Kitchen Garden Forum

Same here Retroants, I have been out there but, soon came back in again....looks like I will be working all weekend again, so glad I got on top of my own allotments, as it looks like they will be neglected for a couple of weeks now....

Had a Blightwatch warning yesterday and another one this morning. Not sure whether I should plough through the garage looking for my spray gear or risk it.
Anybody else had one? My tomatoes are all outdoors.

Monsoon season is in full swing up here, only gardening that can take place is in the greenhouse, luckily everything is growing well, tomatoes just starting to flower now, sweet corn is growing fast as are the butternut squashes. Picked our first Cayenne chillies from a plant that I overwintered in the conservatory, this years sowings all have fruit, but no where near ready for picking just yet.

tigerburnie wrote:... Picked our first Cayenne chillies from a plant that I overwintered ...

Really? I never thought peppers were perennials! I know tomatoes are but overwintering is a bit more difficult than just sowing seeds again next year. Our Cayenna and Jalapeño peppers are just starting to fruit now.

So basically if you do overwinter the peppers you get earlier harvest the next year? And do they produce just as much?

A bit of a strange question but, why are dish cloths meant to be better than a flannel? I did a bit of washing up this morning and couldn't find where Cook keeps the dish cloths, so used a flannel....seemed to do the same job...

It's the first chillie plant that I have overwintered, basically it seems to be around a month ahead of my other plants, but it has been rather badly hit with whitefly and is looking a bit sorry for it's self just now. I don't think this same plant will be kept for a third season, but I may repeat the exercise with another plant next year.

TIger, I,ve often tried to overwinter chilli and pepper plants after hard pruning them back late autumn when I bring them indoors and change a little of the compost. . Yes they have flowered earlier than newly sown plants and produced some fruit but in the end they always seems to fall victim to whitefly and the more plants ai have indoors the quicker the whitefly spread. I,ve tried spraying them thoroughly under the shower but nothing has really kept them at bay long term so I tend now to sow fresh in early February every year now.

Just popped out in the rain to get some pictures, better than a thousand words...………
This years Cayenne

This years Hungarian Hot Wax

Over wintered Cayenne

and the fruit from it


so the plant does look sickly, I thought this might have been down to me and my in experience, this has been soaked with a spray of washing up liquid and water, seems to have removed the whitefly. I shall see how it goes before deciding on the over wintering later

The other day my plot neighbour turned in in big convertible good job it was sunny.

Anyway he got the strimmer out great I thought he's going to clear his plot at last, well 20 mins or so latter he left after cutting 2ft weeds down to half size not even at ground level let alone clearing the weeds he had cut.

Colin, he probably got a warning to work the plot or lose it - token gesture & no intent of planting, but the stuff they cut & paste into the warning letters are not specific enough. I have a similar situation on the plot 2 down - doesn't cover the brassica's & runner canes no more than 4' tall. Trying to keep the plot in memory of her husband who could grow, but he is probably finger wagging at her from above. Shoves stuff in but gets no crops & only comes down about once a month.

You could be right Westi.... no sign of anything planted though unless you class the carpet laid down beginning of the year.

Does the tartan frighten the aphids? Would bagpipes work better?

I'll try the bagpipes, frightening is perhaps not quite the word I would use though lol.

I was keen to go to the 'lottie on Friday as the dun shone but the undergardener had other ideas.
Yesterday in a meeting all day, now looking after my father.
But I bet plenty has grown!