Archive for Brassicas
March 23, 2007 at 3:50 pm
· Filed under Brassicas, Greenhouse, Progress
In the last post I said I’d upload some photos - so here they are below. They do illustrate how much there is to be done.
Some work has been done though since the last post. The digging has progressed so the area started (Plot C) is now almost finished and some of the old branches and cuttings have been cleared away from other areas.
The weather over the last week has been almost winter like again - snow, cold winds so that hasn’t helped persuade me to work in the garden.
Some of the broad beans are now showing through in the greenhouse and I may finally sort through my seeds and go to the garden centre to stock up in the next few days.
As a postscript - some of the produce from last year - the chillies - finished drying only a few weeks ago and are now stored ready for use. We had so many that the majority were actually given away. We have used some so we know they are good.
Photos:
Plot C - digging started
On the bright side - lots of plants for composing….
What’s left of the Brassicas (Plot B)
They will need to come out soon
Bean Plot 2006 - some Beet left (Plot A)
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March 12, 2007 at 7:19 pm
· Filed under Brassicas, Greenhouse, Progress, Uncategorized
Well at last I’ve managed to do more than just wander round the garden. Though not much so far…
So far this year we’ve had pretty mild weather with only one day of snow and a few frosty nights so I don’t think many of the bugs have been killed off. In fact, looking at what is left of the brassicas there are still whitefly on the leaves. Speaking of which, I managed to scavenge a helping of broccoli the other day from the plants and even some of the cabbage plants look edible. There are also sprouts left so maybe we can eat a bit more before they all come up.
The only real effort so far has gone into trying to keep the rats out of the compost heaps - they were becoming a bit too frequent visitors. So, I’ve had to empty two of the containers and fit wire mesh underneath which should hopefully do the trick. One more container to go though, still the emptying and refilling gives the contents a good mix which helps them rot down.
I have managed to start digging the section earmarked for beans this year, though only just, and planted a couple of trays full of pots with broad beans in the greenhouse a few days ago so they should be up soon. It would have been better had I got more done in the garden but better late than never!
I’ll add photos when I get a chance.
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December 8, 2006 at 12:28 am
· Filed under Brassicas, Greenhouse, Uncategorized
Well, we haven’t had a frost more or less since the last post and the weather has been relatively speaking pretty warm. We still have Fuscias happily flowering as well as some Nicotianas - ridiculous for December really.
As far as the veg garden is concerned it has been tidy up time. The runner beans, netting and supports are all down now and I’ve picked all the peppers in the greenhouse and taken the plants out as well as the tomatoes. I’ve also pruned the grapevine in the greenhouse so it is looking pretty empty now. There were so many chilli peppers that we had to give most of them away, and the rest will have to be dried.
The brassicas are still producing bits of broccoli and we had one of the cabbages last weekend. The sprouts are growing but still quite small mostly, still I suppose they will be tasty come Christmas. I’ve taken away the CD bird scarer system and the netting round the brassicas - the only pest around now is whitefly, one of the drawbacks of it still being so warm.
I pulled up a few carrots as well last weekend which while small were mostly ok. I’ll just have to hope that the parsnips have grown to a decent size - I haven’t really investigated yet.
There are still some salad bits growing, some lettuce (small) and rocket - even if we don’t eat them the guinea pigs will I’m sure.
I’ve pruned some of the shrubs but there are more to do - and, of course, the hedges. Just to illustrate how warm it is - I had to mow the lawn the other day!
Next of course comes the digging and more tidying up….
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November 10, 2006 at 5:55 pm
· Filed under Brassicas, Greenhouse
Again it’s been a while since I posted anything and frankly there isn’t much to say as I haven’t had time to do much in the garden. However, I have taken some photos which are posted here.
I have been taking down the climbing peas and runner beans - but it is a tedious job so it isn’t complete yet. The next job after that will be to give the areas a bit of a dig over as they are pretty weed infested now.
Some things are still growing , just about, there are some carrots and parsnips as well as partial rows of rocket and a few beet plants. The lettuce is just about hanging on though there are only a few leaves that can be used.
The one pepper plant outside the greenhouse has peppers (chilli) that amazingly are still ripening and turning red.
The brassicas are much as before, a few bits of broccoli, sprouts appearing though still mostly small and the cabbages probably with leaves worth eating though we haven’t tried yet.
Inside the greenhouse the tomatoes have just about had it, a few still ripening and worth picking (I picked a few today) plus both sweet and chilli peppers ripening - we used a few in a stir-fray last weekend so they are being useful.
Meanwhile, the grass has still been growing enough to need another cut and of course the hedges still need cutting.
