Monday, October 31, 2011
Occupy London?
How about fucking off and occupying a job instead? Get the bulldozers on the lazy, want everything for nothing bastards!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Debt due
Just on the way to Derby Show to see how I did and to pay the inevitable wager to Dave T. He doesn't know it yet but this is how he's getting paid....snigger! He can count himself lucky our works till doesn't have a load of 20 and 10 pence pieces!
Friday, October 28, 2011
And so I face the final curtain!
Derby Show staging in the morning and I pulled some very good globe beet a couple of nights ago. After washing, getting off all the fine root hairs, carefully rubbing off any corkiness around the shoulders with the rough side of a scourer and carefully snipping off any side roots from the main central tap I left them to soak in bucket of water with some vinegar and a dash of salt. I find this really brings out the colour of the roots and indeed I've had a good year again, winning at Westminster, coming third at Malvern plus a couple of local show wins. I also have some spare roots which look really good in a trug when turned upside down with the tap sticking upwards, and Derby has a trug class this year for the first time I believe so I (Leesa!) will make an effort to enter that one.
I think I've really found the key to good globe beet the past couple of seasons, growing them in raised beds that has a good depth of crumbly compost/soil mix. The deep bed in question is actually where I grow my leeks and onions and which has been well cultivated for several years now. After my shallots are pulled in June I give the soil a nitrogen fertiliser boost and sow my seeds in drills over several weeks to cover the show period. I have other beds in old half-oil drums and an old water tank which yield good globe beet for the early shows. However, the beet in the water tank starts well enough but then wilts quite badly and i'm thinking the soil gets too warm in the steel container.
All my remaining carrots and parsnips have now been pulled so I'll have a reasonable set of stumps, a nice clean (if a little small) set of long carrots and a canker free dish of parsnips. I've managed to cobble together a set of 6 tomatoes for a Top Tray entry, I should be able to bench a decent pair of long leeks and 3 or 4 collections which are all for single specimens only. In the any other veg class I'll be entering some turnips, lettuce and sweet peppers which are growing in pots and which I moved into my conservatory a couple of weeks ago in case any frost caught them.
And that will be that for another season, but my preparations for next season have already started. I've ordered 25 blanch leeks 'Pendle Improved' from Dave Metcalfe which I'll be collecting in early December. I shall put one of my Derby leeks down to seed for next season but more on that later. You need to be looking at the seed catalogues and getting your orders in as early as you can to avoid disappointment and I'll say from experience that you should make a plan of what you're going to grow where and when, so that you only order what you can physically grow. I've done far too much this season as I've attempted to try and win more tickets than Dave T, an attempt that seems doomed to failure going into tomorrow's final showdown. I've grown crops that I wouldn't normally give the time of day such as turnips, pak choi, spring onions and many other minor veg but never again. I shall be concentrating on the 18 and 20 pointers for next year as I attempt to stage a large collection at the Malvern National. Plus, after researching the subject in 2011 I shall be going all out to win peas at next year's National. This year was merely a practice run.
I think I've really found the key to good globe beet the past couple of seasons, growing them in raised beds that has a good depth of crumbly compost/soil mix. The deep bed in question is actually where I grow my leeks and onions and which has been well cultivated for several years now. After my shallots are pulled in June I give the soil a nitrogen fertiliser boost and sow my seeds in drills over several weeks to cover the show period. I have other beds in old half-oil drums and an old water tank which yield good globe beet for the early shows. However, the beet in the water tank starts well enough but then wilts quite badly and i'm thinking the soil gets too warm in the steel container.
All my remaining carrots and parsnips have now been pulled so I'll have a reasonable set of stumps, a nice clean (if a little small) set of long carrots and a canker free dish of parsnips. I've managed to cobble together a set of 6 tomatoes for a Top Tray entry, I should be able to bench a decent pair of long leeks and 3 or 4 collections which are all for single specimens only. In the any other veg class I'll be entering some turnips, lettuce and sweet peppers which are growing in pots and which I moved into my conservatory a couple of weeks ago in case any frost caught them.
And that will be that for another season, but my preparations for next season have already started. I've ordered 25 blanch leeks 'Pendle Improved' from Dave Metcalfe which I'll be collecting in early December. I shall put one of my Derby leeks down to seed for next season but more on that later. You need to be looking at the seed catalogues and getting your orders in as early as you can to avoid disappointment and I'll say from experience that you should make a plan of what you're going to grow where and when, so that you only order what you can physically grow. I've done far too much this season as I've attempted to try and win more tickets than Dave T, an attempt that seems doomed to failure going into tomorrow's final showdown. I've grown crops that I wouldn't normally give the time of day such as turnips, pak choi, spring onions and many other minor veg but never again. I shall be concentrating on the 18 and 20 pointers for next year as I attempt to stage a large collection at the Malvern National. Plus, after researching the subject in 2011 I shall be going all out to win peas at next year's National. This year was merely a practice run.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Final countdown
Just a few more days until my last date of the season, the Dave Thornton organised Derby Show on Saturday and Sunday. I actually made up about 9 points on him at Westminster thanks to my policy of entering just about everything including a plate of 1000 matching lentils and a dish of curly pubes (dressed). However my chances of overhauling him are nil as the likes of John Croot, John Goodall and Charles Cooper will be showing at Derby, all first-rate growers. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and although i'm over 300 points behind i've kept back some long carrots, parsnips, stumps and spuds plus I finally have some tomatoes ripening which I hope to include in my Top Tray. There are also classes for brussel sprouts, a brassica collection (for which I saved one of my 3rd place winning Westminster red cabbages) and a weirdly named 'stem vegetable collection' where you choose from 3 types, 1 of each type selected from Onion, Leek, Celery, Beetroot, Swede. Never seen a class like this at any other show anywhere but it could be worth a dabble! And there is an any other veg cass that my radishes won last season, although I've been a bit more ambitious this year and think I have some nice clean turnips plus I still have several decent lettuce 'Sandrine'. If the Great Show God Mohammed Medwyn is smiling upon me I might make it a close contest yet!
