Update on the Trifid farm!!!

[CJS]

Well now, everything outside is doing OK, despite my poor efforts its coming on great, salads are wonderful, discovered 'micro salad' love the flavour. The only problem I have is Radish . . . it just wont swell the bulb?

Tomatoes, Sungold and something called Lilli???, a friend gave me the plants, but could not remember, thought it was 'Lillie' loads of small fruits, 70-80 to a truss??? he says . . . ant ideas.


Runner beans and climbing French beans had our first two feeds this past week.


The vine . . . !!! I have got to do a light leaf prun this weekend, it being to effective as a sun shield I feel?


Aubergines, Moneymaker, romping away, loads of flowers, if they develop into fruit that will be great?


Mellon plant is taking over the ground, loads of flower, not seen any sign of fruit yet, am I being impatient? It is in the center of four more aubergines that I grew from seed called 'Black Beauty', again flowers and beautiful green and purple foliage, I hope they fruit? Got a couple outside down by the toms as an experiment, see if they produce, doing OK at the moment, no flowers yet, to be expected, a bit behind?


Courgettes are giving cause for concern, loads of flower, only a couple of fruits?? Am I doing somthing wron, the leaf stalks a colapsing under thir own weight, cut some off, as they interfeared with other plants.


Weeding and leaf pruning this weekend, cant wait!!! . . . Did I actually say that This is the guy who could not be bothered a couple of years ago. By the way, not mentioned the peppers, fruits are about the size of a lagre golf ball, I presume they will get bigger?
CJS

[oldherbaceous]

Evening CJS, i have to say everything is looking great and a real credit to your determination.

I think looking at the picture of your Cougettes, the problem of the leaves breaking, might be because the plant is not resting on the ground but up against canes.
If you could lay it down i'm sure this would help.

[WestHamRon]

Would "lillie" be "milleflor"?

[CJS]

Evening CJS, i have to say everything is looking great and a real credit to your determination.

I think looking at the picture of your Cougettes, the problem of the leaves breaking, might be because the plant is not resting on the ground but up against canes.
If you could lay it down i'm sure this would help.

OK, mistake number one, I had no idea how a courgette grew, seem to want to grow vertical??? Oh dear . . . not enough room really, would need a total reshuffle, re think for next year??? sink the ring to level and let the plant wander, but its one hell of a plant!!! how much space should one allow per plant, or are there 'dwarf' or less foliate varieties, the leaves are rhubarb size!!! and spiky!!!

CJS

[CJS]

Would "lillie" be "milleflor"?

Possible? I have no idea, but there are masses of flower on each truss, its said to be a yellow cherry variety, does that help?

CJS

[oldherbaceous]

Morning CJS, each courgette will easily need a square yard of ground, and even more if the soil is in good fettle.

[alan refail]

Morning CJS

As OH says, don't try to tie up your courgette. They don't climb; some varieties are bush and will stay compact, others are trailers and will spread along the ground. Yours is probably a bush variety. Your main problem is growing it inside. In a greenhouse/tunnel they will grow to at least twice the size of outside, but will not produce more fruit - fewer if anything as so much of their energy goes into the leaves. I tried a few once in the polytunnel - never again

[CJS]

Morning CJS, each courgette will easily need a square yard of ground, and even more if the soil is in good fettle.

Thanks Oldherbaceouse, Mmm . . . Mistake no. 2 not enough room in the green house??? I will take one up at the weekend, might get away with one plant and ley it over? May need to move a couple of the Black Beauty aubergines as well . . . live and learn . . .

A thought . . . I have a compost heap rotting down fairly well, I could put the courgette plant I take up in the top of that. If I lift the ring carefully . . . got every thing to gain . . . ?

CJS

[CJS]

Morning CJS

As OH says, don't try to tie up your courgette. They don't climb; some varieties are bush and will stay compact, others are trailers and will spread along the ground. Yours is probably a bush variety. Your main problem is growing it inside. In a greenhouse/tunnel they will grow to at least twice the size of outside, but will not produce more fruit - fewer if anything as so much of their energy goes into the leaves. I tried a few once in the polytunnel - never again

Thanks Alan, there you go, my inexperience and enthusiasm gets the better of me . . . I'll try the compost heap method, if it fails is in the right place . . .

CJS

[oldherbaceous]

Dear CJS, please don't concern yourself over one or two mistakes when it comes to gardening, we all still do things each year that can be done better.

Moving the plants is not a bad idea since they are in ring pots, but if you put the courgette onto the compost heap, keep it well watered until it gets it's roots down, as it will be very free draining on top of the heap.
Also give any plant a good soaking an hour or so before moving.

[CJS]

Starting to get a feel of where I am going wrong . . . Courgettes in the greenhouse, no need and they are to vigorous anyway. Aubergines, need to be in the GH but 'black beauty' has a better growing habit than 'money maker', although MM might crop better, if they crop at all, and 6 plants? cut that count by half to 3?

The melon needs more room too. Five pepper plants, that could be cut to 2 or 3 . . . Oh for experience . . .

Of course the reasoning in the mind originally was, I'd kill half any way with my lack of experience . . . and I had not got the heart to dump heathy plants?

CJS

[alan refail]

Dear CJS

Inexperience is the first step on the road to knowledge

[CJS]

Dear CJS, please don't concern yourself over one or two mistakes when it comes to gardening, we all still do things each year that can be done better.

Moving the plants is not a bad idea since they are in ring pots, but if you put the courgette onto the compost heap, keep it well watered until it gets it's roots down, as it will be very free draining on top of the heap.
Also give any plant a good soaking an hour or so before moving.

Thanks for the advise OH, I'm going to be nice and busy on Sunday . . .

CJS

[CJS]

Dear CJS

Inexperience is the first step on the road to knowledge

A long road Alan, and a bit steep early on . . .

CJS

[FelixLeiter]

I think your courgette's suffering from being shaded by the grape, and for being crowded rather by its neighbours. It's a bit spindly and wan for lack of light. Unlike Alan, I have found courgettes to do very well in a polytunnel, for the earliest crop at least, but by now they should be about finished. I grow others outside as overlap. They do need continuous full sun.

I had a greenhouse with a vine in it and for the first three years I was able to grow crops underneath it, but eventually it got to cast far too deep shade for anything to grow. For next year, you might do well to create a bed for growing your crops in at the other end of the greenhouse, in full sun, and put your tools and bits and bobs under the vine, where it doesn't matter that they're shaded. In the old days, with the grand vineries on the big estates, the vine house was good for overwintering plants in while the leaves were off the vine, admitting full light. In the summer, all the plants were moved outside.