The Maris Bard potato flower has light violet colour petals, and bright
yellow stamens.
maris-bard-flower
The flowers frequently set to produce fruits.
Maris Bard is a first early potato variety
July 23, 2008
Maris Bard Potato Flower
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July 21, 2008
Celery Harvest
celery
The celery harvest started 3 weeks ago. Although the celery has grown a lot since then, the celery is still tender and not stringy.
This is probably because we have had a lot of rain (40ml) since 1st July. Celery likes plenty of water.
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Harvest carrots
Harvest carrots as soon as they are large enough to use. Pull a few up
to see how big they are. If the carrots are left in the ground to
mature, the leaves will start to die off, but mature carrots will not
taste as good as younger ones.
bunch-of-carrots
To harvest carrots:
* use a fork to loosen the soil at the side of the carrot – making
sure it does not touch the carrot
* hold on to the carrot foliage and pull
Do not wash carrots before putting them into store
It is possible to harvest fresh carrots nearly all year round by regularly sowing suitable varieties.
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July 20, 2008
Harvesting Cauliflowers
Start harvesting cauliflowers (Latin Name – Brassica Oleracea Botrytis)
when the heads (the white curd) are firm.
cauliflower
If the individual florets making up the head are separating it is too late.
florets-separating
It is best to begin cutting the first cauliflowers when the heads are
still fairly small. This spreads the harvest out & prevents a glut of
cauliflower.
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Asparagus Pea Week 14
The asparagus peas have come to harvest in week 14.
asparagus-pea-wk14
The pods are difficult to see, so harvesting is slow. The pods have
frilly edges and should be picked when they are about an inch long.
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July 19, 2008
A Very Long Slug
This very long slug posed along side a ruler this morning – and almost
reached 6 inches!
6-inch-slug
The warm, humid weather is ideal for slugs and there is plenty of food
for them in the vegetable garden.
cabbage&slug-trap
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July 18, 2008
How To Grow Runner Beans
Farming Friends & TopVeg have collaborated to create a How To Grow Runner Beans card.
HowToGrowRunnerBeansSheet
HowToGrowRunnerBeansSheet
The card may be downloaded, printed off and pinned to the potting shed
wall as a useful reference on how to grow runner beans. If you would
like the How to Grow Runner Beans card as a pdf, just contact TopVeg & we will email you the document.
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July 17, 2008
Asparagus-fern
asparagus-fern
Stop cutting asparagus before the longest day in June, so that the spears can develop into fern. The fern will produce food for the root crowns,which acts as a food reserve for next year’s crop.
* remove weeds by hand to keep the asparagus bed clean
* provide support for the stems if necessary
* water during dry weather
* remove berries before they fall off the asparagus fern onto the ground
* cut down the asparagus fern in the autumn when it turns yellow
July 14, 2008
White Gem Parsnips
The White Gem Parsnip seed was planted in mid-June, and the young parsnips are now at the 3 true leaf stage.
3true-leaves-parsnip1
In the second photo, the two seed leaves can be seen below the three
true leaves of the parsnips. Click the image to enlarge it.
parsnip-3true-leaves
The stale seed bed system is paying dividends, as very few weeds are now germinating.
Germination is very slow in parsnips, but the white gem parsnips have
come through and are now growing well.
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July 8, 2008
Broad bean flowers and pods
These broad bean flowers are pure white! The flowers are from the Broad Bean variety Medes
broad-bean-flowers
Medes Broad Beans are a highly productive variety producing medium sized pods, each containing 5-6 tender, sweet, juicy beans.
The broad bean pods are filling now and will soon be checked to see if they are ready to harvest.
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