And in answer to the pathetic torrent of texts, emails, blog comments (deleted) that I have been subjected to since yesterday afternoon (haven't you fuckers got anything better to do?) can I just remind you all of the following?
October 20th 1996 Newcastle United 5 Manchester United 0
October 26th 1996 Southampton 6 Manchester United 3
Champions that season? I rest my case. No trophies were ever handed out in October! Now piss off!
And in answer to the pathetic torrent of texts, emails, blog comments (deleted) that I have been subjected to since yesterday afternoon (haven't you fuckers got anything better to do?) can I just remind you all of the following?
October 20th 1996 Newcastle United 5 Manchester United 0
October 26th 1996 Southampton 6 Manchester United 3
Champions that season? I rest my case. No trophies were ever handed out in October! Now piss off!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Remember our feathered friends!
Winter will soon be here and our native birds are finding food scarce. Please go to the pet shop & buy a bag of nuts for our feathered friends.
There is no finer sight on a winters morning than a pair of tits around your nut sack. Just remember however its a bit early in the year to expect a swallow.
There is no finer sight on a winters morning than a pair of tits around your nut sack. Just remember however its a bit early in the year to expect a swallow.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Getting kinky with Sherie
An unexpected bonus on Wednesday night was to hear Sherie Plumb also talk about runner beans. It was quite reassuring to see that she grows her beans up 8' inclined bean poles in the garden and there was no special set up or technique. She doesn't thin the trusses to one bean as legend has it, but does snip off any that are unduly bent or that will never make good show beans. All side shoots are nipped out as well as any flower trusses below 18" up the plant. Sometimes you will get two flower trusses in the same leaf axil....nip out the weakest one. As the beans grow you may need to secure them with string upwards to the bean pole to stop the weight of the bean bending the truss down, as once this happens then it stops growing. Other than that its water, water, water onto well cultivated, fertile soil, regularly dowsing the foliage also to mimic its natural habitat in the rain forests of central and southern america.
I would love to be able to get anywhere near beans like these that won her this year's National. And she was adamant that she doesn't have any curling tongues to give them that unique and characteristic kink at the end. She reckons they go that way because they grow so fast, although she assured us that she gets plenty of beans with no kink on the end.
Her pre-show picking can start a week or more before the show, when she will decide on a length and start picking as and when that length is achieved. Each bean is then wrapped in a damp towel against a wooden batten, put into a polythene bag then stored in a fridge...obviously not a freezer! Final selection is made the day before the show. She made it sound oh so simple!
I would love to be able to get anywhere near beans like these that won her this year's National. And she was adamant that she doesn't have any curling tongues to give them that unique and characteristic kink at the end. She reckons they go that way because they grow so fast, although she assured us that she gets plenty of beans with no kink on the end.
Her pre-show picking can start a week or more before the show, when she will decide on a length and start picking as and when that length is achieved. Each bean is then wrapped in a damp towel against a wooden batten, put into a polythene bag then stored in a fridge...obviously not a freezer! Final selection is made the day before the show. She made it sound oh so simple!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Masterclass
Well Sherie Plumb was her usual thorough self last night, and guided us through her growing year with spuds then runner beans. Her attention to detail is legendary and I was listening intently to try and work out if there was anything she did a lot different to me. A few points struck home and will result in me trying them out at least.
Sherie washes all her seed spuds before planting, discarding any that have scab. Now then, the science says that the scab lesions on a seed spud are merely the physical mark left by the scab fungus on its journey through the soil or growing media, and that it is impossible for scab to be transferred to a daughter crop from seed. Sherie remains unconvinced but perhaps the fact she washes all her seed spuds is the key here. The scab fungus overwinters on garden detritus so perhaps it is the dust that coats your seed spud that is actually the culprit here? Could this be harbouring the fungus so that it gets transferred into your bags? David Peel was also at the talk and he has had an excellent year, winning the collection at Harrogate and he washed his seed spuds this season as well as discarding any scabbed up spuds.
Because I believe in and trust the science I won't go as far as discarding any scabbed seed but I will now wash them before planting purely as an extra precaution. The key is STILL to make sure your bags never dry out. The scab mycellium thrives in warm, DRY conditions so a regular watering regime will ensure you don't suffer any scab marking your skins. I made sure my bags didn't dry out last season, especially at tuber initiation (when the haulms are about a foot high) and I think I can remember about three tubers having a single scab marking, a vast improvement on what I was getting before when I wasn't as keen as I should have been with the H2O.
Sherie uses medium grade moss peat (fine grade compacts too much) that she passes through a shredder. I have lent my shredder to a friend for a couple of years so I think I'll be getting it back for this purpose. An important element we all overlook at our peril is AIR and I think shredding the peat not only breaks up any lumps, twigs, fibre but incorporates air into the peat and allows the roots to really breathe and get out into the fluffed up mix. A good root system will give you good tops and then good tubers.
And finally, she stores all her spuds after lifting and grading in fresh peat rather than the stuff they've been growing in. This needs to be really dry and David Peel even said he went as far as spreading his peat out on sheets in the sun to get rid of any excess moisture. I wonder whether this may prevent the silver scurf marks that I seem to be prone to towards the end of September when I get my spuds out of the peat for washing? However, as i've said this does seem to affect the white spuds more than the coloureds.
