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Post by Aly on Jul 6, 2018 19:22:42 GMT
Tomatoes doing well, picked the last peas and they are now in the freezer. Think I will plant some more as can never have too many. Raspberries have given up sadly! Walnut tree is laden this year as is my gala apple tree. The geese keep eating the lower hanging fruit! Potatoes looking good too.
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Post by ambersparkle on Jul 8, 2018 11:52:46 GMT
Eating a Sandwich with the first Cucumber of the Season, Delicious,
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Post by sooliz on Jul 12, 2018 14:51:10 GMT
Have just been in the garden and picked loads of runner and yellow French beans, peas, 5 courgettes and a marrow. We have salad leaves from the polytunnel for lunch every day, along with cucumbers. The first young carrots are ready, they're delicious. And tomorrow we'll be able to have the first little red Tumbler toms from the hanging baskets beside the front door. Our veg and fruit purchases from the supermarket have gone down drastically, in fact I think the only things I've bought this week have been bananas and oranges (unfortunately, we can't seem to grow them!!) and a couple of sweet potatoes for Betty.
Tina, aren't homegrown cucumbers delicious? So crisp and yummy, makes you realise the supermarket ones are completely tasteless. As are most of the veggies from there. They don't have any smell either, unlike homegrown veggies.
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Post by ambersparkle on Jul 13, 2018 11:25:21 GMT
I just can't believe how many you get, either when they start coming. I have been having my Daughter's from the Greenhouse, so far, but wait for it, Drum Roll, my first outside Cucumber is nearly ready to pick, and what's the betting it tastes even better, feel a lot of Bread and Butter Pickle coming on. Peas, almost ready, and Beans almost, too. There is nothing like picking and eating your own Produce, it must be something Primeavil in us. Same with Jam, and Chutney, when your Store starts to grow.
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Post by sooliz on Jul 19, 2018 6:40:39 GMT
Some of our veggies just haven't liked the hot dry weather and haven't done very well - the peas for a start, we only had a few. Courgettes were very slow to get going, but are now producing loads. The butternut squashes are struggling. However, the Charlotte potatoes we've grown in bags are wonderful, the land cress is flourishing in the deep greenhouse bed, loads of salad leaves which we're picking every day, lots of cucumbers now and a few tomatoes now ripening every day. However, we've noticed the skins on the tomatoes are a bit tough....on googling I found it's again because of the heat, the skin thickens and toughens to protect the fruit, apparently. Lots of new young carrots too, which are scrummy.
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Post by ambersparkle on Jul 19, 2018 8:57:35 GMT
Yes, it's Bounty Time here too Sue, actually noticed the thicker Skin on my Cucumber, but thought I had left it on the Stem or whatever it's called, too long.
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Post by Aly on Aug 7, 2018 15:27:18 GMT
Everything is suffering here. The leeks are fatter but not sure how good they will be. The tomatoes are still coming but very slowly and despite the heat the chilies and peppers show no sign of producing anything! Altogether very disappointing after all the work I did in the spring! My wildflower garden looks a complete mess as everything has gone to seed. I think it will scatter grass seed to tidy it up then let the flowers regrow through it next year.
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Post by sooliz on Aug 7, 2018 17:05:23 GMT
That must be disheartening, Aly. It's been a curious mixture of successes and failures here, some things have done very well (e.g. tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes (as always!), Charlotte potatoes in bags, soft fruit). Other things didn't do well at all - lettuce, salad leaves, Chinese cabbages, radishes all bolted, shallots just didn't grow, several of the flowering shrubs have suffered a lot, the sweet peas were rubbish.
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Post by ambersparkle on Aug 8, 2018 9:08:00 GMT
Everything has done well here, grew Lettuce in the Shade, but although nice, bolted quite quickly. Onions, were about the only things that suffered, but I never can grow Spring Onions, anyway. Note for next Year, grow more Peas, they were my usual, 'Kelvedon Wonder', and they have been exceptional. Loads of Beans to come, and the Bonus is, the pretty Flowers on them, Red, and White, have actually been asked, what the Flower was. My Spring Book is in, with some beautiful Tulips, will get my Order away early, will be hard to make a Choice. Well, must start the Day, Byeee.
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Post by sooliz on Aug 8, 2018 9:52:31 GMT
Our beans and peas were nice, but a very short cropping season, the heat killed them off very quickly.
Husband's just brought in a bowlful of our first autumn raspberries of the year. They'll also be our last...as mentioned, we're digging them up and getting rid of them after fruiting this year, they're just too much work and it's not as if we need them, we have loads of other soft fruit. Another 'making life easier' step.
He's also brought in most of the apples, some are ready, some aren't, but they are being absolutely besieged by wasps, of which there are loads this year. If we don't get them in now, we'll have no apples left by the time they're all ripe.
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Post by brightspark on Aug 8, 2018 10:12:30 GMT
Heehee, you may think you're digging up all the raspberries, Sue, but don't be surprised if you find them again next year. Ours are coming up everywhere, not always where we'd like them! Our figs in the UK are fruiting really well - we've had up to 10 per day. Now, strangely, I expected wasps to be rampant down here in France, especially around the figs, yet, they're still green and hard!! You'd think that the heat that has been overwhelming down here would be 'right up their street' - however, there aren't any to pick! So it's gonna be a tin of prunes for the breakfast porridge!! Just like Aly, no raspberries here either. They do need watering... Our russet apples are heavy on the trees here, but not a lot else. We didn't see any cherries (birds love 'em!). Still a bit shattered from the journey yesterday, and having trouble keeping my eyes open!
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Post by ambersparkle on Aug 29, 2018 11:50:56 GMT
Picked four large Cucumbers today, don't know what to make with them, but could just pickle them, I suppose, yes, will do that. See there are lots of Beans need picking, getting a bit coarse now. Peas, are finished. Apples, are massive, don't think they are quite ready, but will test two of the Varieties, and see. This Afternoon, want to get Planters ready for Spring Flowers.
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Post by sooliz on Sept 8, 2018 6:27:05 GMT
The front (my flower) garden is all sorted now, border perennials filling out nicely, all pots now planted up with perennials, tulip bulbs in the border, winter pansies in the wall baskets.
As the veggies come to an end, husband is pulling the plants up and digging over each bed, prior to covering them with manure (we get an endless free supply of it living here) for the winter. We're planning what we'll grow next year, we're going to do less variety but just stick to what we like and eat the most of and which does well here - think we'll give up on aubergines, for example, we don't seem to do very well with them.
Still got tomatoes and courgettes, although they've slowed up considerably now. The potatoes he planted in bags 2 or 3 weeks ago are already pushing through. We have lots of carrots, parsnips, Savoy and red cabbage, butternut squash and tons of leeks to see us through winter, which is gratifying.
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Post by ambersparkle on Sept 10, 2018 8:51:20 GMT
Everything under control, Sue, afraid I am not there yet. Still getting Cucumbers, but TTomatoes, finished, it is getting wild up here, so might put Bulbs in, on the next good Day, if there is One ? Was going to put overwintering Onions in, but Spring planted seem to be ready about the same time, so not going to bother.
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Post by brightspark on Sept 10, 2018 10:19:52 GMT
We didn't think our greengages had produced this year, but OH found two!! Oh my, they were the sweetest fruit. So, I did a bit of reading about greengages. One theory suggested that the more fruit produced on the tree, the less flavour. This may explain why just two would be so delicious! Interestingly, while in France, I bought a tray of greengages, and, as mentioned, they lacked a certain amount of flavour, so I presume that as they are grown for quantity, that may be the reason.
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