Happy Birthday Mongo!

Happy 17th Birthday to my 'least favourite daughter' Jennifer. xxx

Thinning tomato trusses

When showing veg different veg have different attributes and one of the requirements of tomatoes is that they should be as round as possible. One thing I noticed last year was that many of mine had flattish sides where they were resting against their neighbours on the truss. As I fed them well they grew larger than usual so there was more tendency for them to touch.

I've since found out that the top growers will thin the trusses as soon as the developing tomatoes are the size of a pea to give each fruit more room and hopefully prevent flat side syndrome.

The bottom pic shows one of the trusses I have thinned this year. If you look at the top pic which shows some of my crop from last year....you can clearly see how crowded they get so it is inevitable they will not all end up a uniform, round shape.

My babies!

First rooted dahlias

Last weekend I managed to get some rooted dahlia cuttings potted on at last. The pic shows me giving them a tug to make sure they had rooted, but there were also quite a few roots coming out of the bottom of the pots. I like to pot them on even if they're only in the pot for a week or so before planting out, as I like the plants to make a good root system before I plant them in the soil.

When I plant them out I'll probably nip the tops out to make them branch, and put a stake against each plant. Further stakes will be put all the way around the bed and a series of strings wound round so that there are plenty of supports for when the plants get big. They topple over quite easily and any flowering stems can break or end up as funny shapes......you need straight, stout stems for exhibition purposes.

Potato Amour

Finally, finally, finally.......I managed to get a couple of rows of my final potato variety in last night. The variety is Amour which I grew for the first time last year and was most impressed by it's form and colour. Sadly however, it's no longer commercially available so this will be the last year you can buy it officially....so I'll have to save a few tubers from this year's crop and hope they stay virus free.

The only problem I experienced with it last year is that the foliage seemed to stay strong for ages.......well into September........so I would have like to have got it in at least 2 weeks ago. However, the condition of the seed tubers of my other varieties dictated that they had to be planted first....the Amour looked as fresh as the day I bought them back in March.

As you can see from the pic they are a rounded shape, white fleshed with pink splashes around the eyes. They were incredibly easy to clean up also.

Caulis

I've never really successfully managed to grow cauliflowers for show so I'm hoping to do better this year. They're generally accepted as one of the more difficult veg to grow well and timing is often the thing that lets you down. You always seem to have one ready on show day without a partner to match it or else you have 2 perfect 3 or 4 days before the show!

They also like lots of bulky organic matter digging into the beds in the previous autumn, but because I don't have a piece of ground I can keep free for them they invariably have to go in where something else has been grown and since harvested, meaning the soil has been depleted of nutrients. I'll be planting my caulis within the next couple of weeks.....they're only 2" high seedlings at the moment. You can reckon on 12-14 weeks or so from sowing to showing with caulis but it all depends on conditions. In hot summers you really have to give them plenty of water in order for them to develop large, solid curds.

You are out there!

I sometimes write this and wonder wherher anyone is actually reading it......and then you get an email or two from fellow growers !

So hi there to Debbie (see link at the side) and Mel at Sileby.....sorry I only just noticed your comments on previous posts.

If anyone's around at 6.50 then make sure you watch 'The Great British Village Show' on BBC1. It's a bit of a contrived set of shows to 'big up' the art of growing/cooking/flower arranging etc for your local show and some moments on last week's show was a bit cringe-worthy but Alan Titchmarsh is presenting it

Cabbage update

I've not shown my cabbages on here for a while. The variety in the picture is Brigadier which can grow to huge proportions but with good form and quality also. You may be able to notice a series of strings suspended above them which is there to deter pigeons. The don't like to have obstructions above them apparently as it means they may get caught if they have to do an emegency take off if an angry gardener comes down the garden at them! In the past I've planted my cabbages and retired to the house for a quick cuppa, only to return half an hour later to find my newly planted seedlings have all been eaten! Pigeons SUCK!

The only problem now will be to keep cabbage white caterpillars away and I plan to do this with a spraying made from a solution containing rhubabrd leaves. The butterflies hate the smell (allegedly) and won't lay eggs on leaves that have been watered with s

Potato update

My first potatoes planted at the beginning of May are now about 8" high in the polybags filled with sieved peat. I'll need to put canes around the bags soon and tie strings across and around to support the foliage before it gets too tall. The canes placed over the pots in the pic are to stop cats digging in the peat.......soddin buggers!

Before the foliage gets too long I'll also just have to top up the bags with more sieved peat to give the optimum growing area for the tubers to swell into. Then it's just a matter of making sure they get plenty of water.

Progress update

Long carrots Foliage looking good and a good 8-10" long.