There has been a lot of debate about the effectiveness of calcified seaweed. Apparently it has been estimated that it takes over a year in the soil for it to be of any real benefit and as the spuds are only in the bags for 10-14 weeks then surely it's a waste of time? Sherie pointed to an experiment carried out by John Branham where he trialled some bags without any calcified seaweed and they weren't as good as those spuds grown in bags with it so she is adamant about its advantages and will carry on using it. Good enough for me but I will be using the new alternative product from JBA potatoes this season that is more finely ground than the boxed stuff you buy from the garden centres these days. They are not ground up very fine at all, resembling small white stones and I'm sure some of the skin blemishes are down to these large granules resting against the skin during storage.
Here is the link to the JBA product: http://www.jba-seed-potatoes.co.uk/maincrop/powdered-calcified-seaweed-p300.html
Sherie bought several plates of different varieties to the talk that she'd washed that morning for the purpose. These weren't deemed good enough for showing during the season but I can assure you all they would probably have been in the tickets at just about every show i've ever been to. I wish i'd taken a photo of them. Sherie was adamant that Casablanca will never compete with Winston and held a sample of each together to demonstrate. During the break myself and Dave Thornton had a closer look and both of us were in agreement that the Casablanca looked superior. It seemed to positively gleam in comparison to the Winston that seemed a creamier hue. Each to their own I guess although no-one doubted that Kestrel would rule the roost in the coloured class for a long time to come yet, Purple Eyed Seedling and Blue Belle being some way off.
Sherie washes all her seed spuds before planting, discarding any that have scab. Now then, the science says that the scab lesions on a seed spud are merely the physical mark left by the scab fungus on its journey through the soil or growing media, and that it is impossible for scab to be transferred to a daughter crop from seed. Sherie remains unconvinced but perhaps the fact she washes all her seed spuds is the key here. The scab fungus overwinters on garden detritus so perhaps it is the dust that coats your seed spud that is actually the culprit here? Could this be harbouring the fungus so that it gets transferred into your bags? David Peel was also at the talk and he has had an excellent year, winning the collection at Harrogate and he washed his seed spuds this season as well as discarding any scabbed up spuds.
Because I believe in and trust the science I won't go as far as discarding any scabbed seed but I will now wash them before planting purely as an extra precaution. The key is STILL to make sure your bags never dry out. The scab mycellium thrives in warm, DRY conditions so a regular watering regime will ensure you don't suffer any scab marking your skins. I made sure my bags didn't dry out last season, especially at tuber initiation (when the haulms are about a foot high) and I think I can remember about three tubers having a single scab marking, a vast improvement on what I was getting before when I wasn't as keen as I should have been with the H2O.
Sherie uses medium grade moss peat (fine grade compacts too much) that she passes through a shredder. I have lent my shredder to a friend for a couple of years so I think I'll be getting it back for this purpose. An important element we all overlook at our peril is AIR and I think shredding the peat not only breaks up any lumps, twigs, fibre but incorporates air into the peat and allows the roots to really breathe and get out into the fluffed up mix. A good root system will give you good tops and then good tubers.
And finally, she stores all her spuds after lifting and grading in fresh peat rather than the stuff they've been growing in. This needs to be really dry and David Peel even said he went as far as spreading his peat out on sheets in the sun to get rid of any excess moisture. I wonder whether this may prevent the silver scurf marks that I seem to be prone to towards the end of September when I get my spuds out of the peat for washing? However, as i've said this does seem to affect the white spuds more than the coloureds.
There has been a lot of debate about the effectiveness of calcified seaweed. Apparently it has been estimated that it takes over a year in the soil for it to be of any real benefit and as the spuds are only in the bags for 10-14 weeks then surely it's a waste of time? Sherie pointed to an experiment carried out by John Branham where he trialled some bags without any calcified seaweed and they weren't as good as those spuds grown in bags with it so she is adamant about its advantages and will carry on using it. Good enough for me but I will be using the new alternative product from JBA potatoes this season that is more finely ground than the boxed stuff you buy from the garden centres these days. They are not ground up very fine at all, resembling small white stones and I'm sure some of the skin blemishes are down to these large granules resting against the skin during storage.
Here is the link to the JBA product: http://www.jba-seed-potatoes.co.uk/maincrop/powdered-calcified-seaweed-p300.html
Sherie bought several plates of different varieties to the talk that she'd washed that morning for the purpose. These weren't deemed good enough for showing during the season but I can assure you all they would probably have been in the tickets at just about every show i've ever been to. I wish i'd taken a photo of them. Sherie was adamant that Casablanca will never compete with Winston and held a sample of each together to demonstrate. During the break myself and Dave Thornton had a closer look and both of us were in agreement that the Casablanca looked superior. It seemed to positively gleam in comparison to the Winston that seemed a creamier hue. Each to their own I guess although no-one doubted that Kestrel would rule the roost in the coloured class for a long time to come yet, Purple Eyed Seedling and Blue Belle being some way off.
Bring back fox hunting!
Further to my postings of a couple of seasons ago that caused uproar in some quarters including my, at times, cloud cuckoo-land daughter, if anyone thinks foxes get a raw deal then here is the scene this morning at a fellow grower's hen house. They don't just take one hen for food, they indiscriminately kill every hen in the coop. The sooner every fox in the land is culled the better as they're just vermin.
And while we're at it let's do the same to the so-called travellers who don't intend to travel or pay their way gypsy scumbags who have cost us law-abiding tax-payers 18 million quid to teach them a lesson about right and wrong. And anyone that agrees with their pethetic, warped reasoning....you can fuck off too.
