Kitchen Garden Forum

We haven't had as much rain as most of you, and still have a hosepipe ban on the marsh

The parsnips are looking great this year. I'm growing leeks under debris netting tunnels this year, to see if it helps deter the dreaded leek moth.

I have been picking carrots, cauliflowers, broad beans, peas, french beans, potatoes, cabbage, swiss chard, strawberries, raspberries, and tayberries.

Everything is looking good for the rest of the season. The weeds are growing well and the slugs are the biggest ever

1. The weather still isn't getting any better.
2. Most of my plants are not growing well because of it.

Well, in theory, two negatives make a positive, so does this count as a "positive" contribution to this thread?

One of my Maris Pipers has developed seedballs

VPM
x

If you squash a potato fruit you'll see the family link to the tomato and smell why the French name is so appropriate, provided they're ripe-ish.

No cabbage whites around the brassicas - but this is also a negative as not much of anything on the wing. Fortunately the self sown poppies I leave around have tempted some bees.

Back to the positives I hate squishing caterpillars!

Westi

My 'bendy' carrot always lightens any conversation that's sent into the direction of, "Whats happening with his growing-food-project.

This, 'being-positive' lark is just about getting me down. Any chance of good moan ?

I just went into town for a bit of shopping, the French-type green beans are still coming in from Egypt and Kenya. It's ten degrees outside, NNW 8 knots which probably means eight degrees inland, it's foggy, raining and low-cloud drizzle.

Don't we usually get UK french beans by now and wouldn't they normally grow in most peoples gardens ?

Mine are only just flowering and the first tiny beans are starting to grow. Have faith Richard

VPM
x

P.S. Being positive can be depressing to start with but you need to push through the pain

My local weather station has 7 degrees, today ranged from 6 to 9 , yesterday 1 to 15 , with an inch of rain in last 24 hours, typical
winter here in my part of Oz ! I seriously sympathize with your
summer, I expect it will cheer up for the Olympics.
My positive things are that hubby is going to build me a proper
support thingy for peas this year. Peas are his green "thing", but
I only have a back yard. I am happily picking spinach, silver beet
and coloured lettuces to add to my evening plate. Also tonight
we had parsnip number eight for the year, roasted. My new mastery
of parsnip is entirely due to reading KG and we both love them,
so thank you team !!

Hi hzbzsz (hope I've spelled that correctly)

Welcome to the forum. Good to see someone from the other side of the world. Look forward to seeing more of your postings.

Presumably with temperatures like that you are in the south.

vegpatchmum wrote:
P.S. Being positive can be depressing to start with but you need to push through the pain

Thank-you, i'm inspired.

Seven degrees in Oz ? I never imagined anywhere in Australia to get down to seven degrees.

I just looked at my largest bean plant and yes, it has tiny beans but the plant is so-so small. I've been so determined not to let my few failures beat me I now have 28 plants, eight that are surviving the raised-bed soil and poor weather, ten young plants in 50/50 peat and peat-free pots and another ten just poking their heads up also out of 50/50 mix. The early failures in peat-free i'm convinced failed through over-watering because I just didn't pay attention. I still have some chilli plants in peat-free, sulking but not failing. Presumably sulking for want of nutrient but i'm waiting for a sign because i'm guilty of over-feeding.

Positive again.

Keep the faith Ricard with an H!
I've had one good picking of dwarf french beans ( well, plenty for 2 of us, daughter doesn't like them).
Have had 2 large green chillies and there are loads more to come.
Broad beans are coming thick and fast and have had to defrost the freezer in readiness (actually, that's a negative I suppose, not a job I enjoy).
Baby beetroot and 2 types of carrot have been enjoyed.
Getting sick of lettuce but the slugs are enjoying it!
Considering that my beds are surrounded by water I think I'm doing ok.
They are not raised beds as such, but more like mounds about 10ft x 5ft.
Husband says it looks more like a burial ground.
Chillies are in a plastic greenhouse by the way, I'm not that good.

Thats very interesting Jude. (It's Richard to you)

I mentioned mound planting but no-one responded, I have dug-up a ten foot by three foot strip of soil and composted it. The digging process has produced a mound, whilst I would like to surround this mound with eight-inch high timber to created raised bed but I ran out of money for this year.

Presumably planting in the centre of the mound produces better drainage but you can only plant in the middle of the mound whereas if it was a raised bed you can plant to the edges but need more soil.

Yes ?

I have a few southern hemisphere - many from Australia - blogging friends who seem to be having better weather than us. They're planning their winter cropping which includes lots of things that we grow in our spring/summer!

Hi Richard

I tried mounds a few years back but they were unsuccessful. They were fairly flattened but raised from the surrounding paths. It was a better summer (memories ), and I found the soil dried and compacted then when I watered it washed the soil off into the paths anyway!

The following year I went for little channels around the edge of lower beds to capture the water as it ran off thinking the plant roots would find their way to the edges to keep moist - better but I over estimated the will of the plants and the ones in the middle were not as happy. Now I just mulch everthing but still have my little channels thinking water was too valuable to have run into the paths.

Now I'm thinking if I re-instate my raised mounds they can be the paths and I can create paddy fields maybe!

Westi
PS hzbzsz - tell us where you are from? When I lived in Charleville it would freeze the water in the hose overnight (complete with lizards to thaw out next day) but days were warm and sunny so everything thrived with protection but parsnips definately didn't like it!