Photos Taken in October):
Tomatoes for compost….
End of tomatoes - but the pepper is still hanging on
Peppers ripening in greenhouse
View of runner beans with lettuce (note the fallen pears)
The beans are ready for removal and the lettuce is struggling
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October 13, 2006 at 10:51 pm
· Filed under Brassicas, Greenhouse, Progress
It’s been quite a few days since I’ve posted - but quite honestly I’ve had no time to do anything in the garden since the last post - even though there are loads of jobs that need doing.
Autumn has really set in though with a foggy morning today, but we are still getting quite warm and sunny days between the rainy ones, the plants aren’t fooled by the sun though and are starting to die away. The tomatoes outside are looking sad now and almost ready to be pulled up. There are a few tomatoes trying to ripen. Also the peppers outside are trying hard to ripen.
The lettuce is still growing just about and we can harvest some leaves now. The other seeds (beet and suchlike are growing very slowly and look as though they aren’t going to produce anything useful.
The brassicas are still ok of course. Some broccoli still being harvested, the sprouts beginning to grow and some of the cabbage looks as if it could be worth harvesting. Whitefly is the current pest but too late to do a lot of damage now.
The climbing peas have had it and although there are lots of beans left on the runner bean plants despite our harvesting, most of them are too old and tough now so I think they will be for the chop soon.
In the greenhouse things look a bit more lively, still tolmatoes ripening and the chilli and sweet peppers are ripening fairly well - we may even harvest some of them this weekend.
The hanging baskets will need taking down soon as the flowering has just about finished, and all the fancy irrigation tubing packed away ready for next year. And of course the hedges still need doing, as does the grass - again. Ho hum - I just hope I find some time.
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September 21, 2006 at 11:03 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas, Greenhouse, Progress
Well - it’s like the middle of summer - 28 degrees C today! Both greenhouse roof-windows fully open (they are on automatic openers) - if this doesn’t ripen up the peppers in the greenhouse I don’t know what will. It has been warm all week really and looks as if it will continue - though not quite as hot.
I haven’t had the opportunity to do much in the garden just recently, but on the whole the crops are coming to an end. We still have plenty of tomatoes, though many of them are splitting so if they aren’t collected and used quickly they go mouldy. The peppers are coming on and one at least of the sweet peppers is ripening (though it has been attacked by something), and several of the chilli peppers look pretty ripe.
Plenty of runner beans also, and we ate a load of them last weekend as well as some mangetout peas from the second lot that was planted. The first few plants have given up the ghost now so need pulling up.
As well as the peas and beans we had some broccoli as well and there are still a few bits and pieces for this weekend but a lot had gone to flower. There is some hope that the brussels will produce - I can see little buds appearing now. Some of the cabbages look as if they may be worth a try this weekend.
The salad leaves are probably too far gone now, but there will be a few carrots to pick. The parsnips are growing well, though to judge by the thinnings they will need to get a move on if they are to be a reasonable size by Christmas (traditional roasted with Christmas dinner).
The beet and spinach seedlings look as poor as they did before - but the lettuce do look pretty close to being harvestable now.
Meanwhile there are plenty of other jobs building up - the lawn needs cutting again, hedges still need doing and I have ignored the weeds pretty much since getting back from hols but I really will have to tackle them soon…
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August 7, 2006 at 11:49 pm
· Filed under Brassicas, Greenhouse
More variable weather recently, but still sunny and hot most of the time but at least we’ve had rain at times.
Looking at the brassicas recently I noticed more than the odd bit chewed out of leaves but some leaves had been effectively ’skeletonised’ - and on inspecting closely I could see caterpillars - and lots of them! (see below). So the only solution was to pick them off manually and throw them well away (the toads and frogs will get them) - and I’ve now had several clearance sessions and I’m still finding more. Interestingly they seem to be attacking the brussels sprout plants preferentially, the broccoli less so and the cabbage hardly at all. They also seem to have been moving from plant to plant ‘mob handed’ judging by the fact that on some well chewed plants I couldn’t find a single caterpillar. They are of course ‘cabbage white’ caterpillars, though I haven’t identified the precise species.
Caterpillar attack!
Apart from that there is an attack of white fly on the brassicas, though not very serious.
Meanwhile, the harvesting goes on, tomatoes ripening by the dozen, lots of runner beans and still some french beans and a few ‘mangetout’ peas.
