This Season's Progress Reports

[Jeannine]

Everything coming along nicely except my roots,I think the manufactured soil is lacking so I need to get it tested. All the cherries from my new tree are finished now, surprised we got about 4 pounds from a tree planted just last year,,Stella is the variety.

Tomatoes are going great guns now, here and there I am getting a ripe one,I think maybe two more weeks and I will be in good production, cukes are already growing at top production.

I have a lovely double flower on one of my Biggie tomatoes so am hoping it grows on well.

r
The trailing courgette I am growing for the group is romping away and I have small fruit on my Hero of Lockings melons now too.

This year I am not pruning my tomatoes, usually I prune indeterminates and of course not determinates . I used to prune indets to I cordon only, very much like I know most of you do, over here  usually there is very little pruning apart from lower leaves and topping, sometime folks prune to two main stems, most don't prune any off. I have done the two stem, this year I am trying the leave alone to see what happens,,well I am hoping too, unless I end up with a jungle which is likely.

[Jeannine]

[cornykev]

Fruit on my Tommies waiting for the sun to come out and ripen them
Five loads of Rhubarb picked
First early Spuds eaten last week
A handfull of Carrots ready to pick this weekend
Winter Onions being eaten now
Beetroot trying to catch up after being resown
Spring Onions coming along
Sweetcorn looking sweet
Cucumbers slow
Parsnips no show
weeds doing well though.   

[johhnyco15]

another week and i think my blueberries will be ready

[johhnyco15]

cut flower bed is starting to produce first bunch today

[johhnyco15]

well with the entertaining end of my 3 plots nearing completion id thought id give you all a peak

[Borlotti]

Beautiful, I have got allotment envy, and I never thought I was a jealous person.  Well done you.    

[Silverleaf]

lupins are going loopy

Nice, I love lupins but always manage to kill them somehow. Perhaps they don't like clay?

[johhnyco15]

did a bit of work on the other two plots today think they were feeling a little left out

[galina]

I also have a hard time with lupins, but usually they do a year or three, but they are always getting weaker.  Tried growing from my own seeds, but that didn't work out too well either for some reason.  Clay soil could be the reason, the other that all my flowers are around the veg patches and the flower areas don't get prepared as well perhaps.  I usually manage to stop the couch grass encroaching and pull the convulvulus, but in the end if the flowers are at all difficult, they won't survive.  Aquilegia and sedum, doronicum and several others always win through and there is always something flowering here in the garden.  Currently the mock orange bush is flowering beautifully and fragrantly. 

The best 'flowers' in the garden at the moment are definitely the peas and I have rows and rows of them.  The pods in all colours also add to the appeal. 

The photo shows a crimson flowered pea.  This is a variety that Silverleaf 'liberated' from a genebank and named Unity.  Great name and super new pea colour. 

[BarriedaleNick]

Broad beans have been a huge success this year - i think the cold and rain has kept the blackfly under control somewhat.
Picked a couple of toms yesterday!
Climbing beans struggling to get out of the grips of the slugs.
Onions are all looking weird - they just haven't stood up as they should and some are curly - no idea what is going on with them.
Cucs, gherkins and squash are slow but Outdoor toms are shooting up with all this rain.

A very odd dreary season so far but at least I havent had to get the hose out yet..

[cornykev]

Digging up spuds as and when
Spring Onions and baby Carrots dug and ate
Carrots resown are getting there
Rhubarb going like a lunatic
Sweetcorn really coming along
Parsnips a no no
Beetroot catching up as are the late going in onions
Winter onions are being picked and eaten weekly
Cucumbers are getting a move on now.

[Silverleaf]

Lovely to see Unity "in the wild" Galina!

I have some Telephone x Unity F2s with crimson flowers. It's such a lovely colour! I have no idea why so many commercial peas have boring old white flowers. Don't get me wrong, I like white, but I like a bit of variety too. :)

Just wait, I'm going to provide the gardening world with loads of different pea colours one day! ;)

[galina]

That's nice progress Corny - but - no peas?

I envy you the sweetcorn progress, mine is just still really struggling, I wish it would start taking off.

[johhnyco15]

cut flower bed  starting to produce well now

[johhnyco15]

soft fruit has been nice and big this year blueberry raspberry and blackberry and so many

[galina]

Well our blackberries are flowering - just shows how far behind we are compared to you Johhny!

But the loganberries are not far now,  cherries are still green too.  Everything is quite late this year fruit wise although we had nice early greenhouse strawberries and the goosies are looking good. 

[Silverleaf]

I'm seriously considering giving up on onions from sets, mine have been rubbish the last few years. They just hardly grow at all and then go to seed. Don't know what I'm doing wrong!

Shallots and perennial onions are doing fine though, I might just stick to them in future.

[galina]

You also have clay soil Silverleaf and that I believe makes it all harder.  Shallots have always been easier for me too.  Really not sure why.  Perhaps more freely draining sandy soil is what they need and very even watering.  On clay the wet sticks around too much. 

There may be some merit in growing onions like shallots - they will split, but perhaps only into two or three bulbs. 

Looking forward to listening to advice from those who really can grow onions, especially on clay soil. 

I am really chuffed this year about my shallots from seed.  Not only did I get white shallots with 6 splits, but also some nice large types that are every bit the size of 'cooking onions'.  Even the shallots with 12 splits are of a very decent size. 

I'm seriously considering giving up on onions from sets, mine have been rubbish the last few years. They just hardly grow at all and then go to seed. Don't know what I'm doing wrong!

Shallots and perennial onions are doing fine though, I might just stick to them in future.

[Silverleaf]

Yes I do have horrible clay but I'm growing in raised beds to which I've added manure, compost, sandy topsoil and rotted straw over the years.

I'd love any advice!

[ancellsfarmer]

Silverleaf,
Sorry to learn of your onion woes, but feel its not the clay thats the issue, more likely the condition of it and possibly how its been used in the past. My thoughts are: do you plant too early/while its too wet. Is the clay soil free draining, well fed and not compacted. My innovation of recent years is to forget autumn sowing, start good sets( pick out the best of the net, discarding any shrivelled, mouldy ones0) in trays (the sort your garden centre has deliveries of basket plants, 3" pot size, which they throw away- "re-cycle", and give for free if you cheek them!) into green-wate compost and place up off the ground outside somewhere ,starting about Feb 23rd When the plot is fit, days warming and welcoming, plant out the "plugs" 3" diameter into 3" deep holes, so that the top surface is just above your plot surface.I use 5" centres, rows just wide enough for the small draw hoe, about 8" apart. By this time (21 days from planting, the onion will likely have put a good rootball around the tray and should be holding the compost together.Its like planting out muffins.Once they look to be established, lightly hoe and feed with chicken pellets. Average size by july(Stuttgarter) will be 3" diameter,jousting their neighbours for space, not show winners but a good kitchen size.