This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[sheothebudworths]

I have peas growing!
I hadn't even noticed but my daughter pointed them out yesterday....bundles of them!

Lillies, Petunias and Alliums (Bulgaricums out - Drumsticks on the way) in bloom too.

Still not hopeful for my MELONS LOL

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

have signed up for landshare after seeing it on river cottage last night so fingers crossed someone will offer me some land.... have planted some more peas straight into the ground as the peas were sparse on one side of the trench and plentiful the other.... hmmm fingers crossed they grow

Im told its not too late to plant leeks so Im gonna have a go later maybe

 

[Melinda]

I have peas growing!
I hadn't even noticed but my daughter pointed them out yesterday....bundles of them!

Lillies, Petunias and Alliums (Bulgaricums out - Drumsticks on the way) in bloom too.

Still not hopeful for my MELONS LOL

Photos! I wanna see your melons. This thread needs more photos.

Boo to your peas, not one of my elderly seeds germinated.

Neglected everything this past weekend- had a look this morning and there is one potato flower plus weeds galore.



Otherwise herbs, beans, courgettes onions and cucumbers are doing ok. My pak choi is getting ready to bolt.

 

[sheothebudworths]

These are three least poorly ones - still not terribly well though <sigh> plus OTHER STUFF!

 

[sheothebudworths]

I've also decided that the reason none of my strawberries have flowered this year is that I planted the seedlings directly in their compostable pots, which (upon further inspection) still look to be solid around the base of the plants so I think have just restricted them. Or does that make no sense?
They look reasonably healthy (apart from the odd brown leaves on a couple of them) but have just not grown/spread too much.

Am wondering whether I might do best to dig them all up and replant them, or if they really will just flower and fruit next year otherwise.

 

[sheothebudworths]

If anyone can identify the leaf business on melons LOL btw - please do!
Don't know whether I should at the very least break those leaves off (which effectively means chucking the whole lot under the cloche, since I don't think there's a particularly healthy leaf left).

 

[gentlegreen]

It looks like leaf scorch - caused by the lens effect of water on the leaves ... I doubt it's anything that will spread.

Though those watering funnels look ominous with them growing so slowly..

I found powdery mildew on a spare courgette plant. I seem to remember using potassium permanganate on my courgettes one year ...

 

[Melinda]

funnels or she-wees? *strokes chin*

Your courgettes are massive!

Id be tempted to dig up a strawberry to have a look tbh.


Turns out those strawberries which random turned up in my garden are those wee wild strawberries, teeny and intensely flavoured.

 

[sheothebudworths]

I haven't really been using the funnels, tbf!

It is odd though, because like I say all that damage occurred the night I left the cloche/greenhouse open....weird!

Also gg, they were much bigger - but if you recall, just after that had happened I read that I was supposed to have pinched out the tops when they had four true leaves (to grow four melons on each plant)....but I hadn't ......so then I did - which basically meant I removed all the healthy leaves and left all the damaged ones behind a bit of a WTF moment but there ya go!

However - I've just had a closer look now and they seem just to be growing some more healthy leaves instead. Fuck sake - I think I'll just leave them be now hehe!

 

[sheothebudworths]

Id be tempted to dig up a strawberry to have a look tbh.


Turns out those strawberries which random turned up in my garden are those wee wild strawberries, teeny and intensely flavoured.

Yeah - I reckon I will actually (always good to have someone back up your plan though, eh? (((( melons )))) )....


Oh yum with your wild strawbs - very tasty!


I also have to stick some netting up round my raspberries and redcurrants, actually - before the birds get a chance to get em! More canes, then....

 

[Melinda]

Sheo how many courgettes/ squashes do yo have planted out?

And which pic are the peas in? Im so ridiculously jealous! A big piss on your peas (as well as your melons).

Now that REALLY doesnt sound right.

 

[gentlegreen]

I haven't really been using the funnels, tbf!

It is odd though, because like I say all that damage occurred the night I left the cloche/greenhouse open....weird!

Also gg, they were much bigger - but if you recall, just after that had happened I read that I was supposed to have pinched out the tops when they had four true leaves (to grow four melons on each plant)....but I hadn't ......so then I did - which basically meant I removed all the healthy leaves and left all the damaged ones behind a bit of a WTF moment but there ya go!

However - I've just had a closer look now and they seem just to be growing some more healthy leaves instead. Fuck sake - I think I'll just leave them be now hehe!

They seem like fussy bleeders.

Perhaps they got lightly frosted ...

Personally when plants have stalled, I would be inclined to pot up gradually so I have fine control of watering. You never quite know what's going on when you can't turn them out of a small pot occaisionally to check the roots.

My Okra isn't doing much - it's in the greenhouse, producing the odd flower, but no fruit so far as far as I can tell. One of them is really anaemic.

 

[sheothebudworths]

I think I have five courgettes, three patty pan and three winter squash?

Ummm the peas are the big tangly green mess in the main patch, behind the spade.