Ripening tomatoes - these are outside the greenhouse
The area previously for broad beans has been weeded and forked over ready for some planting - I have some lettuce seedlings that need to go in as soon as possible. The old lettuce plants have all pretty much gone to seed, but there are still leaves that can be harvested. The last of the first row of carrots have just been harvested (small but tasty) and some of the old mixed salad leaves and rocket have been composted now. Some new rows are up but not yet ready but there are still some of the older rows producing.
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July 30, 2006 at 9:38 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas, Greenhouse, Uncategorized
Still pretty sunny, though we’ve had some showers and the temperature has dropped during the last couple of days. The showers meant that I didn’t have to use the hosepipe every night though.
Today was a big harvest day for our meal tonight, so this is what we collected:
Peas - supposed to be mangetout, but most had been left too long so had to be podded
French Beans - some getting rather too big, but about a pound or so of these
Runner Beans - again, some which were quite old and so a bit stringy, at least a pound of these probably close to 2 lbs
Carrots - several, only about3 or 4 inches long for the longest and a bit affected by carrot root fly I think.
Broccoli - several heads, not very big though (how do commercial growers get such big heads of broccoli?)
Most of the above wnet into a stir-fry with noodles and chicken. Some of the beans are left over - probably to be frozen.
In addition to all the above, the brambles (blackberries to you southerners), are ripening fast and I picked around a pound from our hedges without even having to stretch much.
And of course the tomato plants are producing several ripe tomatoes every day as well - mostly from the greenhouse plants. Soon there will be a massive number ripening - even the plants outside are producing now as a result of the sunshine - but I shouldn’t complain….
The rows of mixed leaves and rocket that were planted first have been pulled up and added to the compost - the newer rows are just about ready but are being attacked by something - probably caterpillars.
Also, I’ve started to clear the weeds from the patch where the broad beans were now, so hopefully can get something planted there soon.
Some of the brassicas are being attacked by caterpillars I suspect, mostly the brussels sprouts curiously, but they should survive.
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July 23, 2006 at 11:17 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas, Greenhouse
Yes - the last harvest from the broad beans today and they have all been pulled up now. The beans harvested weren’t all in the best of conditions though and many have had to be ’shelled’ post-cooking as the skins are so tough.
The end of the broad beans - waiting for the compost bin
The next question is what to plant in place of the beans? I have some spinach and beetroot that may be worth trying, and some more salad leaves but I’m still considering the situation.
Meanwhile, the weather has been hot and sunny, apart from yesterday when we had some serious thundery rain, so no need for the hosepipe in the garden tonight.
We all had to pitch in to harvest the blackcurrants during the last couple of days - and they are already being used to make ‘yoghurt ice-cream’. I guess we must have had several pounds from 5 bushes (they are reaching the end of their productive life though).
The last batch of blackcurrants harvested today
More harvesting - tomatoes (mostly olive type), french beans, runner beans and some broccoli today.
Broccoli and runner beans harvest
The cabbage look like they are nearly ready, some broccoli (see above) and the brussels plants are big but no sign of sprouts yet.
Meanwhile, almost all of the lettuce are bolting but there are still leaves that can be used and the new seedlings are nearly ready to be planted out so there shouldn’t be much of a hiatus (and the guinea pigs are still enjoying lots of lettuce).
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July 12, 2006 at 11:42 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas, Greenhouse
Well - now we are back to hot sunshine again so it needs a few gallons of watering each evening to keep the greenhouse and growbag plants (and hanging baskets) going.
We are still working our way through the lettuce - though one or two are ‘bolting’ now - still they provide extra greens for the guinea pigs so they aren’t wasted.
Lollo Rosso Lettuce - eaten shortly later….
The radishes are producing - well some of them at least and the rocket and ‘mixed leaves’ have come on so much that they are flowering now - so a new row of mixed leaves has been planted and I’ll plant some more rocket as soon as I can.
Some of the radishes - two are ok, but one certainly isn’t!
The broad beans are producing tasty beans which we eat hot with hot dinners and cold with salads - though I’m still fighting off the aphids.
Our first picking of broad beans - about 10 days ago actually
However, a couple of weeks ago I noticed some holes in the leaves of tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse which puzzled me. Then a couple days later I noticed that the remaining brassicas in the greenhouse were extremely ‘chewed’ and on closer examination I found the culprits - caterpillars (see below). So after examination of the ‘butterfly’ book they have been identified as from ’small white’ (sometimes called ‘cabbage white’ because of their fondness for brassicas). Up to now, I have found and removed about twenty from the greenhouse. They haven’t affected the peppers much though and small peppers are already to be seen on the plants.
‘Small white’ caterpillar from greenhouse
More lettuces and peas have been planted in the greenhouse so we’ll see how they come on.