And while we're at it let's do the same to the so-called travellers who don't intend to travel or pay their way gypsy scumbags who have cost us law-abiding tax-payers 18 million quid to teach them a lesson about right and wrong. And anyone that agrees with their pethetic, warped reasoning....you can fuck off too.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Plumb centre
I'm looking forward to hearing Sherie Plumb talking at North East Derby DA of the NVS tonight on spuds. I've heard her before but there's always something new you can pick up even if it's largely the same talk. Sherie is always trying to learn new tricks and adapt the ways she does things, a real thinker, so it will be good to hear about her 2011 experiences when she didn't get it all her own way like she usually does it must be said. She didn't win the coloured spuds at the Llangollen National and also the collection of spuds at Harrogate where I believe she only came 3rd, although she did win the British Potato Championships at Dundee again, plus most other single plate classes at most other championships so she's still the Queen of potatoes. I came 2nd to her at Westminster and 3rd in the collection at Malvern and it's a pleasure to be competing with her.
Next year i'm limiting my spuds to two varieties only, Kestrel and NVS Amour. I've found it much easier to get good skin finishes on coloured spuds, and indeed throughout the season I never really had a single blemish on any of my Amour and they were a real joy to clean up. I shall grow more of these two varieties than normal and skip whites for a year which I find take much more cleaning up to get them gleaming. For some reason white spuds also seem more prone to silver scurf in storage than the coloured varieties although I did have a few spots on some Kestrel. I'm hoping I can get a good set of 5 for my collection of 6 veg at Malvern and also a set of 4 in the Millenium class which will be main focus in 2012. I was very happy with how my spuds looked in my mini collection at Malvern. They were the best spuds in the 6 or 7 sets that were benched.
I shall be using fresh peat once again for my 2012 spuds and not get tempted to use the old stuff from this year. Instead I will be sieving this old peat over the coming Winter, bagging it up and using it in some pipes for long carrots in the greenhouse. You need much more medium to fill pipes than you do conical bore holes in sand, so with some vermiculite, silver sand plus the usual nutrients I'll be giving this method another go in 2012, having grown 8 heavy (if a little uneven roots....erratic watering) this season. A friend who works for a large building firm is getting me some more plastic drainpipe material (unusable offcuts...honest!), as I will be hoping to use the long carrots from these on my collection of 6 at Malvern also. I could fit about 20 of these pipes at one end of one of my greenhouses and will be quite happy to empty all of them out to get a set of 3 if necessary.
Next year i'm limiting my spuds to two varieties only, Kestrel and NVS Amour. I've found it much easier to get good skin finishes on coloured spuds, and indeed throughout the season I never really had a single blemish on any of my Amour and they were a real joy to clean up. I shall grow more of these two varieties than normal and skip whites for a year which I find take much more cleaning up to get them gleaming. For some reason white spuds also seem more prone to silver scurf in storage than the coloured varieties although I did have a few spots on some Kestrel. I'm hoping I can get a good set of 5 for my collection of 6 veg at Malvern and also a set of 4 in the Millenium class which will be main focus in 2012. I was very happy with how my spuds looked in my mini collection at Malvern. They were the best spuds in the 6 or 7 sets that were benched.
I shall be using fresh peat once again for my 2012 spuds and not get tempted to use the old stuff from this year. Instead I will be sieving this old peat over the coming Winter, bagging it up and using it in some pipes for long carrots in the greenhouse. You need much more medium to fill pipes than you do conical bore holes in sand, so with some vermiculite, silver sand plus the usual nutrients I'll be giving this method another go in 2012, having grown 8 heavy (if a little uneven roots....erratic watering) this season. A friend who works for a large building firm is getting me some more plastic drainpipe material (unusable offcuts...honest!), as I will be hoping to use the long carrots from these on my collection of 6 at Malvern also. I could fit about 20 of these pipes at one end of one of my greenhouses and will be quite happy to empty all of them out to get a set of 3 if necessary.
Well that has cheered me up no end
There's surely no better way to start the day than to watch a load of unwashed, thieving, law-dodging pikeys get a kicking on TV
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Tooty fruity
This is going to come as a huge surprise to some but I've discovered in the last few days that I'm rather partial to Cox. Indeed, for the last few days I've not been able to get enough Cox. In the past, whenever I've exhibited apples it's always been for the late August/early September period when I've required a specimen for the single flower/fruit/veg class, or a plate of 5 dessert apples a class which I actually won at Seagrave Show this year. As I only have a single Cox's Orange Pippin tree it has invariably been a Cox that I have slapped down on the table alongside a dahlia and a carrot. Whenever I've popped one of these cox into my mouth after the show I've always spat it out as it's been a bitter taste. In truth it's just not been ripe as I've now discovered when I picked all the remaining fruit off my tree last weekend. The taste is a lot sweeter and melts nicely on the tongue now I've allowed them to ripen properly on the tree into October. It just proves that the longer you can leave a more mature Cox the nicer it tastes and I would certainly recommend that you all eat more Cox and keep the British apple flag flying high.
Sometimes I'm so childish it's positively pathetic!
Sometimes I'm so childish it's positively pathetic!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The big clean up
The warm October weather we've been experiencing is due to break up towards the end of next week, with the possibility of the first frosts also. This means the dahlias will be blackened and I won't be able to show any at Derby in two weeks time. The same thing happened last year meaning no entries in the dahlia classes but that's a chance you take with a late October show. I haven't staged many dahlias this season whilst i've been concentrating on the veg but I've grown this variety this season, Blyton Softer Gleam and it's really flowered its socks off. I shall certainly be growing this one again and trying to save some tubers and hope we don't get a Winter like last year that killed all my stored tubers.
I also took the opportunity to get my 'show' cacti and succulents inside today. They've been outside all summer and have really benefitted from it. I shall now stop watering, and will not resume until the early Spring.
