TopVeg - growing veg,fruit&herbs » container

Courgette ‘Black Forest’ Climbing Zucchini

TopVeg — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:27:07 +0000

Courgette ‘Black Forest’ is a climbing Zucchini; an F1 Hybrid, latin name Cucurbita pepo.

This climbing Courgette is an ideal variety for growing in containers on the patio. As it grows upwards it saves space and is more ‘controlable’.

The long stems are tied onto a trellis or netting to help them grow upwards.

courgette black forest

Courgette Black Forest:

produces heavy yields
dark green, smooth, cylindrical 15cm (6”) courgettes
height: 120cm (48″)
spread: 60cm (24″)
sow in April, May or June
flowers June – August
likes full sun

Click this link to buy some seed of the climbing Zucchini Courgette Black Forest.

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Aluminium Planters

TopVeg — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:50:50 +0000

Aluminium is an ideal material for planters as it does not rust and needs no painting or treatments. Aluminium is a very light metal so is the perfect metal for window boxes which are fixed to the wall.

mounted aluminium planter

The boat shaped planter in the photos is made by Matthew of Aluminium Art.

flowers in aluminium planter

The planters would make an ideal herb trough, similar to the one below which is growing mint, chives, thyme, oregano and borage.

herb-trough

The planters come with ready made drainage holes, so just need filling with compost before planting out.

There is great potential for growing fruit and veg, too. Strawberries grow well in containers, and tumbling tomatoes look spectacular. Click this link for more ideas for which veg to grow in containers.

Matthew builds each aluminium planter himself from scratch so is able to alter the size to suit. Free-standing aluminium planters look stunning and make an excellent present for a gardener. Traditional 10th wedding anniversary gifts have a theme of aluminium, so the planter would be most appropriate.

For more information click Aluminium Art; the aluminium planters make a welcome present which needs no aftercare!

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Potato Variety Accord – first early

TopVeg — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 07:09:22 +0000

The recently launched potato variety Accord is a first early.

Accord potatoes are:

first early
disease resistant – Double eelworm resistant
high yielding
creamy fleshed
very tasty
easy to grow
ideal for containers, patio planters, a sunny balcony or roof terrace

Click this link to order some Accord seed potatoes, which are a first early variety.

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Strawberry Flamenco for containers

TopVeg — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:59:16 +0000

The strawberry variety Flamenco is ideal for gardeners who are short of space, or use containers, as it produces lots of sweet, juicy strawberries over a long period.

Strawberry-present

Strawberry Flamenco

fruits June to November – but peak harvest is September
extend growing season with polytunnel
ideal for containers on patio

Click this link to buy some Strawberry Flamenco plants, which can be planted out in the vegetable garden or grown in pots & containers on the patio.

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What are Baby Mini Vegetables

TopVeg — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:24:44 +0000

Baby or mini vegetables are what the modern household requires – small, but perfectly formed vegetables.

Mini veg are produced in several ways:

plants which naturally produce tiny fruit like cherry tomatoes

CherryTomatoes

harvesting vegetables when young – such as carrots

first-carrots

planting seed close together – such as Leek King Richard, which can be direct sown closer together, without the need to transplant for mini leeks

leek-plants-trimmed

special mini cultivars produce baby fruit from compact plants

examples include:

baby sweetcorn – minor
beetroot – pablo
broad beans – stereo

broccoli – kabuki
cabbage – shelta

carrots – Mokum
cauliflower – avalanche
chard – duo

courgette – black forest
cucumber – fanfare
leeks – lancelot

lettuce – mini green
pepper – mohawk
radish – rougette
runner beans – summer medley Hestia
salad leaves
spinach – galaxy
tomatoes - Vilma
turnip – primera

Gone are the days when a cabbage or cauliflower lasts a family a week – sections of the head being cut off and cooked each day. Now a baby or mini veg will provide a mature cabbage or cauliflower which is small enough to be eaten by one or two people in one sitting. If the household is larger, the baby mini veg provide the opportunity to present a selection of fresh vegetables, by using several different mini veg for one meal.

