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In the Garden

Robin said:
We had some fennel that appeared from nowhere, and was about 3-4ft high. But if you crush some leaves in your fingers, and smell your hand, that should rule out dill, or fennel, (or not) because it will smell.
Edit.
Ha! @eggyg types faster than I do (marginally!)
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there isn't a smell to it, hubby did put a packet of wild seeds in that area but nothing happened, I just tried google taking a picture and it came up with dog weed ?
 
Could be caraway. I have some next to my fennel and I struggle to tell the difference.
The aniseed smell and flavour is quite mild in fennel leaves so I can't even use that to distinguish the plants.
Or, if it came up suddenly, it could be asparagus ferns. This is usually preceded by the asparagus shoot you eat.
 
When we went to Madeira earlier in the year, there were nasturtiums growing wild everywhere, covering everything. Great, I thought, low cost gardening here we come, came home and sowed some seeds in the pots by the front door. Went away for a week just now, returned to this spectacle!
Spot the difference. (I’ll just claim mine was meant to be a wildlife haven)IMG_5974.jpeg
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Robin said:
When we went to Madeira earlier in the year, there were nasturtiums growing wild everywhere, covering everything. Great, I thought, low cost gardening here we come, came home and sowed some seeds in the pots by the front door. Went away for a week just now, returned to this spectacle!
Spot the difference. (I’ll just claim mine was meant to be a wildlife haven)View attachment 36227
View attachment 36226
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Fabulous. Nasturtiums always remind me of my maternal grandfather, he was a great gardener and always had nasturtiums. I had some years ago I think I’ll grow them again.
 
Robin said:
When we went to Madeira earlier in the year, there were nasturtiums growing wild everywhere, covering everything. Great, I thought, low cost gardening here we come, came home and sowed some seeds in the pots by the front door. Went away for a week just now, returned to this spectacle!
Spot the difference. (I’ll just claim mine was meant to be a wildlife haven)View attachment 36227
View attachment 36226
Click to expand...
 
eggyg said:
Our first ripening tomato, it’s rock hard! This is in the greenhouse with another five plants. The rest are as green as can be!
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All the better for Green Tomato Chutney - I don’t want my tomatoes to ripen!
 
trophywench said:
I don't have any conscience whatsoever against dealing severely (ie fatally) with any nuisance species including those imported nasty grey tree rats with the bushy tails.
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Norway rats - ground rats
Grey squirrels - tree rats
Pigeons - flying rats
Muntjac deer - jumping rats
All pests that munch our fruit and veggies much to hubby's annoyance. :rofl:
 
Have tomato plants changed over the years or is it just the weather?

My parents have grown tomatoes for as long as I can remember and have never had a greenhouse.
When I was a kid, we had enough green tomato chutney to last a whole year for a family of four taking packed lunches to school or work every week. We would all have two rounds of cheese and chutney sandwiches at least once per week.
I don't remember many home grown red tomatoes (although there must have been some).
Now, all tomatoes seem to ripen with none left for chutney.

Is the difference the weather, the types of tomatoes, the area of the garden they are grown in, ...?
(Or is it just that my Dad grew too many tomatoes in the past?)
 
helli said:
Have tomato plants changed over the years or is it just the weather?

My parents have grown tomatoes for as long as I can remember and have never had a greenhouse.
When I was a kid, we had enough green tomato chutney to last a whole year for a family of four taking packed lunches to school or work every week. We would all have two rounds of cheese and chutney sandwiches at least once per week.
I don't remember many home grown red tomatoes (although there must have been some).
Now, all tomatoes seem to ripen with none left for chutney.

Is the difference the weather, the types of tomatoes, the area of the garden they are grown in, ...?
(Or is it just that my Dad grew too many tomatoes in the past?)
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We had a lot of green tomatoes last year Due to the very cold wet spring the plants were late going into the polytunnel and didn't have a long enough season to fully ripen. We did get some ripe ones. Like you I eat green tomato in chutney or just lightly fried with a cooked breakfast.
I have a feeling this year will be a tomato glut. Passata and ketchup recipes anyone ?
 
silver minion said:
We had a lot of green tomatoes last year Due to the very cold wet spring the plants were late going into the polytunnel and didn't have a long enough season to fully ripen. We did get some ripe ones. Like you I eat green tomato in chutney or just lightly fried with a cooked breakfast.
I have a feeling this year will be a tomato glut. Passata and ketchup recipes anyone ?
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My tomatoes seem to be really slow to get going even though it has been hot, probably actually too hot, the polytunnel as been up at 55-60 despite shading. Hopefully the weather will suit the figs, masses on the bush. Blueberries have been ripening all together so we need to do a big picking tonight.
 
Picked my first cucumbers yesterday and ripe apricots are starting to become a steady trickle. One a day is enough for me so may have to stew some for the freezer soon.
 
Dug up our first lot of main crop tatties. I needed potatoes to make the tea and Mr Eggy was too tight to buy any. He said “ I’ll just pull one up, they might just be little”. So we looked for one with yellowing leaves. Albert Bartletts Red Rooster, my potato of choice from Aldi and our first time growing them. Here’s the results! To say we were surprised is an understatement. 3.3kgs from one plant!
What you should really do once the leaves turn yellow, is cut them back and leave the plant in the ground for about 10 days before digging up. This toughens the skins. I will steam the potatoes as they might go mushy if boiled, I did that last year with the King Edward’s and they were perfect.
 

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eggyg said:
Dug up our first lot of main crop tatties. I needed potatoes to make the tea and Mr Eggy was too tight to buy any. He said “ I’ll just pull one up, they might just be little”. So we looked for one with yellowing leaves. Albert Bartletts Red Rooster, my potato of choice from Aldi and our first time growing them. Here’s the results! To say we were surprised is an understatement. 3.3kgs from one plant!
What you should really do once the leaves turn yellow, is cut them back and leave the plant in the ground for about 10 days before digging up. This toughens the skins. I will steam the potatoes as they might go mushy if boiled, I did that last year with the King Edward’s and they were perfect.
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That was supposed to be an amazing WOW.
 
My new Acer is doing really well now after a very dodgy first couple of months, lost about 70% of it's leaves but look at it now

5a78faa8-d82c-4aef-a319-e5d9fa20bf84.jpg
 
eggyg said:
Dug up our first lot of main crop tatties. I needed potatoes to make the tea and Mr Eggy was too tight to buy any. He said “ I’ll just pull one up, they might just be little”. So we looked for one with yellowing leaves. Albert Bartletts Red Rooster, my potato of choice from Aldi and our first time growing them. Here’s the results! To say we were surprised is an understatement. 3.3kgs from one plant!
What you should really do once the leaves turn yellow, is cut them back and leave the plant in the ground for about 10 days before digging up. This toughens the skins. I will steam the potatoes as they might go mushy if boiled, I did that last year with the King Edward’s and they were perfect.
Click to expand...
They look delicious. Good crop too. We haven't harvested our spuds yet. They are in bags as the ground is full of wire worms from when it was grass 18 months ago.
 
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