Veg report 2016

Tomatoes - Bought two bush varieties -  Tumbling Tom & Tiny Tim - planted in hanging baskets. 

Both did very well producing lots of fruits still picking beginning October. 

Favourite - Tumbling Tom 

Aubergines - seed stared in shed - only one plant has made it but failed to get big enough to produce flowers/fruits. It's still looking healthy so will bring it in to see what happens. 

Rocket - from seed in pot.  Reasonable crop but need to sow more. Also about a month ago the whole pot got eaten by caterpillars and I thought that was that but on actually fact I now have a healthy new crop growing so thank you caterpillars. 

Lettuces - from seed in pot - good crop need to sow more. 

Courgettes - three plants from seed - two in veg plot, one in pot. Veg plot plants did better. 

Lots of fruits, still producing now. 

Sweetcorn - 9 healthy plants , 10 cobs but left then too long so over ripened... See prev post. 

Strawberries - wild strawberries allowed to grown in veg plot - very disappointing this year, hardly any fruits so they have been removed from veg plot. 

Bought one plant late in the season. Had a few very sweet and yummy strawberries. Hopefully this will produce again next year. 

French beans - from seed - started in shed in pots - hardened off and put in veg plot. 

Good crop 

Mange tout - from seed straight into veg plot 

Brilliant - lots of pods, just kept picking and picking. DEF GROW AGAIN NEXT YEAR

Carrots - from seed in deep pot 

Total disaster...  I have no idea what went wrong as I have grown them successfully in the same pot before. They just didn't come up....! 

Radishes - seeds 

Grew brilliantly and very quickly. But not really keen on them so didn't get eaten.... ! 

Sweetcorn flop again!

As you can see my sweetcorn plants look great.... 

BUT.... here are the cobs. Hard as nails...

The 9 plants produced 10 cobs in all but all were the same as above. 

In previous years I have been over eager to harvest them and ended up with under ripe cobs. This year I was determined to leave them alone for as long as possible not realising that they can over ripen and become inedible. So no homegrown sweetcorn for us again this year. Maybe next year (third time lucky) I might get it right. 

The Grape Vine is doing well this year, it's nearly at the third wrung up. No grapes of course but it's still hanging on in there. 

Surprisingly courgettes are still producing. It's been a good crop this year from my 3 plants. The two in the veg bed did do better that the pot bound one. 

See veg report 2016 for more details on all veg grown this year......

Sunflower Giants

At last I've managed to grow Sunflowers. Everyone says how easy they are to grow but every year I try and fail but this year i have three fine looking stalks. Can't wait to see the flower heads. 

A strange and interesting plant

Tucked in amongst the courgettes ...... 

Unfortunately we found out it was highly poisonous so it's gone..... Shame but didn't want hundreds of Audry twos all over the garden. 

Super Carrot

2015 veg so far....

Its been a very good veg year with Courgettes, Beans, Mange tout galore.

Beans (raised in potting shed trf to raised beds)
The first French Beans didn't take, I thought I'd over watered them but actually I think the seed was old. I planted new seed and hey presto got good healthy plants which have just started producing beans a plenty.

Courgettes / Squashes (raised in potting shed trf to raised beds) - One particular plant has been outstanding this year. It came from a kit my sister bought from me (vegetable theatre), a yellow variety. I must have had at least 20 courgettes so far... The others are growing OK and have produced one or two good fruits but still going strong.
Have also tried squashed this year. Managed to buy one from the garden centre with several good fruits already developing. The Butternut Squash is yet to produce but looks healthy.  
 
Carrots - Sown in tub
The first sowing only produced two carrots. Excellent specimens but not exactly a meals worth. 

Ive re sown and now have a good looking, small, crop but not ready to pull yet.

Onions - planted straight into raised bed
Still in the ground. Have pulled a couple. Still quite small but they are usable Onions which is a first for me.

Toms
Hanging basket - has produced some lovely sweet toms, not prolific but still going strong and loads of green fruits which will hopefully ripen.
Growbags - Three plants, two doing well loaded with full trusses of ripening fruit. The other is very stunted and no fruits! Must check the varieties.

Phew that's enough for now but more to report soon.

A whole lot of sowing going on.

Its been non stop sowing today. The sun is out, the sky is blue and its a great day to be in the garden.

So we have : 

Carrots in a tub, 

Spinich in the raised bed,

Courgettes & aubergines in the potting shed 

Along with more tomatoes & sweet corn as the others haven't materialised as yet. 

Nor have the French beans .... I think I've over watered, the solid is very soggy. I've put them outside to dry up a bit! 

Outside in seed trays more peas (of the 14 sown about a month ago I have only 4 plants but good healthy plants I must say) 

Trying Mange tout too this year. 

Mixed salad leaves in the 'tree of light' tub and wall box.
And as a big of change to veg I'm trying pansy's from seed. 

Who will be the winners and who will be the losers only time will tell...

In the lead so far we have the Rocket which started off in the Potting  Shed but has graduated to outside and doing well. As I said above I have 4 healthy pea plants, the sweet peas are doing well in the lounge, and very excitingly the onions are showing green shoots....

Come on the rest of you, catch up....