This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[Leafster]

dp

 

[eme]

I am growing caterpillar type creatures; any clues as to what this beast is?

It appears to enjoy rolling up the leaves of my plants into tubes and covering them in cobwebby stuff... pretty indiscrinate as I've found it on a few things, but reckon it started in the lupins [gives them evil stare]

 

[BoatieBird]

My first radish!!!! I haven't eaten it yet.

Eat it now and tell us what it tastes like!

 

[wtfftw]

I've got some pots outside with various things in. I've not killed anything yet but squirrels have. Any advice on putting them off? They're digging my fragile herbs up.

 

[invisibleplanet]

I don't know what to advise re. squirrels. Where I am, they leave me presents of trees (walnuts and oak and one unidentified plant, possible an almond) - they've never dug plants up (not yet anyway).

 

[Leafster]

I've got some pots outside with various things in. I've not killed anything yet but squirrels have. Any advice on putting them off? They're digging my fragile herbs up.

When I planted some crocus bulbs last autumn I read in several places to cover the area in wire mesh to stop the squirrels. Perhaps something like that might help? Incidentally, I didn't bother putting anything over my bulbs and I only saw a squirrel trying to dig them up once.

 

[BoatieBird]

Doesn't chilli powder stop the squirrels from nicking all the bird nuts?
Might work on plants too?

 

[wtfftw]

I should google really.

There's plenty of flower beds but the local squirrels seem to prefer pots. They bury nuts and dig up plants in the process. My neighbour feeds them which doesn't help. Another neighbour told me to keep them quite damp.

 

[invisibleplanet]

I could send you some baby walnut trees to balance out the bad squirrel/good squirrel thing if you like, wtfftw

 

[invisibleplanet]

Took advantage of Thompson and Morgan's half-price seed offer (ends midnight tonight) and ordered lots of seeds:

Courgette Zucchino Tondo di Toscana;
Tomato Pomodoro Cuore di Bue; Tomato Pomodoro Rio Grande;
Spinach Spinacio Viridis;
Bush Bean Fagioli Nani Splendido (Borlotto Bean); Climbing Bean Favioli Rampicanti Corona (Spagna Bean); Climbing Bean Fagioli Rampicanti Eden;
Cucumber 'Cetriolo Marketer'; Romaine Lettuce 'Bionda Lenta a Montare';
Beetroot 'Kahira' (Egyptian Flat Rooted); Swede Helenor ; Turnip Atlantic; Squash Potimarron (Winter); Carrot Nantes Frubund Fast Crop;
Cornflower 'Blue Diadem'; Nigella damascena Oxford Blue; Campanula ramosissima Meteora; Eryngium leavenworthii; Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica;
Sage; Rosemary; Parsley Prezzemolo Gigante d'Italia;

 

[invisibleplanet]

I've got some pots outside with various things in. I've not killed anything yet but squirrels have. Any advice on putting them off? They're digging my fragile herbs up.

Could you give the squirrels a pot all to themselves with nothing in it but earth? They might then choose that to bury their nuts in, instead of your plant-dwelling pots.

 

[Me76]

Eat it now and tell us what it tastes like!

Sorry for the delay.

At first munch I was disappointed as it was really watery but then it left a lovely strong peppery after taste. Yum.

I am going to do some harvesting at the weekend and some re-sowing.

 

[tarannau]

Nice flowers foggy. I'm loving my Bolivian Rainbow for much the same reason - beautiful purple flowers on a pretty plant, almost enough to compensate the gf for the overspilling windowsills elsewhere. Highly recommend Filius Blue and Fairy Lights as right lookers too.

Seeing as everyone else is at it, here's a couple of shots from the (still worryingly large) house collection:

the kitchen ornamentals: Prairie Fire, Purple Flash, Super Chile

(f) Cheeky - a habanero-berry type with a pert arse cleavage effect (b) wiri-wiri!

Loads more all around, but I'll spare you more chilli geekery. The greenhouse plants are looking fantastically large too - it's been a good year so far.

