Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Tee Gee on January 25, 2018, 14:13:34
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Went down to the allotment this morning which I think is my first visit since I went down to collect my Xmas dinner veg.
Everything seems OK after the storms we have had of late so grateful for that.
I noticed two of my three varieties of Garlic are progressing well so that is nice to know.
I picked a cabbage (Tundra) and a couple of sticks of sprouts (Maximus) (see pic)
Came home and took delivery of my seed potatoes, Kestrel, Charlotte, Nadine and Rocket ( I save my own PFA's)so will set these up to chit tomorrow.
Speaking of Potatoes brought the last lot of last seasons crop into the house so back to the supermarket varieties from the middle of February I guess. :sad8:
Usually I don't get to this stage until Mid/End of March but I had a slight attack of Blight with my Kestrels last year and had to remove the tops a bit early so this reduced the crop.
Not to worry still lots of sprouts,cabbage and onions to keep me going till possibly the end of March! :happy7:
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Nice.
I still have some sprouts and a few cabbages but I have tons of spuds in the garage - PFA and Sarpo Mira. Had the last few carrots last weekend and have enough parsnips to last through Feb so together with the squash, kale and chard I reckon I can throw a few more roasts together.
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On the last of the potatoes now. You are welcome little mouse but it would be nice if you are just one not nibbled so many!
Carrot and parsnip doing well and sprouts and red cabbage.
Packing pre orders later for Chesterfield potato day which is tomorrow. So mine will be chitting soon.
Still got bottles of passata and a freezer full.
Tidying up ready for seed sowing.
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Went to the plot today and picked sprouts, still got plenty ot leeks and parsnips to follow on with.
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On the plot today and it was a quagmire - we have clay soil! Picked Caveolo Nero and Swede - although the latter have taken some hits from slugs.
Also have Savoy Cabbage and a few measly sprouts (I've always had trouble withe the latter!).
I have some plants I sowed from an All Season Broccoli seed pack from T&M. They are growing well but no signs of broccoli heads as yet. I haven't a clue what variety it is (the three varieties where all mixed in the same packet) or when, if ever, it will appear..
I planted some Swiss Chard and beetroot towards the end of the season and they seem OK and I am hoping they mature enough to harvest in the spring before they bolt.
Parsnips long since gone (only had a few of them anyway). I made a mistake buying seed tapes - never again!!
Lots of spuds in the garage - Lady Chrystal, Charlotte, Romano, Manitou, Harmony & Picasso.Probably my best year ever for them - not only a good yield but a low level of slug damage (and no blight). Fair number of onions (gave up with garlic as we have onion rot) .Still a couple of Spaghetti Squash in storage but one needs cutting open as its beginning to shows signs of rot.
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Got some really impressive Parsnips out last weekend.. and a leaf salad mix is still producing well. The standby's Winter Radish and "mustards" are doing well and we still have some carrots in a raised bed.
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Had the last parsnips, lots of squash, onions, potatoes still in use, peas and beans in the freezer. And some broadies, fruit and beetroot. In the garden still lettuce (greenhouse), rocket and turnip greens. Oh and leeks and kale. :wave:
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Started losing squash to storage rot this week... had so many things to store they got left in the big greenhouse and it's too damp, the Hubbards are holding up best but none will stay until May this time..
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Went down to the allotment today - about the third time this year only!
Finished off the sprouts - best pick of the lot. Even better, got some sprout tops.
The all-season broccoli which has done very little all season had loads of purple- flowering sprouts.
The leeks had survived the allium leaf miner attack: not great, but no huge damage or obvious pests.
Other things still going OK.
I'mmuch happier than I expected to be!
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squashes are starting to rot i can never seem to get them to last past early Feb carrots leeks swede Jan king and some other cabbages still left bright lights spinach beet still doing well as celeriac and late beets had some rhubarb yesterday in a crumble it was very nice first of new season callis are up summer cabbage are up this weekend will sow carrots in a tub its been a very cold winter here by our standards on the sunshine coast and very wet looking forward to spring and some warm weather
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Just finishing titchy sprouts (at least I managed some this year. Spuds in garage, should last till mid march. Couple of pumpkins, loads of titchy leaks growing in tubs. And tons of daubenton kale - even maraudung pigeons don't like it. Shallots I forgot I had plus peas, beans, dried tommies, currant tomatoes in freezer together with dried beans. So why do I still feel I need to buy veg down the market?
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I'm envious of those sprouts! :icon_cheers:
Squashes keeping (or not) depends on two things. First the variety. Most cucurbita pepo squashes, ie marrows and acorns are coming to the end of their natural storage life - they are also called autumn squashes because they don't make all winter. The longer storers are the cucurbita moschatas, ie the butternuts and a few others, they last until early spring. The longest storers are the cucurbita maxima. There are many types in that family, for example Crown Prince and Uchiki Kuri. These can last until it is time to sow again. There always is a bit of leeway here and even the long storing ones can have or develop a defect and rot prematurely. So regular inspection is a must.
Apart from variety, there are storage conditions. Frost free is a must and not touching is another. As the days get longer and if they are in bright sunlight you can get seeds inside germinating and that will also make them rot. I haven't found that they need to be kept particularly cool during storage. Window sills on the north side of the house are well suited, but storing them under the bed or on top of the wardrobe works too. Cool guest bedroom window sill that isn't in bright sunshine is a winner.
