TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs

August 30, 2010

Greengage

Filed under: fruit — Tags: — TopVeg @ 3:08 pm

Greengages are one example of a gage – the yellow gages are equally good. 

yellow-gage

yellow-gage

Gages are a type of plum but are smaller, rounder and sweeter than dessert plums.  Gages are very, very juicy.

greengage-with-stalk

greengage-with-stalk

 

Gages are more tender than most plums and prefer to be grown against a south wall.

Greengages make excellent jam.

How to Tell Victoria Plums are Ready to Pick

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , , , , — TopVeg @ 2:34 pm

There are four signs which tell if Victoria Plums are ready to pick:

  • Twist the plum gently off the stem. The plum is ripe when it comes off easily.  Plums usually leave their stalk on the tree.
victoria-plums

victoria-plums

  • The colour of the plum changes when they are ripe.  The skin becomes reddy-pink on one side &  yellowy on the other.
ripe&unripe-plum

ripe&unripe-plum

The plum on the left of the picture is not quite ripe.  It is greener than the plum on the left which has turned more yellowy as it has ripened.

  • Cutting a plum open will reveal the stone & show if it is loose inside the plum.  This a a photo of the yellowy plum above after it was cut open.  The stone was quite loose and fell out
ripe plum with loose stone

ripe plum with loose stone

If the stone is still firmly attached to the flesh and difficult to separate, the plum is not ripe.  The photo below is of the green plum in the picture above.  The stone would not come away from the flesh.

unripe plum cut

unripe plum cut

  • Gently squeezing the plum will tell if they are still hard.  If they are softening a bit, then they are ripe.

Victoria plums do not all ripen at once, so they are not all ready to pick at the same time & the tree is usually picked several times.

August 10, 2010

Rhubarb Seed

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , — TopVeg @ 3:32 pm

We left a flower of rhubarb on the plant in the vegetable garden so that it could develop into a head of seed.

rhubarb-flower

rhubarb-flower

rhubarb-seed-head

rhubarb-seed-head

rhubarb-seed

rhubarb-seed

 

 The usual way to get a new rhubarb plant is to replant a piece cut off the crown (or root).  It will take a long time to establish a useful rhubarb plant from a seed.

August 9, 2010

When is it time to pick pears?

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , , — TopVeg @ 8:54 am

When is the right time to pick pears?   Pears will ripen according to variety, weather and location.

picking-pears picking-pears

Pears are ready to pick when they are: 

  • firm – but the flesh is very slightly springy.
  • just turning yellowish green. If too green they will never get their best flavor.
  • just turning the seeds brown.
  • ready to come away from the tree with a slight twist & lift. If the fruit does not come off easily, the pears are not ready to pick.  

     

      pick-pears pick-pear

Pears should never be allowed to ripen on the tree because: 

  • they become gritty.
  • the area around the core turns brown, soft and mushy.

Pears ripen best off the tree.

Jargonelle is an early variety of pear which is ready in early August, Beth is usually picked in late August. 

Gorham & Merton Pride   ripen in early September.  Beurre Hardy & Onward ripen mid-September.  Beurre Superfin, Conference, Durondeau, Fertility Improved,  Seckle, Thompsons & Louise Bonne de Jersey ripen at the end of September.

Williams‘ Bon Chretien are usually picked in September.

Doyenne du Comice, Packham’s Triumph & Josephine de Malines are ripe in mid-October.  The time to pick Concorde & Winter Nelis,  late pears, is the end of October.

T

July 31, 2010

How to Pick Raspberries

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , , , — TopVeg @ 4:40 am

Raspberries are picked by pulling them gently off the stalk so that the white hull is left behind, attached to the stalk.  The raspberries will come off easily when ripe.  If they do not leave the stalk easily they are not ready to be picked.

glen ample

glen ample

Method of Picking Raspberries:

  • gently hold the raspberry between finger and thumb
  • pull gently away from the stem
  • the raspberry should come off the stem, leaving the centre hull behind
  • place the raspberry gently into a container

The following two photos show before & after picking.  ‘Before’ has the raspberry on the stem; ‘after’ shows the whitish hull left on the stalk, after the raspberry has been picked.

rasp-before-picking

rasp-before-picking

raspberry-hull

raspberry-hull

It is important to handle the raspberries very gently, so that they remain fresh and nutritious after picking.

 

July 30, 2010

How to Pick Strawberries

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , , , — TopVeg @ 6:50 pm

Picking strawberries is an art, if the strawberries are to remain bright and unbruised.

ElsantaStrawberry

ElsantaStrawberry

The aim is to :

  • break the strawberry stalk without actually touching the berry
  • end up with a stalk about 1 cm long attached to the strawberry
  • not squeeze the strawberry at all
strawberry-60dayElsanta

strawberry-60dayElsanta

The method of picking strawberries:

  • surround the strawberry with your hand, and with the fore-finger & thumb nail pinch the stalk about 1cm from where it is attached to the strawberry
  • twist the stalk so that it breaks off
  • let the strawberry roll into the cup of your hand so it rests gently in the palm
  • carefully place the strawberry in a bowl
  • do not overfill the container or the berries at the bottom will get squashed
PickedStrawberry

PickedStrawberry

Strawberries are very tender & bruise  easily.  Once bruised they will start to deteriorate and rot .  Bruised strawberries loose their bright appearance and the colour darkens.

The strawberry must not be held in the fingers and pulled off the strawberry bush, because the pressure of the fingers on the berry will bruise it.  It is important to pick strawberries with the hull intact by breaking the stalk!

Strawberry Walls

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , , — TopVeg @ 7:55 am

Strawberry walls are superseding table top strawberries as a growing technique.

ripening-strawberries

ripening-strawberries

Agrovista exhibited their vertical strawberry wall at Fruit Focus last week.  The big advantages of a vertical strawberry wall are:

  • save space
  • produce more strawberries per metre than table tops
  • uses 4 times less water than table tops growing strawberries in peat bags

A Strawberry wall would look great on a balcony & strawberry walls  are definitely the way forward for gardeners who are short of space.

July 26, 2010

Black Butte blackberry

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , — TopVeg @ 8:20 pm

Black Butte is a  new blackberry variety from America which is famous for its very large berries.

Black-Butte-blackberry

Black-Butte-blackberry

Black Butte berries are:

  • uniformly shaped
  • elongated
  • huge – a berry can be up to 12 grams
  • sweet
  • juicy
  • delicious flavour
  • ripen early July to mid August

Black Butte blackberry plants are :

  • winter hardy
  • with thorny canes
  • requiring 1.8 (6ft) of wallspace.

Black Butte is an early season variety of blackberry which is highly recommended.

July 22, 2010

Table Top Strawberries

Filed under: fruit — Tags: , , — TopVeg @ 7:24 am

Table top strawberries have proved to be pest free – slugs cannot climb up to the table tops, & fungi do not like to be in such an exposed position! 

TableTopStrawberries

TableTopStrawberries

Not having to bend to pick the strawberries is an added bonus.  Click this link to read about a Pick Your Own Grower who was surprised to discover how popular his table-top strawberries were!

July 10, 2010

Ripe Cherries

Filed under: fruit — Tags: — TopVeg @ 12:43 pm

The cherries are ripe and we have a huge crop this year.

cherries

cherries

 Now is the time for a cherry clafoutis - my favourite pudding!  Easy to make – but it does not use many of the ripe cherries!

ripe-cherries

ripe-cherries

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