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Calling SMB veg growers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 5265
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bobthebandit said:
Ive also not had a single cauliflower, my broccoli is big but nothing to pick as yet. Also my sweetcorn cobs have all burst open. On the plus side my turnips / swede are looking good on the the tops and if the underneath is as good they do me fine. Never pull them till we've had a frost though. Also my pumpkins were poor this year.
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I grow amazonka pumpkins (from suttons) and had a great crop last year. This year the ones that have grown are pretty good. Rather than giants to carve and throw out, these are small and tasty squashes and were high yielding. I think I have about 6 this year out of 8-10 plants. The ones that have grown are mostly pretty good, but not so good on numbers.

My sweetcorn was the best I'd ever grown. But I'd left some on the plant for too long and the kernels had started to shrivel and go hard. Pick earlier and freeze I think is the way forward.
 

Still getting some blackberries on our vine/bush whatever it is. I think I'll wait until my Dad comes down and he can prune it to his standards!
Nowt on the black current this year unfortunately. If we get nowt next summer it's coming out.

Amazingly still getting some sunflowers blooming. It's all coming from one trunk but it's been quite amazing this year! Saved all the sunflower seeds for the birds too. A bit of a sticky job, but better than just hoying it in the recycling
 
CaptainWOW said:
Has anyone had any success over wintering chilli plants? Is it worth it or better to regrow from seed in the new year?
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I had some that hadn't grown very well in year one
Dug them out and put in fresh soil in pots.
Kept in the porch over the winter
Put them out in late spring
Did very little, grown next to nowt and they've currently got a handful on tiny chillies on them at about 1 foot tall.
Will leave them to rot into the soil over the winter then the rest will go in the compost. I'm done bothering with chili plants!
 
DaveH said:
I grow amazonka pumpkins (from suttons) and had a great crop last year. This year the ones that have grown are pretty good. Rather than giants to carve and throw out, these are small and tasty squashes and were high yielding. I think I have about 6 this year out of 8-10 plants. The ones that have grown are mostly pretty good, but not so good on numbers.

My sweetcorn was the best I'd ever grown. But I'd left some on the plant for too long and the kernels had started to shrivel and go hard. Pick earlier and freeze I think is the way forward.
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I normally have a good harvest of sweetcorn but this year urg.... i googled it and it seems like the cuase was too much water! I think i put my pumpkins in to late but we only use them for the kids to carver so they just have to do with little head which look more spooky anyway
 
Keawyeds said:
Still getting some blackberries on our vine/bush whatever it is. I think I'll wait until my Dad comes down and he can prune it to his standards!
Nowt on the black current this year unfortunately. If we get nowt next summer it's coming out.

Amazingly still getting some sunflowers blooming. It's all coming from one trunk but it's been quite amazing this year! Saved all the sunflower seeds for the birds too. A bit of a sticky job, but better than just hoying it in the recycling
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I believe Black Currant bushes produce less and less fruit as they get older. I think the optimal age for digging out is 7 years (best look that up though). If you grow lots of bushes, successional planting is the answer, say new bush every 2 years.
 
socrates said:
I believe Black Currant bushes produce less and less fruit as they get older. I think the optimal age for digging out is 7 years (best look that up though). If you grow lots of bushes, successional planting is the answer, say new bush every 2 years.
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Well this one has done sod all since we bought it from a a root/cane
 
Sweetcorn did brilliant again this year. Always plant it next to the greenhouse to shade the cucumbers inside, and it gets reflected heat from the glass. 2 ears from every stem every year.
Got butternut squash for the first time ever this year, but no fruit at all from the pumpkins.
Leeks not great, but I think I was late putting them in. When is the best time. I grow them from seed in plugs then plant them out. Any one help please?
 
bobthebandit said:
Ive also not had a single cauliflower, my broccoli is big but nothing to pick as yet. Also my sweetcorn cobs have all burst open. On the plus side my turnips / swede are looking good on the the tops and if the underneath is as good they do me fine. Never pull them till we've had a frost though. Also my pumpkins were poor this year.
Click to expand...
I've had a great crop of sweetcorn this year. I did last year but they were all eaten by rats as they matured.
bobthebandit said:
Ive also not had a single cauliflower, my broccoli is big but nothing to pick as yet. Also my sweetcorn cobs have all burst open. On the plus side my turnips / swede are looking good on the the tops and if the underneath is as good they do me fine. Never pull them till we've had a frost though. Also my pumpkins were poor this year.
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The best cauliflowers I've ever had were winter ones on my polytunnel
 
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Georgewhitt said:
Pushed for space, so not me. But people I know reckon they are quite easy. Not too much fuss
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I bought two plants and put them in a polytunnell and they have both spread quite well and still got loads of foliage which has to die off before you can pick them but a couple of lads at the allotment say they were unsuccessful when they tried growing them as I said still loads of foliage and the long hot summer might give me the edge but I read they grow better down south.
 
I cut back my to tomatoes after they had gone nuts with sideshoots and tuned the greenhouse into a jungle. I should have been better with sideshoot snipping. Loads of green tomatoes on them, gut half a bucket full.

Is it better to ripen them on a windowsill or make something out of them?
 
DaveH said:
I cut back my to tomatoes after they had gone nuts with sideshoots and tuned the greenhouse into a jungle. I should have been better with sideshoot snipping. Loads of green tomatoes on them, gut half a bucket full.

Is it better to ripen them on a windowsill or make something out of them?
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You can do either, my missus made green tomato chutney with some of them and it was nice with a curry.
 
DaveH said:
I cut back my to tomatoes after they had gone nuts with sideshoots and tuned the greenhouse into a jungle. I should have been better with sideshoot snipping. Loads of green tomatoes on them, gut half a bucket full.

Is it better to ripen them on a windowsill or make something out of them?
Click to expand...
They probably won't ripen that well marra, but green tomato chutney is lovely mate.
 
Georgewhitt said:
They probably won't ripen that well marra, but green tomato chutney is lovely mate.
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I'm the only one who really eats chutney. I'm tempted to slice and pickle some then roast the rest with some onion, garlic and I might mix in some tomatillos, and red tomatoes. With some fried chicken, have a fajita night then if there is too much I reckon that should freeze.
 
DaveH said:
I'm the only one who really eats chutney. I'm tempted to slice and pickle some then roast the rest with some onion, garlic and I might mix in some tomatillos, and red tomatoes. With some fried chicken, have a fajita night then if there is too much I reckon that should freeze.
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So long as they get eaten marra.
That's why we grow them. 👍
 
Georgewhitt said:
So long as they get eaten marra.
That's why we grow them. 👍
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:)

Part of me regrets doing "maintenance" on them. It is unbelievable how much plant had grown from untidy side shoots. The plants were really starting to struggle so I hacked it all back. Looks like the main plants had pretty much finished fruiting and it was only the side shoots producing. I probably should have left them, though they might have rotted as the plants struggled and the colder weather coming.

Almost everything does get eating. I love it in early spring when you dig things over and you find stuff you missed. It might be an onion started sprouting again, a parsnip, carrot, a few potatoes, the last few leeks or a swede that looked rubbish last year but grew a bit more over winter. There are a few times I've come in with a good handful of random veg and chucked it in a pot with sausages or something to make a 'free' casserole.
 
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