Re: What are you harvesting today?

by freebird 19th May 2017, 12:16 pm

First strawberries!

by Chilli-head 19th May 2017, 1:27 pm

Ooh. Are they in the open ground, or forced ?

We have had a few from a strawberry planter kept in the greenhouse over winter. It has been quite a while since I visited the outdoor ones at the lotty, and their netting is still sitting on my workbench waiting to go over them, so I hope they aren't ready yet ! Job for the weekend.

by freebird 19th May 2017, 4:03 pm

They are in the greenhouse, as I decided to try Ploshkin's idea of using ever bearers in containers in the greenhouse. My outdoor ones aren't far behind though - a few just showing a pink flush.

by Ploshkin 19th May 2017, 4:07 pm

Ooh well done Freebird, was that in the greenhouse? I don't think mine will be long, they're a good size but no pink tinge yet. We had the first pick before the end of May last year.
I've got carrots ready in the polytunnel but haven't had any yet.

by Ploshkin 19th May 2017, 4:08 pm

My ooh coincided with Chilli Heads so you've answered my question. I'm pleased that the gh one's have worked out.

by FloBear 20th May 2017, 10:13 am

I had my first strawberry yesterday. It had two tiny slugs burrowing in from underneath but it was a big fruit so I cut off the unwanted bits and ate the rest! They are in a raised bed and netted but not sure how to stop the soil beasties from attacking them.

by Ploshkin 20th May 2017, 11:37 am

In the polytunnel last year I used 2 applications of nematodes. I can't say how well they worked because it was my first year of growing in there so nothing to compare it with. But, I didn't have a big slug problem. I do also use the type of slug pellets that get taken down into the soil and are not damaging to other animals but only to let very young plants or seedlings establish.

by Chilli-head 20th May 2017, 1:53 pm

FloBear wrote:I had my first strawberry yesterday. It had two tiny slugs burrowing in from underneath but it was a big fruit so I cut off the unwanted bits and ate the rest! They are in a raised bed and netted but not sure how to stop the soil beasties from attacking them.

This is a bother when trying to be organic. Impossible to keep birds off without netting strawberrries, beetroot seedlings, brassica etc. And mesh to keep carrot root fly and these days leek moth off. But then the netting keeps the birds off the slugs and caterpillars too. And it becomes a bit of an effort to weed, taking the netting off and putting it back again.

by Dandelion 20th May 2017, 10:57 pm

My strawberries have straw underneath to keep the fruit off the soil, organic slug pellets sprinkled around and netting over the top to keep birds off. You can buy mats to put underneath the plants to use instead of straw (they have a hole in the middle, and a slit from one side to the hole so you wriggle the plant through the slit until the main stem coincides with the hole) I was just thinking - I wonder if you could make your own mats from something abrasive like sandpaper which would discourage the slugs?
The two other things I use against slugs are copper rings (expensive to start with, but once you've bought them they last for a lifetime!) and also grit - I borrow some of the hens' oystershell grit and make a barrier round vulnerable plants.

by Ploshkin 22nd May 2017, 9:08 am

I had my first potatoes out of the polytunnel yesterday - delicious. Rocket again, grown in manhole rings as I did last year. It seems to work that way and they don't take up much space so I'll carry on with that.
Lots of strawberries with a pink tinge now, it must be the good vibes coming from here.

by Ploshkin 26th May 2017, 2:26 pm

Had potatoes, carrots and strawberries out of the polytunnel yesterday. It's quite challenging keeping up with watering in there at the moment - it's been up to 42°c every day this week, even the self watering baskets have needed filling every day (but I'm not complaining).

by Chilli-head 30th May 2017, 3:41 pm

I picked a handful of broad beans at the weekend from the allotment. New potatoes will not be long - I had a little scrat around to see what's forming underground.