I also took the opportunity to get my 'show' cacti and succulents inside today. They've been outside all summer and have really benefitted from it. I shall now stop watering, and will not resume until the early Spring.
Since I started showing in late August the garden has been left to its own devices and now resembles a bomb site. In the the next few weekends I need to bring things under control again and get everything shipshape in time for lift-off once more in the New Year. I have a couple of large trees to fell as I want to fit in another greenhouse and they'll be seriously cutting out the light to it if I leave them. And I will be grubbing out several large shrubs that I planted 20 years ago towards the bottom of my long garden when I wasn't into vegetable growing as much. How I wish I hadn't planted them now but I intend to use the new land for several raised beds to grow more vegetables and make us more self-sufficient. It's a bit silly to have such a large garden and yet only about 10% of it is laid down to crop production.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Can he fix it?
I've decided to purchase a cement mixer in time for next season's root mix preparation. I'm thinking that in order to improve upon the uniformity of my long carrots in particular I need to ensure all nutrients, sand and composts are thoroughly mixed. Doing this by hand is turning out to be a hit and miss affair and is also taking its toll on the Smithyveg backbone.
So with the help of Ebay and email alerts as soon as any new second hand mixers are listed i'm hoping to have one installed at Smithyveg Towers before next Spring. If there are any retiring Bob the Builders out there looking to get rid of theirs (very cheaply!) then let me know!
However, i'd prefer one that isn't the standard orange colour as i've just had a most disconcerting experience. I walked in on my 23 year old daughter coating herself in fake tan whilst listening to music. She looked like a satsuma and i've gone right off the colour!
So with the help of Ebay and email alerts as soon as any new second hand mixers are listed i'm hoping to have one installed at Smithyveg Towers before next Spring. If there are any retiring Bob the Builders out there looking to get rid of theirs (very cheaply!) then let me know!
However, i'd prefer one that isn't the standard orange colour as i've just had a most disconcerting experience. I walked in on my 23 year old daughter coating herself in fake tan whilst listening to music. She looked like a satsuma and i've gone right off the colour!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Regrets? I have a few....
No matter how experienced you are (or how experienced you think you are!) it's still possible to make basic mistakes that you should know better not to do. All season I have been kicking myself about my tomatoes and 2011 will be the first time in 11 years that I won't have won a class at any show during a season with toms. Indeed I haven't even picked up a place card as Westminster was the first show I managed to stage a set when I finally had a few ripe fruits ready from my late 2nd planting. I'm starting to get some very nice shaped ripe fruits coming now so I should be able to include a set of 6 on my Derby Top Tray collection at the end of the month.
My troubles began as I tried to plant earlier in order to get plenty of fruits to choose from for the Llangollen National. For the past few years I'd only had a few fruits ready for the August Bank Holiday weekend shows so my thinking was I needed to sow earlier to give me earlier ripening and more choice. I always plant my tomatoes around the Spring Bank Holiday weekend but this year I planted on the May Day weekend at the beginning of the month. We then had several nights of quite hard frost and despite covering each plant with newpaper they got chilled and never recovered. The thing is, it took a few weeks for the problem to show up as the plants went yellow and sickly, leading me to believe there was some nutrient problem which I tried to correct by giving the plants nitrogen and even aspirin! The answer I now know was much more basic.
It was all the more frustrating when I saw the winning sets of tomatoes at Llangollen. Medwyn Williams won, and my pal Mark Roberts was 2nd. Here is Medwyn's set:
Tomatoes are the only veg I would confidently say I would currently be able to win with at National level, and I hope I'm not being big headed when I say I could possibly have done so at Llangollen if I hadn't made such a monumental pig's dinner of my planting. However I did and as you have to be in it to win it I will now have put my money where my mouth is and make sure I don't do anything so stupid in 2012. As the National is at Malvern at the end of September my usual planting date is going to be cock-on so I really do intend to have a good go next year.
My troubles began as I tried to plant earlier in order to get plenty of fruits to choose from for the Llangollen National. For the past few years I'd only had a few fruits ready for the August Bank Holiday weekend shows so my thinking was I needed to sow earlier to give me earlier ripening and more choice. I always plant my tomatoes around the Spring Bank Holiday weekend but this year I planted on the May Day weekend at the beginning of the month. We then had several nights of quite hard frost and despite covering each plant with newpaper they got chilled and never recovered. The thing is, it took a few weeks for the problem to show up as the plants went yellow and sickly, leading me to believe there was some nutrient problem which I tried to correct by giving the plants nitrogen and even aspirin! The answer I now know was much more basic.
It was all the more frustrating when I saw the winning sets of tomatoes at Llangollen. Medwyn Williams won, and my pal Mark Roberts was 2nd. Here is Medwyn's set:
Tomatoes are the only veg I would confidently say I would currently be able to win with at National level, and I hope I'm not being big headed when I say I could possibly have done so at Llangollen if I hadn't made such a monumental pig's dinner of my planting. However I did and as you have to be in it to win it I will now have put my money where my mouth is and make sure I don't do anything so stupid in 2012. As the National is at Malvern at the end of September my usual planting date is going to be cock-on so I really do intend to have a good go next year.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Where did it all go wrong?
I've just been looking back through some postings and I thought I'd tie up a few loose ends with various experiments and new methods I was trying this season.
The raised cucumber platform was....how shall I put it? ......a total fuckfiasco. Once planted the cu's never really got going and indeed it was quite an awkward job getting water to them above my head once the plant canopy got established. More water ended up going down my sleeve and drenching my armpits than got to the roots of the cucs. I'm not sure the gro-bags were moist enough either and coupled with a severe attack of the leaves turning yellow and basically going all crinkly (not sure what that was but definitely not red spider....possibly poor quality compost) then all things considered it means I won't be growing them in this fashion ever again. I shall stick to what I know.....growing them in the greenhouse border soil at an angle along a stout cane.
