don't grow runner beans, the undergardener doesn't like them and I, too, prefer French beans.
I grew a dwarf variety "Opera" last year which were prolific and delicious. I'm trying to remember why I bought these but didn't get them in (probably something to do with lockdown) and planted "Speedy" instead. These didn't live up to their name and have suffered a lot from some predation, loosing a lot of leaf early on to either pidlgeons or slugs & snails.

[Compo]

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Front of the plot...

[Compo]

Front of my plot. Largely from freeebie / gift seeds.

[oldherbaceous]

Now that looks very nice Compo...a few flowers, really do give a plot a tremedous lift.

[Westi]

Compo that is beautiful! I usually look forward to the drive down the path to the plot as my plot shines with the roses & dahlia's & self sown stuff out front, but not so much this year! The rose's have proved their hardiness but not the overlap of flowers & buds but a couple of weeks of nought until the new flush. The dahlia's are tiny on one side barely 2'ft when they are usually tall & proud & thriving, everything else has had it's moment & just seed heads & stuff!

Thanks for posting! Gives me inspiration & maybe I will get an Indian Summer - I have noted lots of tiny seedlings - careful weeding so where's there's hope etc.

[Stephen]

We have usually grown a few flowers in the past - love in the mist, sweet peas.
Now we have a little more space, we have put in some extra flowering bits. Cuttings of weigela, photinia and forsythia. I kept the over-large buddleia but it hasn't flowered this year (probably because it was pruned on 1 April when we took on that plot). Also some azeleas, stocks and nasturtiums. Both the azeleas nor the stocks arrived far too late and so small that they are only just surviving.

[Monika]

When we had our 'nectar bar' on the allotment (a long strip of stony ground along a dry stone wall), we deliberately sowed and planted it with insect-friendly flowers like sunflowers, love in a mist, catmint, single pot marigold, salvia, teasels, foxglove and many others, including a large proportion of phacelia. Every spring we just tidied and raked it and most of the annuals and biannual would seed themselves. It looked beautiful in summer! We now have a much smaller version in the garden at home.

[Colin2016]

Hi Monika, love your title "Nectar Bar" do the flowers you use all come back year after year?

[Elmigo]

First year in the greenhouse and a new house with garden. Such a difference compared to the balcony I was living on hot summer days at 43 celcius. Looks like this experimental greenhouse and garden year was great so far.

Those results fill me up with so much joy

Kiwanos, melons, cucumbers...

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[Westi]

Your first year in a proper garden with your wee greenhouse is showing it's results! You must be chuffed & your mind filled with ideas for more next year! How did your pallet garden turn out? Good harvest?