TopVeg - growing veg,fruit&herbs » flower

Flowering Rhubarb

TopVeg — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:16:43 +0000

Flowering rhubarb is a common site at this time of year. If the rhubarb flower is left on the plant, the root will be weakened & the stalks will be weak and thin.

rhubarb-flowering

Some people like to see rhubarb flowers in the garden.

rhubarb-flower

But if you are after rhubarb for the kitchen, the rhubarb flowers should be removed as soon as the flower buds are seen.

flower-bud-rhubarb

To remove the flower stem:

Hold the flowering-stalk close to the ground
Pull upwards twisting the stalk

The tendency to bolting depends on:

variety – Victoria is more prone to flowering than other varieties
maturity – older plants are more likely to flower than younger ones
weather – prolonged high temperatures and drought promote flowering
nutrition – lack of nutrients makes the plant want to seed

To encourage leaf growth and discourage flowering of rhubarb:

* divide the crowns every 4-5 years to keep them young
* water during the harvesting period if in drought conditions
* feed with well rotted manure or fertiliser in early spring and autumn
* do not totally strip the root – always leave 4 or 5 stalks.
* stop pulling stalks after July, to allow the leaves to feed the root
* do not force each crown more than once every two years
* provide an open, sunny site in the vegetable garden

Although flowering rhubarb looks pretty, it is not good for the production of rhubarb to eat.

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Damson Blossom

TopVeg — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:17:10 +0000

damson-blossom

Damson trees look spectacular when in blossom.

damson-tree-in-flower

The tree is covered with small, white flowers.

Click this link to buy a damson tree.

Damsons usually blossom in early April.

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Plum Flowers, but no frost

TopVeg — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:10:39 +0000

Plums are one of the first fruit trees to flower, bringing a welcome sign of spring, but watch out for the frost. The branches can be covered with light net curtains, or similar material, when frost is forecast.

victoria-blossom

The plum blossom is borne on bare branches before the leaves appear. They are particularly vulnerable to frosts :

the flowers have no leaves to protect them
the early blossoms appear when the nights are still cold

vic-plum-blossom

The frozen flower buds are badly damaged if the sun warms them up too quickly. So it is important to plant the plum trees:

in a sheltered spot protected from frosts
away from frost pockets
where the sun will not reach before 9.30am on a March morning, giving the buds time to thaw out slowly

victoria-plum-flower

If the blossom is frost damaged, no plums will develop. Hopefully, we have not had any frost this year while the Victoria plum has been in flower, so we look forward to a good harvest!

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Peas in Flower

TopVeg — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:36:38 +0000

In spite of the drought, the peas look very well and are in flower.

flower-pea

These peas were planted late, in the last week of May.

semi-leafless pea plant

They are a semi-leafless pea, with lots of tendrils which wind round each other and help hold the plant up.

semi-leaflesspea-in-flower

Soon the flowers will develop into the pods full of tiny peas. They can be eaten early as mangetout (the whole pod), or we can wait for the peas inside to grow & eat them as peas.

The pea flower has to be fertilised to produce the pod, but most blooms self-pollinate while still in bud.

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Midwinter Broad Beans Flower

TopVeg — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:19:51 +0000

The Midwinter broad beans are in flower.

flower-of-midwinter

The flowers are a deep purple.

Midwinter_bean-flower

The midwinter strain of broad bean was developed by Malcolm Allison. The plants are looking very strong and healthy, exhibiting their hybrid vigour.

strong-midwinter-beans

The bottom leaves of one plant appears to have rust, but so far it is not having any visible effects on the plant.

vigorous-midwinter-plants

Malcolm has warned that this strain of broad bean will not yield well. But we look forward to harvesting the purple Midwinter broad beans that will result from these flowers!

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What to do when rhubarb flowers

TopVeg — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:25:02 +0000

Rhubarb flowers should be removed as soon as they are seen.

Hold the flowering-stalk close to the ground
Pull upwards twisting the stalk
Remove the flowering stalk to the compost heap

If the rhubarb flower is left on the plant, the root will be weakened & the stalks will be weak and thin.

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Rhubarb Flower

TopVeg — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:06:31 +0000

Rhubarb (Latin name – Rheum rhabarbarum) often sends up flowering shoots at this time of the year.

: rhubarb-flower

If the rhubarb flower is left on the plant, the root will be weakened & the stalks will be weak and thin.

So, the rhubarb flowers should be removed as soon as they are seen.

Hold the flowering-stalk close to the ground
Pull upwards twisting the stalk

rhubarb-patch-March

The tendency to bolting depends on:

variety – Victoria is more prone to flowering than other varieties
maturity – older plants are more likely to flower than younger ones
weather – prolonged high temperatures and drought promote flowering
nutrition – lack of nutrients makes the plant want to seed

To encourage leaf growth and discourage flowering of rhubarb:

Although the rhubarb flower may add charm to the vegetable garden, it is not good for the production of rhubarb to eat.

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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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Bean flowers

TopVeg — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:15:31 +0000

Bean flowers are beautiful and so variable. These photos show french bean, broad bean and scarlet runner bean flowers.

french-bean-flower

broad-bean-flowers

runner-bean-flowers

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King Edward Potato Flowers

TopVeg — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:46:09 +0000

The King Edward Potatoes are producing flowers now. Click the image to
enlarge it.

King-Edward-Flower

flower-potato-KingEdward

The flowers of the King Edward Potato are purple with white tipped petals.

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