This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[gentlegreen]

Tidying up for me today. Getting the last of the ornamentals out of the greenhouse and potted up so I can get stuck into the irrigation system for my sixteen eek 14 litre buckets. The cucumbers are producing already, and though I've been slack at removing male flowers, they taste OK to me and the seeds don't seem overly developed.

Meanwhile, the most pampered beans in the UK are in the seed cabinet with bottom heat at a constant 20 degrees C.

If I get the irrigation right, at some point my focus is going to be on how to dispose of vast amounts of tomatoes and peppers. In the past I've grown so carelessly that it really wasn't an issue. Perhaps I ought to go and buy a secondhand freezer ....

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Im pondering whether the seeds from the butternut squash I just diced up will grow if I plant them.... any ideas GG??

The net says june is the right time to sow

 

[gentlegreen]

There are such things as F1 squashes.

There wasn't a variety written on the label by any chance ?

 

[gentlegreen]

I'm knackered and hot.

Time to switch to the front of the house and fix my bike ...

 

[Dan U]

i got given a strawberry plant in a hanging basket but i haven't got anywhere to hang it.

its been sat on a chair trailing off the side but now the fruit is really going for it.

if i put it on the table on top of straw will it matter if the strawberries rest on the straw while they are growing/ripening?
also how do i know when i can eat them? one has just gone red, do i wait for it to fall off?

ta, a novice

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

There are such things as F1 squashes.

There wasn't a variety written on the label by any chance ?

nah just "aldis value 49p"

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

i got given a strawberry plant in a hanging basket but i haven't got anywhere to hang it.

its been sat on a chair trailing off the side but now the fruit is really going for it.

if i put it on the table on top of straw will it matter if the strawberries rest on the straw while they are growing/ripening?
also how do i know when i can eat them? one has just gone red, do i wait for it to fall off?

ta, a novice

if its red and gives slightly under your fingers ( not soft, not hard) then its ripe, just pick it off. straw is the best thing for strawberries to rest on outdoors to keep them from rotting into the soil

 

[Dan U]

thanks. no straw at my local garden centre so bought some special 'mats' to sit them on on the table

 

[gentlegreen]

I watered the whole lot this morning - all 16 buckets.

Short of buying two more watering cans and a back brace, I'm going to have to get my irrigation sorted.

Unfortunately last winter left some holes in the hosepipes I left outside ...

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

giza rundown GG.... whats in the pots in your pic?

 

[gentlegreen]

Left hand side front :- three Italian heirloom peppers :- one pointy one, one slightly less pointy one for stuffing, one rouded, dense one ...two aubergines .. the the same three peppers again.

Back :- two mini cucumbers - another southern European one - already producing maybe one a day - purely because I was being slack in nipping off the male flowers .... which I thought I had to do based on general principles (in other varieties it makes the fruits bitter) .. luckily I checked the seed packet earlier to see what size to pick them .. and you're supposed to leave the males on .. these are more like gherkins ...which is why I chose them in the first place - hopefully the half dozen male flowers I picked off this morning will be replaced in time ..

Right hand side :- three "Gardener's Delight" tomatoes - maybe superceded by super-sweet cherries, but I'm old-fashioned .. which also explains the three Alicantes.

No Chillis - I'm not that keen. I may have a look out for something mild to try next year.

The Okra plants front left are probably going outside. They're sulking and one of them has greenfly, the other has weird bleaching ...

In the middle is my brugmansia - which I was worried about because it was being nibbled and I'd found a vine weevil .... the green catterpillar has been moved to where my Blackbird forages. then

 

[sheothebudworths]

I have my first tomato growing on one of my pound shop Alicantes! Woohooooo!

Even better - one of the others, that I grew from seed - has just started flowering too. It's the other one I put in a raised bed, so think I'm going to try planting the others into even bigger pots if they don't catch up soon....

Also lots of courgettes starting (biggest one is prob 3" or so - but still a bit skinny )! Got shit loads of mange tout/peas and more flowers coming, dwarf beans have been flowering for a bit and I even have a solitary bean or two on my fucked up broad beans.

Lots of pak choi, lettuce and spinach too - It's almost getting to that point where it's actually hard to use it all.

Netted in my rasps and put two early and two late psb seedlings into the main bed yesterday too....no more space there, now!

 

[BoatieBird]

Lots of pak choi, lettuce and spinach too - It's almost getting to that point where it's actually hard to use it all.

I find this is a really useful website if you've got loads of veg and you don't know what to do with it!

http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes

I'm eating radish with every meal at the moment - apart from breakfast, which is ironic as they're french breakfast radishes. Do the french really eat radishes for breakfast?

 

[felixthecat]

I find this is a really useful website if you've got loads of veg and you don't know what to do with it!

http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes

I'm eating radish with every meal at the moment - apart from breakfast, which is ironic as they're french breakfast radishes. Do the french really eat radishes for breakfast?

I'm currently eating a salad containing home grown radishes, assorted lettuce, mangetout, baby carrots and spring onions.

I'm feeling quite clever and self satisfied as well as healthy

 

[aqua]

a mini little harvest for me too it was a bit PINK themed though

pink spuds, pink radish (should have been red but left too long) and a single strawberry!

 

[gentlegreen]

I had a peek at one of my hi-tech runner beans this morning.
Planted on Saturday in peat pots in my seed cabinet with bottom heat.

Nice shoot going straight down.

I reckon I'll be able to make up for lost time and also have them going outside at a slightly slug-proof height.

They're a swine to keep decently moist though ...