However, one experiment I tried which i'm happy to say was a total success was putting bottomless pots or sections of drainpipe around the tops of my stump carrot boreholes. This concentrated an amount of water to the root during an overhead drenching with the watering can rather than it dissipating out into the sand and meant I didn't have a single forked root this year. This was in stark contrast to the previous two seasons when I didn't really have a single unforked root! In the early days before the seedlings get growing they also mark where the boreholes are so you can easily re-sow if you have any stations non-germinate. And they also stop the compost washing away and exposing the shoulder which can cause them to go green. All things considered it was a bit of a faff but certainly worth it in my opinion.
Last year I had wooden frames around my stumps with enviromesh tops and polythene sides, and I extended that this season to include a cover over my long carrots. It meant I had lovely carrot fly free roots but watering was a problem during the very dry summer when I needed to give them more than that which fell from the sky. It meant I had ribbed skin finishes rather than smooth tapering roots. Extracting them from the boreholes wasn't very easy either so I shall have to give it all some thought during the long Winter months.
I laid some black membrane over the crowns of my parsnips to stop any canker spores reaching the tops. This worked but I still had some skin blemishes which I am now convinced more than ever is down to carrot fly activity. I don't think it looks the same as the damage caused to carrots because the grubs perhaps don't find them as palateable, but i'm now fairly certain it isn't canker. I shall be including Phorate in my mixes from next season and applying more Phorate powder to the drum tops every time I treat my carrots drums and beds with it. All of my sand will be drenched with Jet 5 which I'm told will kill all known germs and many unknown ones so I'm hoping for much cleaner roots next year.
A few years ago I stored my shallots in the greenhouse after lifting and they suffered severe dehydration during one particularly hot day, rendering them virtually useless for showing. Since then i've stored them outside on a wire rack but this season I've had quite a few of them get purple patches on the skin finish. Dave Thornton informs me this is a fungal infection caused by fluctuating differences during storage which could well be true as we had warm days and fairly cold nights in June and July. Dave stores his indoors on some polystyrene sheets which he is convinced holds the warmth during the night and stops this problem. I shall be reverting back to greenhouse storage therefore but I will make sure I have some fleece to throw over them during the day to stop them drying out.
I grew my best ever celery this season by a country mile (thanks for all the advice Mr McLeod!) and will certainly be repeating a couple of methods with reservations. The bottomless pots screwed into the soil certainly allowed me to concentrate water straight to the roots. However I had a surprise when pulling the pots up last weekend to store them away now all my celery has been used. I expected the soil to be very moist seeing as I have given each and every plant at least a couple of litres most days throughout the summer and early autumn. But it was quite dry and just goes to show that celery really are thirsty plants. In future, if in doubt.....give them a lot more water! I shall also be using cardboard for blanching having switched from damp proof membrane material. No doubt the dry summer was also a factor but I haven't had one loss to celery heart rot. I actually cut the cardboard from very stiff boxes which meant they were more than strong enough to last the season much easier than the stuff you get on a roll.
So there you have it...some failures and some successes. But I firmly believe you have to keep trying different things until you find a method that suits you, and then once you do inprove on that method each season.
The raised cucumber platform was....how shall I put it? ......a total fuckfiasco. Once planted the cu's never really got going and indeed it was quite an awkward job getting water to them above my head once the plant canopy got established. More water ended up going down my sleeve and drenching my armpits than got to the roots of the cucs. I'm not sure the gro-bags were moist enough either and coupled with a severe attack of the leaves turning yellow and basically going all crinkly (not sure what that was but definitely not red spider....possibly poor quality compost) then all things considered it means I won't be growing them in this fashion ever again. I shall stick to what I know.....growing them in the greenhouse border soil at an angle along a stout cane.
However, one experiment I tried which i'm happy to say was a total success was putting bottomless pots or sections of drainpipe around the tops of my stump carrot boreholes. This concentrated an amount of water to the root during an overhead drenching with the watering can rather than it dissipating out into the sand and meant I didn't have a single forked root this year. This was in stark contrast to the previous two seasons when I didn't really have a single unforked root! In the early days before the seedlings get growing they also mark where the boreholes are so you can easily re-sow if you have any stations non-germinate. And they also stop the compost washing away and exposing the shoulder which can cause them to go green. All things considered it was a bit of a faff but certainly worth it in my opinion.
Last year I had wooden frames around my stumps with enviromesh tops and polythene sides, and I extended that this season to include a cover over my long carrots. It meant I had lovely carrot fly free roots but watering was a problem during the very dry summer when I needed to give them more than that which fell from the sky. It meant I had ribbed skin finishes rather than smooth tapering roots. Extracting them from the boreholes wasn't very easy either so I shall have to give it all some thought during the long Winter months.
I laid some black membrane over the crowns of my parsnips to stop any canker spores reaching the tops. This worked but I still had some skin blemishes which I am now convinced more than ever is down to carrot fly activity. I don't think it looks the same as the damage caused to carrots because the grubs perhaps don't find them as palateable, but i'm now fairly certain it isn't canker. I shall be including Phorate in my mixes from next season and applying more Phorate powder to the drum tops every time I treat my carrots drums and beds with it. All of my sand will be drenched with Jet 5 which I'm told will kill all known germs and many unknown ones so I'm hoping for much cleaner roots next year.