I've got lots of coriander about to run to seed, I think I'll use some of it to make Mutter Paneer. The rest I'll leave to run to seed, so I can make Cypriot Afelia with it.

by Ploshkin 30th May 2017, 6:41 pm

I pulled my broad bean plants up. They've sulked ever since I put them in and weren't going to do anything.
We've got potatoes and carrots from the tunnel for dinner (with home grown lamb chops) and I picked 1lb 10oz of strawberries with as many again nearly ripe.

by Dandelion 30th May 2017, 11:20 pm

My broad beans have succumbed to black fly (again...). I think it's going to be a bad year for aphids. Hopefully the rain we had yesterday will plump the pods up a bit, and after a good sloosh under the tap no-one will know about the black fly!

by freebird 31st May 2017, 9:52 am

Raspberries!

by Dandelion 31st May 2017, 11:14 am

freebird wrote:Raspberries!

Oooh, nice!

by Chilli-head 31st May 2017, 11:18 am

My raspberry bed is overrun with couch grass from the neighboring plot. I haven't seen her yet this year, neither has the plot by the look of it. Time for a word with the council I think; I hate to be a moaner, but I've put up with it for years, and it has only got worse.

by freebird 31st May 2017, 8:25 pm

Huge sympathy CH. Couch grass is an absolute bar steward.

by FloBear 1st June 2017, 9:37 am

I'm pretty sure raspberries are mu favourite fruit. I always get a few but the plot is old and neglected so I don't deserve any really! Have have plenty of strawberries to keep the two of us and the parrot happy.

by Ploshkin 4th June 2017, 7:15 pm

We've just eaten the first mangetout of the season from the polytunnel.
I've harvested the rest of the potato crop - a total of 14lbs from 6 tubers of Rocket.
I'm picking strawberries daily - I've had 4½lbs so far. I remembered that Freebird put a 'recpie on here for rhubarb and strawberry crumble so I managed to find the last of the rhubarb and the crumble has just come out of the oven.

by Chilli-head 4th June 2017, 10:20 pm

I picked a bowl of strawberries from the allotment today. Hopefully plenty more to come. For dinner I dug the first of the new potatoes, and picked some chard. Mrs C-H picked a great many broad beans too, so we had lamb and broad bean casserole with our potatoes and chard. I haven't grown chard many times before, it is easy to grow but I can't quite see it becoming a family favourite, the leaves taste like thsy should be very good for you IYKWIM and the stems are a tad bland. Still, it looks pretty on the plate Very Happy

by freebird 5th June 2017, 3:26 pm

I couldn't get enthusiastic about chard either. It's sometimes sold as perpetual spinach - IMO it bears absolutely no resemblance to spinach at all. It's ok in a salad as baby leaves though.

Still harvesting asparagus. Best year ever for that, and main crop of strawberries just coming good. My sugarsnap peas are some way behind Ploshkin's mange tout, but they are just starting to flower. Waiting with bated breath to see how the seed-swap Tutankhamun peas fare. They are rocketing up the pea netting - certainly my best ever pea plants.

by Ploshkin 5th June 2017, 5:12 pm

I'm another one who finds chard underwhelming. I thought it had something to do with my cooking abilities.
Freebird, your King Tut peas will be way ahead of mine - they only went in the ground on Saturday. I don't think you will be disappointed.

by Ploshkin 6th June 2017, 8:49 pm

Is it ok to say the C word?
Had my first courgette from the polytunnel today.

by Dandelion 6th June 2017, 9:24 pm

Wow - that's early Ploshkin!
I'm also not very fond of chard - when I grew it and tried to like it, I must admit that I thought it tasted of mud! I prefer perpetual spinach - you can make a good pasta bake with it in; it doesn't go quite as pulpy as actual spinach.
My Tutankhamun peas are rocketing away: every year I try to perfect a support for them and fail miserably as they always grow larger than I expect. This year I made a much heftier support with 7ft bamboo and pea netting, and also grew fewer peas - I thought this would result in a more controlled structure. But no - it's the usual 'pea thicket', and I'm very glad that with 40MPH winds today it was still standing upright when I got home from work!

by Dandelion 6th June 2017, 9:32 pm

The strawberries have been good so far, and I have picked a second large bowlful from just a couple of plants (Sonata and Delia). The ones in the greenhouse didn't survive the silly high temperatures in the spring sadly, but I'm now growing Tumbling Tom tomatoes in one of the baskets in the greenhouse, and they look a lot happier!

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