Stump carrots Thinned to one per station. Foliage 2" high. No problems so far (Heracles)

Parsnips Erratic growth but few problems otherwise. Sprayed against aphids twice already.

Large Onions In greenhouse......very good foliage and starting to swell.

8oz onions Planted outside and growth as usual. (var.Tasco)

Shallots About ready for lifting but size disappointing. Foliage has been poor.

Tomatoes 6 plants of 'Cedrico' in greenhouse. 2' high and 2 flower trusses. 6 smaller plants to go in this weekend.

Cherry toms 'Gardeners Delight' and 'Sungold' planted in row outside next to leek bed. 10" high no flowers yet.

Leeks Already on 18" collars and 1" dia. No problems with foliage yet.

Beetroot Successional sowings 'Pablo' from early May. Most seem to have germinated.

Cabbages 'Brigadier' looking very good. 'Kilaxy' may have succumbed to a virus as leaf edges crinkled and yellowing. Red Cabbage 'Maestro' also looking good.

Brussels 'Brilliant' starting to grow well.

Caulis Still in cells in greenhouse. Will be planted out in place of lifted shallots.

Runner beans First sowing of 'Enorma' made 2 nights ago in pots. 2nd sowing in a week or so.

French beans First sowings will be this weekend. 'The Prince' & 'Purple Speckled'

Cucumber 'Carmen' will be sown this weekend.

Marrows First sowing made last night 'Blyton Belle'

Courgettes 'Orelia' and 'One Ball' germinated in pots in greenhouse

Pumpkin Plants ready for planting

Potatoes 4 varieties 'Winston', 'Kestrel', 'Nadine', and 'Maxine' planted and through compost in varying stages. 'Amour' to plant this weekend but would have liked to have had them in at least a fortnight ago.

Peppers Planted in large pots. 'Californian Wonder' and 'Sweet Spot'

Many other veg in various stages on and around the plot.

Latest on long carrots

The long carrots have also put on decent growth and they should get away well from now on. A spray with insecticide may be required if greenfly descend but they don't usually go for carrots I tend to find, preferring my parsnips next door. However, slugs and snails are a different proposition and I have to scatter pellets over the tops of the drums to kill them.......whoever says slugs and snails don't like to crawl over coarse materials is talking out of his chocolate starfish!

Unlike most veg, with roots you don't really know until Show day whether you have some good exhibits or not. They may have forked halfway down or be bent etc. But hopefully the preparation you did in the early Spring means that the hard work has been done and the tap roots are now going down deep into the growing medium ready to put on good weight during the Summer.

I will scatter some special powder that I've bought called Rovril during late June and late August to try and deter the carrot root fly. It's not available to the general public (don't ask how I came by some!) and stinks to high heaven. You just scatter a few grains around the crown of each carrot and the root fly won't come anywhere near it......we shall see!

Onions starting to excite me !!!

The onions I purchased back in March have put on exceptional growth.....compared to what I've been used to at any rate. You can almost see the difference daily. I've only ever managed to get them to a couple of pounds but I feel sure these will excel that easily.

The key now is to keep them growing upright in order to keep them symmetrical in outline when harvested. I won't liquid feed except perhaps for some phostrogen towards the end of June to assist with the ripening process. All being well I'll start to harvest during late July.....which won't be easy as I'll be on holiday in Rhodes so I'm hoping my daughter's boyfriend will

Showing Tips

I'm quite proud of this..........I've prepared it for inclusion on the website of Sutton Bonington Show.



http://www.calypso.fsnet.co.uk/Guidelines%20for%20Exhibiting.pdf

Get planting

The risk of a late frost should now be over with.......so now's the time to be planting all the tender veg such as courgettes, marrows, lettuces, runner and french beans, as well as all your bedding plants.

Having said that, as I grow for show I haven't even sown my beans yet. I'll be sowing my runner beans in pots tonight. I find that you have better results if you plant out strong plants and germination is more or less guaranteed. They soon make good strong growth and allows me more time to prepare my supports properly. The variety I grow is ENORMA.

My french beans will not go in for at least another week as these only need 8 to 10 weeks from sowing to cropping. I'll be growing THE PRINCE and PURPLE SPECKLED. I'm even toying with the idea of growing these in large pots to make picking easier and to keep them out of reach of slugs.

After my weekend away I've had to throw away several trays of veg and bedding plants.....that's what you get if you leave the watering duties to an airhead of an 18 year old daughter !

Adios!

Last post for a few days.....off indulging my other passion of hillwalking in the Lake District. Will be back on Tuesday 15 'Wainwright's and 30 miles later!