In the Garden

Our runner beans are really poor this year, I had thought it was the weather but if yours are doing really well maybe there is something wrong with mine - we usually get loads. We have got loads of tomatoes this year though, they are much happier than they were last year. And we are struggling to keep up with all the blueberries again!
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
Our runner beans are really poor this year, I had thought it was the weather but if yours are doing really well maybe there is something wrong with mine - we usually get loads. We have got loads of tomatoes this year though, they are much happier than they were last year. And we are struggling to keep up with all the blueberries again!
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I freeze any excess blueberries and they are fine when thawed. My runner beans also haven't done very well but are suddenly after some wet weather starting to spring into life. Tomatoes coming out of my ears. Sweet corn rubbish as it was trashed by badgers.
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
Our runner beans are really poor this year, I had thought it was the weather but if yours are doing really well maybe there is something wrong with mine - we usually get loads
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I grow runner and french beans, and I usually find that one or other of them does well, but not both. This year, the french beans have been really prolific, but the runners have struggled. I don’t think they set well in really dry weather, and although we tried to keep them watered, a few watering cans worth is no substitute for some decent rain showers.
 
Our French beans have done really well this year. Had the last stragglers off the plant the other night. I also froze loads and have two big bags of them in the freezer. We have green tomatoes coming out of our ears, we’ve made chutney, got some in a drawer with a ripe banana and tomorrow I’m making spicy fried green tomatoes, and courgette pakoras for tea both using gram ( chickpea) flour, will serve them with raita and mango chutney.Any other suggestions for recipes?
 
Almost time to put the garden to bed for the winter.

Another scoop or two out of the pond, cut back the flagging plants, give the grass a final (?) trim, and try to find somewhere to overwinter a few pots.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Almost time to put the garden to bed for the winter.

Another scoop or two out of the pond, cut back the flagging plants, give the grass a final (?) trim, and try to find somewhere to overwinter a few pots.
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I keep trying to put the garden to bed, but it’s got other ideas. I have loads of Calendula out, just where I need the space to plant some bulbs I bought the other day, and I went to cut back the honeysuckle this afternoon and decided to leave it because it was full of flower buds! I can never bear to pull things out or cut things off that are still flowering!
 
All my chilli plants have come in.
This year I'm going to try to overwinter them inside after talking to the local community garden people.
 
I've usually potted up all my Geranium plants from their summer border before now, looked at them again today and they all have new flower stems and are looking really healthy.

It's been suggested that I leave them in the ground, cut them right back to ground level, cover them with bubble wrap and cover that with straw or grass cuttings - don't know if that works for me, I would have thought the roots would have gone rotten over winter. Any comments are appreciated.
 
Barrowman said:
I've usually potted up all my Geranium plants from their summer border before now, looked at them again today and they all have new flower stems and are looking really healthy.

It's been suggested that I leave them in the ground, cut them right back to ground level, cover them with bubble wrap and cover that with straw or grass cuttings - don't know if that works for me, I would have thought the roots would have gone rotten over winter. Any comments are appreciated.
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I'd go for it.
What can you lose?
Or try a few, and pot the rest?
 
Barrowman said:
It's been suggested that I leave them in the ground, cut them right back to ground level, cover them with bubble wrap and cover that with straw or grass cuttings - don't know if that works for me, I would have thought the roots would have gone rotten over winter. Any comments are appreciated.
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I left an agapanthus in the ground last winter with bubble wrap around it, and that was happy enough.

We’ve had a pelargonium in a wall pot on the front of the house which has managed to survive for about 4 years now! It has good drainage, and doesn‘t get too wet.
 
I’m amazed you all live in places with real winter weather! Down here nothing needs to be protected over winter. Even the banana survives just fine outside without any protection.
 
We sort of put our garden to bed yesterday. Last grass cut, tomatoes and courgette plants pulled up. Weeded raised beds, picked up apples, and just give it a good tidy. Still got swedes, leeks, parsnips and sprouts growing. I only bring the olive tree in. Agapanthus just stays uncovered. It’s still very green and hadn’t started to die back yet. Fuchsia still blooming, that gets chopped in spring. And my coral rose is still flowering. Won’t be doing much more until spring now. That seems a long way off.
 
travellor said:
I'd go for it.
What can you lose?
Or try a few, and pot the rest?
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I think I will take your advice @travellor and pot half of them up, leave the rest outside covered up and I might just leave one plant uncovered and see what happens to it over winter.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I left an agapanthus in the ground last winter with bubble wrap around it, and that was happy enough.
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I've had agapanthus in the ground for around 22 years now, @everydayupsanddowns I never cover it up I just cut it back to ground level when the flowers have all died back and that's it - it may be one of the hardy varieties I can't remember now but it always provides lots of blooms.
 
Anybody know anything about figs. Below is the pic of our fig tree, we had about 15 ripe figs and these are what are left. A mixture of the bigger ones about the size of a lime and the smaller ones the size of a grape. No hope of the bifig tree 2.JPGgger ones ripening this year but do we remove them just leaving the small ones for next year's crop.
In hindsight we should probably have removed some of the fruit to allow the others to grow bigger.
 
Barrowman said:
I've had agapanthus in the ground for around 22 years now, @everydayupsanddowns I never cover it up I just cut it back to ground level when the flowers have all died back and that's it - it may be one of the hardy varieties I can't remember now but it always provides lots of blooms.
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I looked ours up last year (it was a bulb that went in).

Apparently the ones that stay in the green all year round are happier left alone with perhaps a bit of bubble wrap around them. I got the impression the ones that died back were a bit less frost hardy and may benefit from being brought under cover if in a pot.

Ours is yet to flower though, so I don’t rank my expertise highly!
 
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