Kitchen Garden Forum

I'm sure he will have been talking about leather jackets, or could it have been cut worms!

Horridly windy here today, the young brassicas are almost bent at 90 degrees. When it gets a bit quieter and drier, I must bank up some soil against the stems or they will really get blown clean over. Luckily, all the fleeces have stayed on the protected plants (early potatoes, leeks and celeriac), but they were anchored down with great rocks!

Dear Monika, have you planted out your Cleriac already? I started mine off earlier this year, but i don't think they are quite big enough to plant out yet.

OH, mine (variety Monarch) were sown on 12 February in the house, pricked out into a small roottrainer tray on 12 March in the slightly heated greenhouse, then hardened off and I took them to the allotment and planted the whole tray under double fleece. They are about 15cm tall and quite sturdy. So I hope they will be ok. When the weather improves I shall plant them out individually.

Thank you for the reply Monika, i think mine will be ready in about a fortnights time, but they do look strong little plants at the moment.

Just dug 2 lbs 9 ozs of Swift potatoes (possibly a couple from the second root) so well pleased. Hope the visitors coming for a meal tonight are well impressed, I've never tasted this variety, mind they are getting strawberries as well so should be.

Morning Geoff, Swift aren't the best tasting earlies, but they are still far better then any you can buy these days. I'm sure your visitors will be very pleased.

Dry and warm from Wednesday onwards, we are told! So, hopefully, will get a lot of gardening done. The last three days have just been too wet and windy to do anything outside.

One of my new plum trees split right in half with the wind, i must admit i'm quite upset by it.

Evening OH,
I've lost a young plum tree aswell due to all that wind, so I know how you feel
It took me ages to pick it and was quite expensive ....but am waiting on the arrival of new grandson anyday, so will replant one in his honour

Dear Donedigging, i've always said there is always good news to match the bad, so i'm very pleased to hear you good news. Although i do find it hard to believe that you are old enough to have Grandchildren.

Dear OH,
You are such a silver tongued old fox
Hope you can replace your plum tree

Well the meal went well. Pleased enough with the flavour of the Swift. Managed roasted squash, parsnip and shallots as well as the last of the purple sprouting and peas from the freezer so quite a selection of our veg. Weren't quite enough strawberries but they made a fine pavlova with some mango and a sprinkling of our blueberries from the freezer.
The strawberries we have been eating are from six of the Malling Centenary that I had trouble getting delivered and that I have been growing in the polytunnel in 1 litre pots. Flavour and texture are really encouraging will have to see what the outdoor six produce but they are not growing very well.

Gardeners are advised either to spray their plants with a solution containing the drug, or to soak the seeds in an aspirin liquid before sowing.

The drug is particularly effective at warding off blight, a devastating fungal disease that can wipe out an entire crop in days.

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The two forms of the disease - fusarium and verticillium - are particularly common after wet summer rain, and can strike swiftly with spores spreading on the wind.

A recent study by the US Department of Agriculture, found that the use of an aspirin spray, which can be made at home, resulted in a 47 per cent reduction in blight.

Salicylic acid - the active ingredient in aspirin - creates 'systemically acquired resistance', priming the plants against microbial or insect attack, according to a study published in the Annals of Applied Biology.

The substance is effective in fighting disease in the nightshade family, which includes potatoes and tomatoes.
The drug is particularly effective at warding off blight, a devastating fungal disease that can wipe out an entire crop in days
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The drug is particularly effective at warding off blight, a devastating fungal disease that can wipe out an entire crop in days

Another study, by scientists at the Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences in Iran, found salicylic acid to be a 'potent plant hormone' which substantially boosted yield.

Simply spraying the foliage or soaking the seeds in an aspirin solution led to greater growth, and higher vitamin C content, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences.

James Wong, gardening presenting for the BBC, told The Independent on Sunday that plants should be dosed with a water-based aspirin solution when heavy rain is forecast.

Rebecca Brown, professor of plant sciences at the University of Rhode Island, recommends adding 250 to 500mg of aspirin to around 4.5 litres of water and spraying plants two or three times a month.

She warns that the solution is only effective before the first signs of blight.

For organic gardeners, she suggests using willow water made from fresh-cut trees.

'Willows are naturally high in salicylic acid,' she told Fine Gardening magazine.

If your tomatoes do get blight, you will soon know about it.

The plant leaves and stems will begin to rot, shriven and collapse.

Brown patches will appear on green fruit and mature fruits will rapidly decay.

Once the plant is infected there is only one solution, according to the Royal Horticultural Society.

Pull them up and dispose of them. Do not compost, because infected spores can survive and pass the disease on to next year's crop.

Instead, put them in the bin, or even better, burn them

And the day just gets better......