A few years ago I stored my shallots in the greenhouse after lifting and they suffered severe dehydration during one particularly hot day, rendering them virtually useless for showing. Since then i've stored them outside on a wire rack but this season I've had quite a few of them get purple patches on the skin finish. Dave Thornton informs me this is a fungal infection caused by fluctuating differences during storage which could well be true as we had warm days and fairly cold nights in June and July. Dave stores his indoors on some polystyrene sheets which he is convinced holds the warmth during the night and stops this problem. I shall be reverting back to greenhouse storage therefore but I will make sure I have some fleece to throw over them during the day to stop them drying out.
I grew my best ever celery this season by a country mile (thanks for all the advice Mr McLeod!) and will certainly be repeating a couple of methods with reservations. The bottomless pots screwed into the soil certainly allowed me to concentrate water straight to the roots. However I had a surprise when pulling the pots up last weekend to store them away now all my celery has been used. I expected the soil to be very moist seeing as I have given each and every plant at least a couple of litres most days throughout the summer and early autumn. But it was quite dry and just goes to show that celery really are thirsty plants. In future, if in doubt.....give them a lot more water! I shall also be using cardboard for blanching having switched from damp proof membrane material. No doubt the dry summer was also a factor but I haven't had one loss to celery heart rot. I actually cut the cardboard from very stiff boxes which meant they were more than strong enough to last the season much easier than the stuff you get on a roll.
So there you have it...some failures and some successes. But I firmly believe you have to keep trying different things until you find a method that suits you, and then once you do inprove on that method each season.
Monday, October 10, 2011
I have a dream
This showing season isn't quite over but I've already made a written note of my initial plans for next season. As I'd always promised Leesa that I wouldn't be showing during our 25th anniversary year I had intended to take a complete year out in 2012. Since making the pledge she agreed (nay encouraged!) for me to do SOME showing but just not for the end of August/early September period when we intend to be out of the country on the honeymoon we never had 24 years ago! With this in mind I have therefore decided to throw virtually everything I have at the Malvern National in 2012, and specifically the collection of 6. I've always dreamed about getting a large collection benched in a National and so i'm going to take the opportunity to have a go next year and fulfil that dream. Having entered collections of sorts at Harrogate and Westminster I was able to see that I wouldn't be disgraced and so I may as well have a crack. I won't have to worry about leaving produce for later shows and can pull as many carrots and parsnips as I want to get the two sets of 3.
You might think it's complete madness to throw so much at something you have no chance of getting a ticket in (the place cards will be contested by a list of 5 or 6 suspects) but it's part of an ongoing 'apprentiship'. I made sure I observed how the top guys displayed their collections at Llangollen and Malvern with a variety of metal frameworks and boards and have made a note of the heights and girth I achieved with my own leeks and celery this season, as well as the length and diameter of my parsnips and long carrots so I'm not overambitious when I manufacture my own display boards during the Winter months. My collections at Westminster and Harrogate were all displayed in flat mode but for a National you need to be getting your leeks and celery vertical. Here is Jeff Parson's winning collection at this year's National.
I shall also not be bothering with runner beans in 2012. None of us in the family eat them and they take up a lot of room on the plot and as I won't be needing them for local shows I'll give them a miss for a year. Instead I will be using the land vacated to have another go at cauliflowers. I've never succeeded in growing great caulis for show and I don't really understand why as I have reasonably deep, fertile, moisture retentive soil. Jim Pearson is giving a talk on growing caulis for show at the Scottish Branch seminar in November so I shall be taking detailed notes. Mind you I took detailed notes last year on growing f***ing peas and look where that got me! I know a lot of people will disagree but I believe peas and caulis should be worth more than 20 points as getting them timed to perfection for show day takes much more skill than leeks, onions, parsnips and long carrots in my humble opinion.
Also, I won't ever be twatting about growing things like pak choi, radishes, turnips and spring onions again. I only bothered as I was trying to win a wager against Dave Thornton and needed a lot of these things for Westminster. Not only did they mean I took my eye off the ball with the 'major veg' in certain cases but I never actually timed them for the bench at London anyway so that was a monumental waste of time and energy. In 2012 I will be concentrating on 18 and 20 pointer vegetables, trying to time my entire season for one weekend in late September! How hard can it be?
You might think it's complete madness to throw so much at something you have no chance of getting a ticket in (the place cards will be contested by a list of 5 or 6 suspects) but it's part of an ongoing 'apprentiship'. I made sure I observed how the top guys displayed their collections at Llangollen and Malvern with a variety of metal frameworks and boards and have made a note of the heights and girth I achieved with my own leeks and celery this season, as well as the length and diameter of my parsnips and long carrots so I'm not overambitious when I manufacture my own display boards during the Winter months. My collections at Westminster and Harrogate were all displayed in flat mode but for a National you need to be getting your leeks and celery vertical. Here is Jeff Parson's winning collection at this year's National.
I shall also not be bothering with runner beans in 2012. None of us in the family eat them and they take up a lot of room on the plot and as I won't be needing them for local shows I'll give them a miss for a year. Instead I will be using the land vacated to have another go at cauliflowers. I've never succeeded in growing great caulis for show and I don't really understand why as I have reasonably deep, fertile, moisture retentive soil. Jim Pearson is giving a talk on growing caulis for show at the Scottish Branch seminar in November so I shall be taking detailed notes. Mind you I took detailed notes last year on growing f***ing peas and look where that got me! I know a lot of people will disagree but I believe peas and caulis should be worth more than 20 points as getting them timed to perfection for show day takes much more skill than leeks, onions, parsnips and long carrots in my humble opinion.
Also, I won't ever be twatting about growing things like pak choi, radishes, turnips and spring onions again. I only bothered as I was trying to win a wager against Dave Thornton and needed a lot of these things for Westminster. Not only did they mean I took my eye off the ball with the 'major veg' in certain cases but I never actually timed them for the bench at London anyway so that was a monumental waste of time and energy. In 2012 I will be concentrating on 18 and 20 pointer vegetables, trying to time my entire season for one weekend in late September! How hard can it be?