Lastly, they store well in the freezer. Any that develop a spot need to be dealt with promptly. They can be deseeded and cut into chunks for roasting, or prepared for other dishes and frozen without blanching. If any are going off now, they can be used up that way and brought out from the freezer during the more lean harvesting months. I put frozen squash slices around a roast straight from the freezer or put chunks into stock and when cooked, blitz up for soup (with a bit of cream on top). :wave:
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Thanks, Galina, that confirms my experience.
I store mine on the deep sill of the east-facing bay window of our hall/dining room. The orange, biscuit and blue grey hues of the various squashes makes a fine (though gradually reducing) display into spring with the added advantage that visitors comment on them - "are those real? can you eat them?" - yes, and you're getting one with your dinner!
Just a Crown Prince and a potimarron left now, with half a Black Futsu in the fridge. The latter now has flesh that has a deep colour and rich flavour, almost like a mango in texture.
I'd not grown winter squashes until about three seasons ago, now I wouldn't be without them.
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Went to plot today for the first time since Xmas. I got some flower sprouts, and some Russian kale. And some cleavers for a brew of tea, and some parsley. There are still some parsnips but I did not take a spade.
The deer have been nibbling the purple sprouting so I put the nets back on so hopefully they will recover. The broad beans are all black even the ones still covered in bottles, luckily the ones in the garden look very green and bonny. Same seed so not clear why the difference.
The areas I dug through are now covered in weeds. The areas I covered in manure look better.
Wind was very cold. I will wait for it to warm up a bit before I get stuck in to some serious work.
Still eating tromba squash and have a crown prince looking good.
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I love picking winter veggies! I picked a big bag of True Siberian and Nero di Toscana Kale today, and some dikon raddish which I forgot about. Looking forward to the spring cabbages.
I've got celeriac, butternut squash and red cabbage in freezer.
Also have one grey pumpkin, size of a large grapefruit, which developed eyes and a mouth over xmas. I thinks he's staying!
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todays haul
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Vague, I wonder how this face happened. Nature or a little one with a felt tip pen? Johnny did I spot a couple of pepper there? How did you manage that? :glasses9:
In the last week or so our three cornered leeks have really exploded into growth. Lots of chopped chive/mild garlic type of greens over everything at the moment - equally good in fromage frais or quark cheese to go on bread or with a fried egg, and also snipped on top of cooked dishes as a garnish. The Babington leeks have also put on a growth spurt. :wave:
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Vague, I wonder how this face happened. Nature or a little one with a felt tip pen? Johnny did I spot a couple of pepper there? How did you manage that? :glasses9:
In the last week or so our three cornered leeks have really exploded into growth. Lots of chopped chive/mild garlic type of greens over everything at the moment - equally good in fromage frais or quark cheese to go on bread or with a fried egg, and also snipped on top of cooked dishes as a garnish. The Babington leeks have also put on a growth spurt. :wave:
last of them from my unheated greenhouse they cropped really well this year
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Vague, I wonder how this face happened. Nature or a little one with a felt tip pen? Johnny did I spot a couple of pepper there? How did you manage that? :glasses9:
In the last week or so our three cornered leeks have really exploded into growth. Lots of chopped chive/mild garlic type of greens over everything at the moment - equally good in fromage frais or quark cheese to go on bread or with a fried egg, and also snipped on top of cooked dishes as a garnish. The Babington leeks have also put on a growth spurt. :wave:
Galina, nature definately had a little helping hand!
Although I'm quite impressed on how long it's stored! :wave:
OH isn't admitting to anything!!
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Vague, thanks for showing us. Great fun. A mystery for sure! :sunny:
It looks like a cucurbita maxima squash, that is the type that lasts the longest.
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I've still got a few Alaska savoys to go, the sprouts are cropping at a matching rate to the one at which my close friends are declining, and I still have a couple of PSB plants which are nearly sprouting. There's a little curly kale, but it's on the verge of bolting now.
There's also a few leeks - these are a bit of a lottery, they were neglected last year owing to bereavement*, and have had some kind of critter in them as there are little brown pupae about the size of mouse droppings in the outer layers. Those go in the council compost as that will get hot enough to kill 'em off, and the middle layers are fine.
Adrian
*of me, not them
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That's allium leaf miner in your leeks. You'll need to grow your leeks and onions in a different area next season and put fleece over them at the critical times.
This was the first year I've had a real attack and I've been lucky because they did little damage before pupating and the leeks have grown on since, but I can see that things could have been much worse.
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They had that on our site but luckily it didn't reach my plot.
Still picking sprouts (they are getting big!) I have 2 swedes, a cabbage, some kale, purple sprouting broccoli and leeks.
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Made some soup today with a bunch of leeks, parsnips and a load of hungry gap. Too wet underfoot to go to far tramping the ground down so all picked alongside the path this frosty morning.
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Trip to the allotment this morning before the permafrost sets in!
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I wish I still had some carrots - down to the last two parsnips so all that is left is kale, chard, spouts and psb. With a slow start to spring there could be a long hungry gap!
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Not much at the allotment, some parsnips, purple sprouter and some flower sprouts. Better at home really, at the back of the garage still got some onions, shallots, elephant garlic and several squashes.
My real worry is the Dahlias. They are under a thick mulch but I'm pessimistic they will survive a week of temperatures down to minus 7C overnight. Hey ho, it will be fun thinking what to put in the space.