Gardener’s Delight Tomatoes were delivered yesterday by our kind neighbour. He brought so many that they will not all fit in the greenhouse, but the remainder will go outside and should do well against a wall.
Gardener’s Delight is a Cordon type suitable for the greenhouse or outdoors. It bears lots of bite-size fruit, ideal for salads and sandwiches and full of vitamins. Just what we need for picnics!
The plants do look rather leggy beside the Alicante. But they do have a different habit, so we will keep our fingers crossed.
The Alicante planted in growpots a couple of weeks ago have settled down and are growing well.
Aphids (such as greenfly and blackfly) appear on leafy vegetables at this time of year, and they need controlling.
As the aphids congregate on the growing tips of vegetable plants, beneficial insects will start to eat them, so that the aphids will gradually disappear after a few weeks. These beneficial insects include ladybirds, green lacewings and larvae of hover flies, which all feast on the aphids.
Beneficial parasites (such as small wasps that don’t sting humans) don’t eat the aphids, they lay their eggs inside the adult aphid. The baby wasp develops inside the Read More »
Heritage vegetables are beneficial to health according to research at the University of Brunswick, in Germany. Results reveal a chemical constitution more favourable to health in the case of heritage potatoes than with our modern varieties. The Blue Congo potato possesses as many antioxidant molecules as cranberries - one of the top super foods!
Heritage vegetables are the old fashioned varieties grown by previous generations of vegetable gardeners. These have been replaced by ‘improved’ varieties, with higher yields, disease resistance, and superior keeping qualities.
Older varieties of potato (Solanum tuberosum) being grown, which are coloured, and therefore high in antioxidants, include: Read More »
Some of the courgettes have been planted out into the vegetable garden. We usually wait till the end of May before planting them out, as there is still a risk of frost. The nights are cold, but covered with a glass dome, they should be safe.
The seeds were grown in pots, and are looking healthy.
Courgettes prefer an open well drained site. Read More »
The only way to tell if new potatoes are ready to dig is to have a look. It is possible to gently remove the soil from the side of the ridge, to have a look at the new tubers. If this is done carefully, the soil can be replaced without disturbing the potatoes, if they do not look big enough. They will keep growing, as long as they have not been broken off the white underground stem (stolon).
The early potatoes are about ready to dig, and the main crop potatoes have been ridged up. They have recovered from the bashing by the heavy rain and are all standing up and looking well.
The mint is a few inches tall now, so will be ready to join the new potatoes in the kitchen!
The early broad beans have been in flower for weeks, but a lot of flowers have fallen off without setting pods. Read More »
There are two sub-species of Garlic (allium sativum): The hard-necked garlics were the original garlics and the soft-necked ones were developed or cultivated over the centuries by growers from the original hard-necks through a process of selection.
Allium Sativum Ophioscorodon (Hard-necked garlics) (Ophios for short)
The name possibly originates from the Greek “ophis” meaning “snake”
Hardneck garlics have a “scape” - stalk - which coils from the top. On the top of this scape grow a number of bubils which are often thought to be garlic flowers.
Hardneck garlics have fewer, larger cloves then the softnecks. They also have less of an outer bulb wrapper, sometimes none at all. This makes them more sensitive and reduces their shelf life. Read More »
Garlic� (Latin name - Allium sativum L.) is in the onion family.
The head of garlic is a bulb.
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� The bulb is made up of sections called cloves.
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Before planting, split� the individual cloves from a head of garlic.� Plant each garlic clove in an upright position, with the pointed bit at the top, & the flat rooting area at the bottom.