(Foggers - last call for those Trinity and Scorpions. Growing too large to hold in small pots or travel)

 

[invisibleplanet]

Three of the fifteen cobra beans I planted on Friday (I think it was Friday) have pushed through with their leaves and their attached beany .. the others will follow tomorrow and the day after

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Got a really good deal on bareroot strawberry plants (Mara des Bois, the best tasting strawberries EVER!) and I'm putting them around the garden for a bumper crop for next year.

My Tayberry 'Buckingham' has fruited and the fruit is lovely.

 

[invisibleplanet]

Just got back from the garden centre. Managed to get some v. cheap potting compost 'damaged' bags, 2 bags just under 70l for £2 each and also 125l for £6. Bought 30 more 8ft canes for the next lot of climbing beans; plant labels; organic vegetable feed; 10 herb plants; Rosemary, Purple Sage, Eau de Cologne mint (trailing); thyme; alpine strawberry x 2; hyssop; and 3 others which I can't remember right now

Time for a leisurely coffee, then out into the garden until sundown for me

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Eau de Cologne mint tastes horrible but a tied bunch of it under the hot tap of a running bath is great A glorious scent. Roots ridiculously easily in a glass of water.

 

[invisibleplanet]

Thanks Mrs M! I think I might take some cuttings tomorrow, and then plant up my butcher's sink, as that's quite moist compared to other areas in the garden. The strawberries are there at the moment, but I think they need to be moved.

Here's one of my pansy pots:

And the coriander:

And one of the marrows/courgettes (you can see one of the cobra climbing beans that germinated 2 days ago in the bottom left corner of the foto):

And here's another marrow/courgette plant with three of the cobra beans that have just germinated (just watered, hence the pooling around it):

And one of the tomato plants:

 

[invisibleplanet]

Radish (two types)

 

[invisibleplanet]

The okra have germinated (but it will be a late harvest in October for these):

The lavender which I planted in November as mini-plugs are ready for moving out:

One okra plant will go in each of those tubs ^^ when I've emptied them of the 60 or so remaining lavender (there were 84 mini-plugs originally, but around 20 didn't survive the frost/heavy winter). The lavender are going into the front garden to create lavender hedges, flanking the path to my front door and giving me something to run my hands along on my way out/in

Okra have a long tap root and can survive spells of drought (so probably fine for tubs). This is the first year I've grown them, so it's a bit of an experiment! Found a lovely website here with growing tips: http://www.digthedirt.com/contributions/4311-Eight-Tips-For-Growing-Fantastic-Okra

 

[dilute micro]

nice pics

 

[invisibleplanet]

nice pics

Thanks! As are yours ... where did you get your pots from - they're beautiful, especially the black one

 

[Badgers]

We went on this Growing food in the city course at Walworth Garden Farm on Saturday. It was really really good!!

 

[BoatieBird]

nice pics

Seconded.
This thread needs more pics!

I might even get round to posting some myself later.

 

[invisibleplanet]

Yeah, more pics!

I'm looking at that expanse of blue wall in the background of my tomato picture and thinking it needs a wall-basket with flowers, instead of the rather miniscule night-light holder ...

 

[dilute micro]

Thanks! As are yours ... where did you get your pots from - they're beautiful, especially the black one

Oh they were made in Mexico. I got them at Home Depot.

 

[invisibleplanet]

Oh they were made in Mexico. I got them at Home Depot.

I like them, but have no idea where that store is ... I'm on a budget so am using anything I can get to grow things in atm (recycled compost bags, florists-buckets which I picked up for 5p each, old buckets with holes in ... )

We went on this Growing food in the city course at Walworth Garden Farm on Saturday. It was really really good!!

That does look good! Tell us more!

 

[Badgers]

That does look good! Tell us more!

It was great.

10:30 till 16:30 and was totally free.
Only 8 people in the class and it covered all the basics in a really good way, from seed to harvest.
We all got to take away a large planter with a variety of veg and herbs for our garden too.

 

[wayward bob]

:welljealous: ip

 

[invisibleplanet]

:welljealous: ip

I don't want to be jealous bob! I want you to ... to ... try it for yourself and show your pics

This is the perfect time for sowing climbing beans and a whole host of other things.
Did you have a look at my little blog?