Meanwhile the hedges are growing……
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June 30, 2006 at 11:19 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas, Greenhouse, Progress
The weather has been fine for a few days and has been sunny for the last couple - predicitons for the weeked are for sunny weather throughout. Amazing, considering it is week 1 of Wimbledon (it did rain on the first day though). So it is officially strawberry time - though only from our corner shop as I don’t have any growing in the garden (just a few alpine ones under one of the hedges).
Harvesting lettuce is still in full swing - I’ll have to start selling them at the front gate soon we have so many that are ready. Looks like we’ll have a good meal of broad beans this weekend as well. Enough radishes to put into our salad tonight as well. The carrots are growing well but still very small, I’m still thinning them out as well.
I’m still fighting the black fly on the broad beans and runner beans, both using the hosepipe and simply rubbing them off - I can’t eliminate them but they are under control.
The pigeons seem to have been kept off the brassicas, but have discovered my salad leaves which have been severely pecked. So CD protection for them has been erected. If only the fox which keeps appearing at the bottom of the garden would eat a few of the pigeons - I’d be in favour of it being around, all it seems to do is to dig holes though.
I’ve just been watering and weeding the last few days but will need to be taking some action soon - planting more salad plants and some more peas, maybe this weekend if I get time.
Meanwhile, in the greenhouse and growbags the tomatoes are coming along - more and more visible and some serious support needed for some of the plants. In the greenhouse they are over 5 feet tall and I’ve had to take some leaves off to make it easy to get in the greenhouse. I’m feeding them with tomato fertiliser regularly now. Flowers are appearing on the peppers now so hopefully soon there will be actual peppers.
And there are still hedges to cut…..
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June 21, 2006 at 11:42 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas, Greenhouse, Progress
It's back to showers and wind - as well as some sun now. I've had several good goes at the aphids on the broad beans now - both with the hosepipe and with the fingers/cloth - a really messy job as well. I seem to have removed the most obvious ones at least and especially those on the bean pods, but many pods have been damaged I fear. Still we did manage to have a portion of broad beans with our meal this weeked, even if fairly small ones. More for the weekend coming as well (see pic below).
Broad Bean Pods
As for other beans, the runners have flowers and all the french beans are in (a total of seven plants)
Harvesting lettuce & leaves, including rocket, is now in full swing - most seem to be surviving well, only one has had to be discarded through rot. Managed to harvest one radish this evening - so we are still using shop bough ones in our salads, though probably only for this week. Carrots are coming on and some parsnips are through now. I'll need to sow some more carrots and possibly mixed leaves as well soon. Possibly even some lettuce….
Tomatoes developing on several plants now and watering is essential every evening. No sign of flowers on peppers soon but I'm sure it won't be long (update 22/6 - saw some flower buds today!).
Developing tomatoes - these are 'olive' variety hence the shape
The brassicas look better now, the new leaf growth doesn't seem to have been attacked so maybe the super CD system has been working. i've planted a couple more cabbage plantlings that had been hanging on in the original trays in the greenhouse so I can check if they get damaged.
Below - the pathetic 'row' of peas that managed to struggle up (I suspect I need to add lime….)
A Few peas….
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June 16, 2006 at 11:06 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas
We've had a few days of warm to hot weather now - it was hot last weekend (not good for marathon running as I can verify) and has been warm and humid since and is going to be sunny and hot this weekend.
Well some of the hard work is paying off now - the lettuces and some of the 'mixed leaves' are being harvested as well as some of the rocket - it's very nice having fresh lettuce in our salad - and the guinea pigs seem to appreciate the damaged outer leaves we can't eat. Also the broad beans should be able to provide some eating this weekend, probably some whole pods (they can be cooked like mangetout peas if very young) as I don't think any are big enough to provide beans yet - but….
The beans - both the broad beans and runners are suffering from aphid attack (blackfly) - quite serious on some with not just the tops being attacked but the developing beans as well. So, being organic-ish I've eschewed the insecticide I still have and after a study of alternatives (of which there don't seem to be many) have resorted to blasting them off with the hosepipe (ok as long as we don't get a hosepipe ban like in the SE) and physically rubbing them off as well while hosing - had a good go at it tonight but got quite wet in the process. Still, it does mean they get a good watering as well. It will need another go though and the runners are trickier to deal with as the aphids are around the flower buds, so we'll see.
Above - yes all the black blobs are aphids - a serious attack!
Also, the presumed bird attacks on the brassicas have been quite serious, reducing some plants to just skeletons (see below). So a super CD based bird scaring system has been added - plus netting all around the patch. As I think it is pigeons then stopping them walking in and making it scary to fly in or out should put them off. I'm pretty certain it is birds rather than caterpillars as there is absolutely no sign of caterpillars at all.