Gone are the days when a cabbage or cauliflower lasts a week – with sections being cut off and cooked each day. Now these vegetables have varieties which will mature quickly and produce a very small specimen, just large enough for one or two people to eat in one meal. Or, their compact size means that they can be mixed with other mini veg to provide a selection of fresh veg for one meal.

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10 Reasons to Grow Baby Mini Veg

TopVeg — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:30:02 +0000

Baby or mini vegetables are becoming very popular and there are good reasons for growing them:

space saving ideal for window box, containers,patios or raised bed
easily grown – vigorous & quick growing
fast to mature – encouraging to harvest within a few weeks!
great introduction to vegetable growing – easy to see results
grow closer together – more production & less weeds
provide regular supply – sow little & often every 3 weeks
early harvesting – mini veg mature early so extending the season
provide small portions – ideal for contributing to a selection of veg or for small households
appeal to children – because small & perfectly formed! Good for kids to grow and eat
pests & diseases reduced – most mini veg grow quickly and have a short growing season

pulled-carrots

The list of baby mini vegetables is growing every year as new mini cultivars are developed. Some examples are:

baby sweetcorn – minor
beetroot – pablo
broad beans – stereo

broccoli – kabuki
cabbage – shelta

carrots – Mokum
cauliflower – avalanche
chard – duo

courgette – black forest
cucumber – fanfare
leeks – lancelot

lettuce – mini green
pepper – mohawk
radish – rougette
runner beans – summer medley Hestia
salad leaves
spinach – galaxy
tomatoes - Vilma
turnip – primera

Have you tried any varieties of mini veg that we could add to this list?

This book from Amazon discusses growing vegetables in pots:

There are many good reasons to grow a few baby mini veg this year.

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Grow Potatoes in Containers

TopVeg — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:29:14 +0000

A lot of people want to grow potatoes, but think it is impossible because they have not got a big garden, can plant the potatoes in containers.

Thompson & Morgan have an easy solution with their patio planters collection.

patio planters

The green, woven-plastic container will fit on a porch, verandah, or patio. The container is big enough to grow 4 or 5 seed potatoes, and can be used over and over again. So it would be exciting to plant a second crop when the first ones have been harvested, to give some new potatoes at Christmas.

Click on this link to buy patio planters if you would like to grow potatoes in containers.

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Winter Salads Growing Well

TopVeg — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:47:07 +0000

The oriental salad mix is growing well and providing a continuous crop of winter salad.

oriental-mix-Dec12th

The oriental salad seeds were sown directly into the soil in the greenhouse in September.

The leaves are big enough to be harvested with scissors after about 8-10 weeks. After cutting, more leaves grow, providing a constant supply of winter salad leaves.

oriental-salad-mix

The mix includes leaf Mustards, Golden Streaked and Red, Komatsuna, Mizuna and Sky Rocket. The different shapes, colours and textures of the leaves makes an interesting salad. Some of the leaves have a peppery taste adding a sharp tang.

Click this link to buy a packet of oriental salad mix. It is surprising how much winter salad this oriental mix has produced and it is still growing well in mid December.

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Tomato Patio Planter

TopVeg — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:28:04 +0000

tomato-patio-planter

This tomato patio planter will hold quite a collection of tomatoes, providing delicious salads as well as a charming feature on the patio.

Teamed up with tomato seeds and tomato fertiliser, the tomato patio planter makes a great gift for the gardener or a welcome Christmas present.

Click this link to buy the tomato patio planter, with seeds and fertiliser for £28.99.

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Beautiful beans

TopVeg — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:56:40 +0000

Gloria Bonde grows beautiful scarlet runner beans every year in a window box with a curved trellis rustically made of dogwood twigs that curves over the window box window.
Gloria says “They are so easy to grow. They have a beautiful red bloom.”

runner-beans-in-flower

Beans are so attractive and both flowers & beans come in many shapes & sizes . The new midwinter broad bean has beautiful flowers in shades of pink & red and seeds that are red, or that turn purple at maturity.

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