There's actually sweetcorn in between the 'rows' too - I kind of did it the wrong way round and planted the peas first so the corn's left fighting for a bit of light, but I'm hoping they're going to catch up soon....

There're romansecos and parsnips on the other side of the bed too but you can't really see them...and my early and late PSB seedlings are just about ready to go in at the back.

 

[Melinda]

sequestered iron feed?

Sure its not a magnesium deficiency? The leaf patterns are quite similar Ive found.

 

[sheothebudworths]

This is the thing gg - they hadn't stalled - I'd just left them for weeks after I should have removed all but four leaves, so they spent a long time putting all their energy into the all new leaves!

I think it's unlikely that I'm going to get a crop this year, tbf but it'll probably just make me more determined to succeed next year! I quite like the fact that they're so demanding but tbf, BOTH these fuck ups have been MINE! VERY ANNOYING!

 

[gentlegreen]

sequestered iron feed?

Sure its not a magnesium deficiency? The leaf patterns are quite similar Ive found.

A bit early for that. You're looking for bleaching in older leaves with the veins remaining green.. It looks more mechanical than nutritional.

 

[sheothebudworths]

Could you try sticking it outside in a nice sunny spot and seeing if that makes any difference, gg?

I know it shouldn't, but it might.

 

[gentlegreen]

This is the thing gg - they hadn't stalled - I'd just left them for weeks after I should have removed all but four leaves, so they spent a long time putting all their energy into the all new leaves!

That all sounds a bit odd. To make fruit, you're going to need a lot of leaf area - certainly more than four. Are you sure you read the instructions correctly.

Leaves are self-fuelling in growth - it's their function to convert CO2 and sunlight into sugars.
I can well believe you would want to pinch off flowers or excess fruit..

 

[gentlegreen]

Could you try sticking it outside in a nice sunny spot and seeing if that makes any difference, gg?

I know it shouldn't, but it might.

I'll be out there this evening potting up my tomatoes and peppers into their final pots, so maybe I'll at least move the Okra to a sunnier part of the greenhouse... though they're currently at the end with the cucumbers which I was expecting to maybe give extra warmth by hanging a polythene or bubblewrap curtain ...

To be honest though, the aubergines will take priority - and the peppers in turn over them.

If you haven't already, take a look at the Victorian Kitchen Garden if it's shown again to see just how much effort the Victorians took growing melons...

 

[sheothebudworths]

Oh I beg your pardon - pinching out makes it produce four SIDE SHOOTS which produce the melons! It would help massively if I could learn to read/remember properly.

So it looks like they might actually be doing what they're supposed to - but they're just much, much less developed than they should have been by now.

Will see what happens!

 

[gentlegreen]

7 minutes in :-

 

[sheothebudworths]

Oh it's all so pretty isn't it with his little nets and glass recepticles and stuff!

 

[mr steev]

There's actually sweetcorn in between the 'rows' too

Did you just plant one row of sweetcorn? Or more? It's hard to tell from your pic.

Corn is wind pollinated so it should be planted in blocks rather than rows. If it is just one row, you may want to pollinate it by hand - cut off a stem of seeds and flick it against the silks of other plants.

 

[BoatieBird]

Thanks mr steev, something else I didn't know.
Mind you, only 2 of my sweetcorn actually germinated so I don't think it's going to be that big a problem!

OK, here's some pics.

WE HAZ RADISH

It's amazing what you can get kids to eat when they can go down the garden and pick it themselves!

 

[BoatieBird]

And here's the rest of the veg patch, and my pot of watercress of which I am extremely proud.

 

[sheothebudworths]

Did you just plant one row of sweetcorn? Or more? It's hard to tell from your pic.

Corn is wind pollinated so it should be planted in blocks rather than rows. If it is just one row, you may want to pollinate it by hand - cut off a stem of seeds and flick it against the silks of other plants.

No, no - it's three rows (of 4,3,4) - it's just slightly dwarfed by the peas atm but it is still managing to grow.

Oh Boatie that's LOVELY and neat!

 

[gentlegreen]

I should have asked around here before I planted the sweetcorn at my brother's yesterday.
I was thinking 15 by 15 inches, but the bed dictated 12 by 12 approx - staggered ...

I know that commercially they grow them very close together, with gaps between rows wide enough to do the weeding

 

[sheothebudworths]

I did them closer than is advised.....I reckon 12 by 12 would be about it, with the peas in between obviously!
I'm doing tight planting for everything mind you, just cos I wouldn't have enough room for everything I wanted to grow if I paid strict attention to the rules I am trying and seeing and if there's anything that seems to suffer for it, I'll do it differently next year.
Good to know that the commercial way is to plant close, too.

 

[pennimania]

I went away to Rockness for the weekend and while I was away my tomato fruit have really started to get big!

Annoyingly sheep got into my flower garden (again ) but the junior manias got them out without too much damage.

 

[zenie]

Right so what is pinching out and what do I have to do?