Re: What are you harvesting today?

by Ploshkin 9th May 2020, 9:37 am

I think that's called dedication Freebird!

by freebird 9th May 2020, 1:26 pm

Nah, I think that's called being a tight old bag who doesn't want to buy new seed!

by Ploshkin 14th May 2020, 1:18 pm

SPOILER ALERT -THE C WORD
I had my first 2 courgettes from the polytunnel yesterday, only 3 -4" long but they did in a stir fry.

by FloBear 14th May 2020, 1:31 pm

Oh My Word!

I found three ripe strawberries yesterday from plants that migrated out of the raised bed over the last couple of years. They've been left for the birds but they hadn't spotted them. The chickens got the one with the woodlice in. Well, Igor did - she's the biggest and can run fastest!

by freebird 14th May 2020, 4:51 pm

Oh excellent Ploshkin. My courgettes are still in pots waiting for it to be warm enough for planting out. I did notice earlier though that some of the plants of that family (might have been squashes or courgettes - didn't check) have a little flower bud cluster emerging already.

by Dandelion 14th May 2020, 9:38 pm

I filled an old dustbin with homemade compost and grew some potatoes in the greenhouse, planting them at the end of February. As there were flowers on the foliage I decided it was time ot harvest them yesterday. I didn't exactly envisage a dustbin full of new potatoes, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the less-than-a-pound that I carried back to the kitchen!! I bet they'll taste nice though...

by Ploshkin 14th May 2020, 11:12 pm

Dandelion, I have never had success growing potatoes in any sort or size of container. I have however had amazing yields in the polytunnel. Although I do them in bottomless rings (18" diameter 16" high) nothing seems to grow down into the soil and I find a layer of really good sized potatoes on the soil surface at the bottom of the rings. If i had a container that size with a bottom I would probably get a handful of ping pong balls.

by freebird 15th May 2020, 8:47 am

Before I knew I was getting an allotment, I bought a few seed potatoes to grow in potato bags. I decided to go ahead with that anyway even though one of my allotment plots is now full of emerging potatoes plus a few volunteers from the previous incumbent. It will be interesting to see how the container potatoes fare. Wonder if it's more to do with watering than the container.

by Ploshkin 15th May 2020, 9:58 am

First mangetout yesterday from the polytunnel. Only 3 so i had to eat them straight from the plant - someone has to do it. It will be a daily forage now, pity we haven't still got pigs.

by Dandelion 16th May 2020, 10:23 pm

freebird wrote:Before I knew I was getting an allotment, I bought a few seed potatoes to grow in potato bags. I decided to go ahead with that anyway even though one of my allotment plots is now full of emerging potatoes plus a few volunteers from the previous incumbent. It will be interesting to see how the container potatoes fare. Wonder if it's more to do with watering than the container.

Yes, I wondered about the watering - I did check the dampness of the soil daily and watered when it felt dry - I had assumed that the depth of soil in the dustbin would keep everything moist, but maybe there just wasn't enough water. The other thing I wondered about was the temperature - we had all that unseasonably warm weather in April and the greenhouse temperature was reaching 35 degrees. Maybe potatoes don't like heat? I have planted half a raised bed with the same seed potatoes (I think they were Arran Pilot) so it will be interesting to see if the yield is much more per plant. I hope so!

by freebird 16th May 2020, 10:52 pm

Hmm, that's made me think, Dandelion. My potato bags are dark green, and will get pretty warm. Think tomorrow I am going to move them behind a low wall, so the bags will stay shaded but the leaves will get sun.

by Ploshkin 17th May 2020, 6:59 am

My potaroes in the polytunnel have had very high temps - this year over 35° on many days which isn't usual at this time of year. I have always had huge crops from there so it will be interesting to see what i have this year.

by freebird 17th May 2020, 9:10 am

I don't think the air temperature would necessarily make that much difference, so long as the plants have adequate water. But the compost in a relatively small container exposed to the sun is going to be very much higher than soil temperature.

I've just read back to your post about growing your potatoes in the bottomless rings - interesting that you find your best potatoes actually on the soil at the bottom, so perhaps the tubers do develop best in a cooler growing medium. I reckon it's worth trying to keep the compost temperature cooler, so shall move my planters today.

by Ploshkin 17th May 2020, 7:06 pm

Dinner is cooking - nothing fancy, just home produced pork chops accompanied by new potatoes, courgettes, carrots and mangetout with strawberries to follow, all from the polytunnel.

by Chilli-head 17th May 2020, 7:54 pm

by Dandelion 17th May 2020, 11:07 pm

We had a (tiny) feast with the new potatoes - there were just enough for three of us and they tasted amazing!

by frankbeswick 18th May 2020, 8:59 am

Lovely. I have not been so fortunate, as my potatoes were hit by frost, but they should recover. There are still green leaves.

by Chilli-head 18th May 2020, 9:10 am

A lot of the potatoes at our allotment site were caught by frost. I was lucky that I planted mine a bit late, and they seemed to more or less escape it. But, having spent years trying to kill potatoes (for work, volunteers in other crops) I know they are pretty robust things. They have a big store of energy - you can chop the top off several times before they die. I'm sure the frosted ones will be ok.

I am envious of Ploshkin's harvest. I have thinnings of lettuce and other saladings, and herbs. Last night we used our own parsley and Moroccan mint to make tabouleh to go with lamb kebabs, but that's about all. We still have garlic from last year, but the onions ran out last week.

by frankbeswick 18th May 2020, 9:12 am

Thanks, Chilli-head.

by freebird 18th May 2020, 6:30 pm

Not much harvesting going on here either. My salads all standing still after the cold weather shock. Some things just too new to be picked, such as asparagus (only planted early April), and the rhubarb seems to be struggling after a promising start - may be too dry.

Trying to crack on with site preparation for my new greenhouse. Still not sure what size it will be as the space is tight, but whatever it is will be bigger than I have had before. Hoping that maybe next year I can start some earlier crops in the greenhouse in containers.

by frankbeswick 18th May 2020, 9:10 pm

I gave my potatoes a good watering and covered them over with glass [they are in a raised bed.] It worked, new leaves are coming up.

by Dandelion 18th May 2020, 10:43 pm

Good news Frankbeswick!

by FloBear 27th May 2020, 12:11 pm

Two big handfuls of beautiful Broad Beans yesterday. I didn't even plant any, I was too lazy to do the final clear-up last year and the remaining few beans germinated and have produced enormous plants. Pollination was a bit erratic earlier on but they're going great guns now.

by Ploshkin 27th May 2020, 12:44 pm

Gosh, Flobear, theyve done well. My polytunnel ones, including one volunteer, are nearly ready. The pods are a good size but I suspect the beans inside aren't yet big enough.
I never realised, until I grew them in the tunnel, what a beautiful perfume the flowers have.

by Chilli-head 27th May 2020, 2:44 pm

We ate our first cucumber from the greenhouse yesterday. Very tasty. Broad beans are swelling, but need a few days yet.

by freebird 27th May 2020, 7:31 pm

My broad beans are still flowers!

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