Friday, October 07, 2011
Harlequin
At the last minute I decided to stage 15 Harlequin instead of Sungold in the small fruited tomato class at Westminster and was rewarded with a 3rd place. I'd hate to judge this class at most big shows and indeed there were a dozen or so good plates in London. I staged mine around the edge of the plate, nestled into some sand in quite a neat fashion even if I say so myself. When I came back I was faced with this abortion of a display which annoyed me somewhat as a judge should always do his best to leave an exhibit how he found it. It didn't annoy me as much as the variety of the 2nd placed set.....yep you guessed it. F***ing Sungold!
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Imperial War Museum
We spent the best part of today at this marvellous (and free!) museum and only saw a fraction of what was on display. Well worth a visit just to see the Spitfire suspended from the roof.
Just had time to get back to the show and take a pic of my winning cylindrical beet and Scottish Branch's winning collection of 10, put up by Jim Pearson one of the funniest men alive!
All in all a good show for me, winning 14 tickets in all which is proof of my continuing progress in the game. Only Derby now at the end of the month then time to give my aching back a few months well deserved rest.
Just had time to get back to the show and take a pic of my winning cylindrical beet and Scottish Branch's winning collection of 10, put up by Jim Pearson one of the funniest men alive!
All in all a good show for me, winning 14 tickets in all which is proof of my continuing progress in the game. Only Derby now at the end of the month then time to give my aching back a few months well deserved rest.
We wuz robbed
We got 2nd in the trug class out of 7 entries (first photo) and whilst that was an improvement on a recent run of form I think it was better than the winner (bottom photo).
Westminster 2011
This is fast turning in to my favourite show despite the problems associated with getting veg into the middle of London. Having spent all day Sunday lifting and preparing veg, then getting straight down to more of the same after work on Monday it was 2am before I left home. Thanks to satnav technology which I was using the first time I was able to drive straight to the RHS Lindley Hall, arriving at 4.10am. A quick offload I then drove 3/4 mile to leave my car at a pub which hires out its parking spaces at a tenner a day. Bargain at London prices.
As for the show I managed quite a few placings which has pleased me no end seeing as the welsh boys were in attendance this year, along with the regular contingent from Derbyshire.
Pick of the bunch was 2nd in the class for 5 Kestrel spuds, behind Sherie Plumb of course!
I entered a collection of 6 (won by Jim Thompson) and came 4th but was more than happy with how my stuff compared, my leeks, celery and parsnips in particular. I even had a couple of bonus wins for chilli peppers (me and Dan have the country conquered!) and in a highly popular cylindrical beet class, although I forgot to get a photo of them.
Leesa came down on the train and we had a stroll along the south bank followed by a meal....outside.....in short sleaves......on the 4th October. Unbelievable! War museum today then back to the show to load up. I'll make sure I get a photo of my superb beet!!
As for the show I managed quite a few placings which has pleased me no end seeing as the welsh boys were in attendance this year, along with the regular contingent from Derbyshire.
Pick of the bunch was 2nd in the class for 5 Kestrel spuds, behind Sherie Plumb of course!
I entered a collection of 6 (won by Jim Thompson) and came 4th but was more than happy with how my stuff compared, my leeks, celery and parsnips in particular. I even had a couple of bonus wins for chilli peppers (me and Dan have the country conquered!) and in a highly popular cylindrical beet class, although I forgot to get a photo of them.
Leesa came down on the train and we had a stroll along the south bank followed by a meal....outside.....in short sleaves......on the 4th October. Unbelievable! War museum today then back to the show to load up. I'll make sure I get a photo of my superb beet!!
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Stretching summer
With apologies to my Scottish friends who have had several days of rain, it seems really weird preparing veg for an October show in shorts, flip-flops and a t-shirt! It has allowed me to spend the whole day pulling and matching up my tap roots, and cleaning leek roots with a hosepipe and not have to worry about getting hypothermia.
I've been very happy with my leeks this season considering the minimal amount of attention I have lavished upon them. I've had to overstrip a couple due to 4 or 5 split flags which I think is down to a lack of water during the last few months. Still if I can grow them this well through neglect i'm really looking forward to next year when I intend to devote far more time to their culture.
And i've managed to get a pair of long beet for the collection of tap roots at Westminster. They're really far too big to contend but it's shown me that I can grow them and it's another crop I shall be hoping to improve upon next season. A later sowing should give me more refined, tapering roots for Malvern.
I've been very happy with my leeks this season considering the minimal amount of attention I have lavished upon them. I've had to overstrip a couple due to 4 or 5 split flags which I think is down to a lack of water during the last few months. Still if I can grow them this well through neglect i'm really looking forward to next year when I intend to devote far more time to their culture.
And i've managed to get a pair of long beet for the collection of tap roots at Westminster. They're really far too big to contend but it's shown me that I can grow them and it's another crop I shall be hoping to improve upon next season. A later sowing should give me more refined, tapering roots for Malvern.
Hot!
No not me, the weather yesterday as I sat the judges exam down in Dorchester. It was the hottest October day on record apparently and the sweat was pouring out of me as I 'judged' the mock show after the written exam.
I think I did ok but I know I made a hash of at least one of the questions so I'll just have to sit tight and await the results. John Trim took this photo as I was 'pointing' the collections. At least I look as if I know what i'm doing!
I think I did ok but I know I made a hash of at least one of the questions so I'll just have to sit tight and await the results. John Trim took this photo as I was 'pointing' the collections. At least I look as if I know what i'm doing!
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