Above - serious damage to brassica!
Above - netting and more CDs to hopefully keep the birds off…
Meanwhile some of one row of climbing peas have appeared, though only about 50% or less of the row. The other row (of mangetout) has produced no shoots at all… I think I'll try planting some peas into pots inside the greenhouse to check on germination and to produce some plants to fill in the gaps.
The tomato plants in the greenhouse now have tiny tomatoes - so I am feeding with tomato fertiliser now. The outside ones are not so far behind with the warm weather.
The hedges and shrubs have been growing like mad, so a fair amount of time has been spent trimming them (I've got the scratched arms to prove it), and there is more to do. It's like painting the Forth Bridge - by the time I've got round them all I have to start again.
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June 7, 2006 at 10:32 pm
· Filed under Beans, Brassicas, Greenhouse, Progress
Well after a wet May we're now faced with sunshine every day it seems, so watering has become an evening ritual. I did start to update the blog the other day but suffered from a PC crash just before I was going to publish so I lost the lot. Now I have to try and remember what I was saying then….
The french beans are now all in (as of tonight) - so that's five in place. I did plant some more beans in a pot a week or so ago but they haven't appeared yet.
The broad beans are all in full flower now, so hopefully bean pods soon. It's interesting to note that the beans started in the greenhouse still look better than those planted direct into the ground.
The runners are growing fairly quickly, almost 2m high now the most advanced and I've spotted flower buds on one plant at least.
The brassicas are growing but have been attacked, I suspect by pigeons as some of the leaves have been stripped back and it doesn't look like slug damage (also the lettuces have been untouched - which points something other than slugs). To try and tackle the pigeon problem I've installed my own 'CD protection system' - it's a load of old free CDs strung on string across the bed - they reflect light effectively and put birds off.
In the greenhouse the tomatoes are now flowering, and the peppers coming on quite well, though no sign of flowers on them yet.
Tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse (a few days ago)
Lettuces are ready for harvesting - particularly the ones planted out close to the greenhouse. One or two around the brassicas haven't made it and I replaced those this evening with some of the 'leftovers' still struggling on in the original tray in the greenhouse.
One row of peas have just started to appear today - but the second row not yet.
The short rows of 'mixed leaves' etc are all coming along and I've started to thin out the 'mixed leaves' and rocket. Follow up rows are now starting to appear, though no sign of the parsnips yet.
As I mentioned at the top, watering has now become a daily requirement, with the hosepipe having to come into action (fortunately we aren't suffering from water shortages here yet, unlike the SE of England). Temperatures have been well into the twenties with fairly constant sunshine each day - even through the test match - still I did manage to get to Trent Bridge on Monday - and as soon as I left the wickets fell like rain but don't me started on the English performance….
So we will be starting to enjoy the fruits of my labour in the garden pretty soon - at last.
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May 22, 2006 at 10:31 pm
· Filed under Brassicas, Greenhouse
We're still suffering from rain, showers, wind and low temperatures (only 11deg C today) but there was a dry period this morning and I managed about an hour of work in the garden.
Pressing needs were pepper plants - still in small pots in the greenhouse and all the brassicas still in small pots and seed trays plus lettuces.
Firstly the rest of the pepper plants (a mixture of 'sweet' peppers & chilli) were planted in a growbag and a largish container in the greenhouse - (photo later) - that's about 15 plants - if they all produce I'll need to set up a market stall!
Then the brassicas (cabbage, broccoli & sprouts) in plot B, where some were already in - at least the ground was nice and damp - but the wind is potentially a problem for the young plants - and the plot is now filled up (and there are still seedlings to spare….)
Also, I've planted lettuces around the edges - there was still a tray and half left - by planting them round the edge they will be easy to get at for harvesting without getting in the way of the brassicas - and they will all be gone before the brassicas are full size. I managed to get the half-tray lot in, but the others will have to wait a day or two.
Also, the tomatoes outside are now all big enough to want canes for support and a ties to hold them in place - so I managed to get that job done (see below).
Oh and the last few runners are outside ready to plant (8 of them I think) - they are surplus really but I can plant them along the S edge of plot C - there are supports there ready for beans from previous years - seems a shame not to use them. The dwarf French beans are just coming through now in the greenhouse
Apart from the veg I planted some nemesia seedlings in a container (which already has a some nicotiana and a couple of nastertiums planted) and got one of the hanging baskets 'hung' outside the kitchen.
And managed to top up the bird feeders (seed & peanuts) as well….
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