 

[fogbat]

Hooray - back home after two weeks on hols. The plants on the roof terrace have literally doubled in size. I'm not even exaggerating

The squashes are looking monstrous already - one of them had started throttling one of the chilli plants. I've got 3-4" courgettes already, off of plants that were tiny when I left.

Well chuffed - almost balances out the disaster that was the holiday

 

[johnnyjonjonjo]

Hi gardening people of urban, this is my first time growing vegetables

Here's a photo of my first ever tomato, grown from some B&Q seed kits



I'm very proud

And here are my pepper plants which are just beginning to get tiny fruits too



Something's eating my tomato leaves though



I decided it was spider mite by looking at pictures on google but then I inspected the leaves and wiped the undersides with a damp bit of tissue and I couldn't see any bugs. I know they're supposed to be tiny but I've got excellent eyesight and nada.

Any other ideas, or confirmation?

 

[Melinda]

Hurrah!

After all my worry, my 'ailing' cherry provided over 3.5kg of fruit today! And there is still a lot left on higher branches.



Harvesting them was a bit of an adventure! I took insane risks to pick the fruit from the most accessible of the inaccessible areas. I did a Tarzan, swinging from one branch to another, resting my feet on the crown.



I climbed along branches until they bowed! At one stage I hung my ladder from a hefty branch, the bottom of the ladder was a foot off the ground! Then I climbed it vertically- all was well until the ladder slipped further onto the branch and suddenly Im prostrate on the ladder at a 45 degree angle.

It as worth it- the fruit is beautifully ripe and sweet juicy, despite some still looking slightly yellow- a day with a banana will sort out the colour.



The pink a vest top had a knot tied in it and was hung by the straps high up in the canopy. Easier than dropping the fruit into the bowl on the stepladder alongside the big main ladder!

 

[Melinda]

And here are my pepper plants which are just beginning to get tiny fruits too

That is regimented! I take my hat off to you!

 

[free spirit]

how come everyone's getting tomatoes growing already? it's not fair I planted mine well early and everything...*throws rattle from pram* got lots of flowers mind, and I succumbed to the lure of some old tomato feed that I noticed on a shelf, so I'm expecting a veritable feast of tomatoes in a week or 2.

btw, am I right in thinking that the tomato flowers need to be polenated by bees before they'll actually turn into tomatoes? I've seen quite a few bees around the flower gardens, but not seen any near my tomatoes, specially not the ones indoors

also, how does one know when it's time to start digging up some potatoes? last year I knew because I worked away for a week, came back and the plants had died, so I took that as a sign, but this year they're looking mighty fine still, and starting to flower... I'm thinking about gradually starting to dig them up from one end, but is this me being impatient again ?- they were earlies that got put in around march time. I've come up with a cunning plan to dig in some manure, then reuse the ex-potato space for some overwintering sprouts etc. I've got no room for elsewhere you see.

wave 3 of the lettuces has just been planted as well as I've only got 15 lettuces left, and they're well tasty. My cunning plan to intercrop lettuces and leeks maybe wasn't so cunning after all though, as the lettuces have totally crowded out the leeks, which were mostly just about hanging on in there underneath the lettuce until I gave them a helping hand to reach the sunlight today.

first peas, and mangetout, with loads of spinach for tea today...

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

I planted mine well early too and despite having a south facing garden the only things Ive eaten so far have been lettuce, parsley and one solitary strawberry

My peppers are like 2 inches tall.
Lots of flowers appearing on my runner and broad beans, the courgette plants are really growing well and the cabbages need planting on before I can go to glasto

 

[free spirit]

I planted mine well early too and despite having a south facing garden the only things Ive eaten so far have been lettuce, parsley and one solitary strawberry

My peppers are like 2 inches tall.
Lots of flowers appearing on my runner and broad beans, the courgette plants are really growing well and the cabbages need planting on before I can go to glasto

if you don't quite manage to get them planted in time, and need someone to go festivaling in your place I'd be happy to oblige

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

errrrrrrrrrrrrrr not a chance

 

[Strumpet]

I have been given some little cucumber plants and tomato plants. Eek! I will be begging for info. soon

 

[free spirit]

errrrrrrrrrrrrrr not a chance

drat, foiled again

 

[gentlegreen]

Something's eating my tomato leaves though



I decided it was spider mite by looking at pictures on google but then I inspected the leaves and wiped the undersides with a damp bit of tissue and I couldn't see any bugs. I know they're supposed to be tiny but I've got excellent eyesight and nada.

Any other ideas, or confirmation?

A toughie that one.

It looks fungal ...

Hopefully some minor thing.

 

[gentlegreen]

how come everyone's getting tomatoes growing already? it's not fair I planted mine well early and everything...*throws rattle from pram* got lots of flowers mind, and I succumbed to the lure of some old tomato feed that I noticed on a shelf, so I'm expecting a veritable feast of tomatoes in a week or 2.

btw, am I right in thinking that the tomato flowers need to be polenated by bees before they'll actually turn into tomatoes? I've seen quite a few bees around the flower gardens, but not seen any near my tomatoes, specially not the ones indoors

You really do need insects.

You can pollinate them yourself if they really aren't setting.

Commercial greenhouses buy in bumble bees or use vibrating devices - though I think I would use a paintbrush.

 

[citygirl]

Commercial greenhouses buy in bumble bees or use vibrating devices - though I think I would use a paintbrush.

Oh I dunno, I'm thinking a vibrating device might be quite fun.....

 

[gentlegreen]

oops !