Hi everyone,
sorry to lump this lot together but as any of you who have children will appreciate - Beth is 5 weeks old now so I have to be very creative with the little free time I do get in the day! Quite a few things puzzling me at the moment I am sure you can all help me with:
1. Aubergine Calliope - how do I tell they are ready? The biggest one I have is about 3 inches long and about 2 inches wide. The top is purple merging down to a white base. I sillily (is that a word?!) through the packet away - DOH!
2. Greenhouse Tomatoes - not going red - should I be worried yet? I have been littering the greenhouse with banana skins as I heard this is meant to help.
3. Mini-corn - new one on me, got it from the seed parcel that was going round. How do I tell it is ready to go? cobs have formed and have tassles and the bit of the top is out too?
4. Peppers Sweet Banana - also again, how do I tell when I can pick them if I want to use them green, is it just a case of picking them as and when? I picked one last night and the flesh was very thin.
5. Parsnips - sowed them on 8th Aprill, I rooted around in the soil and the tops of these look like they are huge, but the other thread suggests leaving them to the first frost - is this for later sowings normally? will they not get too big and spoil if I leave them that long (though first frost could be next week with this bloomin' weather!!)
thanks guys..... she has just woken up so best rush!
DM x
CALLIOPE? - "matures at 4". But pick earlier than later.
TOMS? - forget the Banana hassle - they'll ripen. One of our varieties - Nepal - is green all the way up. And if they don't, Fried Green Toms!!
And if not, put in a box & they'll progressively ripen indoors.
Minicorn - mine are perfect when the tassles turn purple.
Parsnips won't go woody until the start regrowing next year! Or just eat them now! I claim to wait until the first frost, but I did have a sneaky one a few weeks ago... yum yum. By the time I pulled some of mine up last Feb, most had been hollowed out by mice.
Aubergines and Peppers... ready as soon as big enough. Peppers can be left on the plant to get bigger/turn red.. Aubergines best picked before they go dull (loose the shine on the skin)...
Hope Beth isn't giving you too much run around...
;D
Mini sweetcorn I pick as soon as I see the silks, I do not wait for them to dry. The smaller they are, the tenderer they are. Tomatoes, I have only picked a bowlfull so far, indian summer expected soon.