Re: What are you harvesting today?

by freebird 4th February 2018, 8:08 pm

Land cress is very, very peppery and I don't much like it on its own, but a little is good in the mix. I have grown far too much of it (each variety had 1/2 cold frame, about 2 ft square). Next time I will just grow a 2 ft row.

Lambs lettuce is very mild, spinach is well, spinach. Claytonia is faintly peppery

Endive probably has a stronger flavour as it matures - they may be bitter. I think they needed to be sown earlier than September as they are very small. The leaves of my variety are pale yellow-green, so look pretty in the mix.

They are all harvested as baby or medium sized leaves.

by Dandelion 4th February 2018, 9:43 pm

It sounds like a good interesting mix

by Chilli-head 5th February 2018, 1:08 pm

I'm liking the sound of the land cress. I can't abide those bitter saladings the French seem to like though.

I'm not yet on to new season's harvest, but I'm still picking over the last remains of last year's - the leeks seem to have come through winter very well and fattened up a bit - the ones that were under mesh and so not full of allium leaf miner that is. I also cut one last red cabbage and a couple of celeriac.

by freebird 5th February 2018, 5:01 pm

Would you like some land cress seed to try, CH? Whilst I will continue to grow it, I shan't need a lot.

by Chilli-head 6th February 2018, 10:28 am

freebird wrote:Would you like some land cress seed to try, CH? Whilst I will continue to grow it, I shan't need a lot.

Well, if you have some going spare it would be interesting to try. I'm guessing the seeds are tiny so not a problem to post ?

Thanks for the kind offer FB, it will now give me the incentive to go in search of some cedar to repair my cold frame ...

by Ploshkin 6th February 2018, 12:12 pm

Interesting that you had no luck with the winter lettuce Freebird. I tried some for the polytunnel last winter and had no joy.
I'm not overly keen on the peppery salad leaves but following your success I might have another try at winter salad. This winter I made a fleece tent within the polytunnel to protect my fig and rosemary and it has worked well so I might try that (a fleece cloche) for some salad

by freebird 6th February 2018, 1:06 pm

PM me your address CH and I will put some in the post.

by freebird 7th February 2018, 1:48 pm

In the post today, CH, though 2nd class as I only had those stamps.

by Chilli-head 7th February 2018, 1:53 pm

I'm not in a great rush FB ... Thanks very much.

by Chilli-head 12th February 2018, 7:52 pm

Got them ! Thanks FB. They may have been waiting for me for a day or two, I've been away. On my travels I did manage to find a garden centre with pick and mix potatoes, and some New Horizons compost, so planting is on the cards.

by freebird 22nd March 2018, 1:25 pm

Rhubarb and first picking of purple sprouting broccoli.

by Chilli-head 22nd March 2018, 3:00 pm

Wow. I planted rhubarb last autumn. Not seen any sign of it since - when does it normally emerge ?

I've only had micro-herbs / salad so far - pea shoots, cress, etc etc.

Really missing my ultra-early asparagus - it is still there, just, but not productive anymore. I keep meaning to exhume it and see if I can salvage some crowns to re-plant in a fresh location, hoping to somehow regenerate it. My old allotment neighbour Gordon said it might work Question

by freebird 22nd March 2018, 5:56 pm

Rhubarb - I think it might depend on the variety. Mine is Timperley Early. I split my large clump in the autumn, and moved two sections to a new permanent home. The old plant was really struggling as next doors 60ft conifers suck the soil dry and their branches create a massive rain shadow.

Those two sections I haven't touched as they need to establish roots this year. I planted another 3 sections elsewhere, intended as sacrificial plants - those are the ones I have picked, along with some bits that are left in the original spot.

Do you want a chunk of plant CH (or anyone else)? Plenty left on the original and it's destined for the compost heap.

by FloBear 22nd March 2018, 6:06 pm

My rhubarb, which was split last year, has been coming up through the snow. I have four 'plants' now but will be gentle with harvesting this year after their rude uprooting.
Very envious of PS Broccoli, Freebird, my most favourite brassica. Not had any luck with it on the two occasions I've tried

by Ploshkin 22nd March 2018, 7:06 pm

After years of getting enough rhubarb each year for about 2 crumbles I got myself a new plant and had a really good crop from it last year. I suspected that the old one may have had a virus. It's coming up well again so may be able to harvest a few sticks in a couple of weeks. When I planted the new one I dug plenty of muck into the planting hole.
I've had a bit of a disappointment with psb. A friend gave me some lovely plants last year but to my surprise they started producing sprouts last autumn. I used a few but was looking forward to a late winter crop. All I've got is dead, brown sticks. I think they must have been an autumn sprouting variety which I didn't know existed.

by freebird 22nd March 2018, 10:07 pm

This year I have bought seeds of a very early PS, so should produce November time, and up to Feb if I sow some later seed. I think it's called Rudolph.

The plants I am currently harvesting were bought from a GCentre as plants, not seeds.

What problems did you have, FloBear? Cabbage white caterpillars and pigeons are my biggest issues, but netting mostly prevented too much trouble.

by Dandelion 23rd March 2018, 10:26 am

I tried psb once, but I was not expecting the plants to be so tall! I netted them, but obviously didn't do a very good job as the cabbage whites got in underneath and the whole thing was a writhing mass of caterpillers before I knew it. I might try again if I could find a variety which is dwarf and not so difficult to
net.

by Dandelion 23rd March 2018, 10:31 am

I have two rhubarb clumps - a Timperley Early which I grew from a cutting a few years ago, and a Champagne (which seems to produce curiously earthy tasting stalks!) The Champagne has just a couple of buds breaking the surface of the soil, but the Timperley has been in leaf through much of the winter (although small baby leaves). I was a bit concerned when I investigated it just before the last lot of snow, as some of the outer leaves had gone slimy, or at least the stalks had. I've removed them all, and hope it's just the effects of the winter. When I planted rhubarb for the first time it got crown rot and had to be dug up, so I would like to avoid that. My job now is to search for any hidden rhubarb in the freezer and use it up, ready for the new season!

by FloBear 23rd March 2018, 8:13 pm

Difficult to remember exactly what happened to my PSB. I think the ones from seed didn't get much past seedling stage and the ones that were palnts got munched.
I have seeds of something called summer broccoli - I will make a better effort this time!

by Chilli-head 24th March 2018, 9:31 pm

Went to the allotment today, and ... I have rhubarb ! It has come up at last. So, thanks very much to Freebird for the very kind offer, but it looks like I might be OK.

I did some clearing up and weeding while I was there. The beds I mulched heavily with well rotted manure in autumn are without doubt the easiest to clear.

Hopefully more planting/sowing tomorrow.

by freebird 25th March 2018, 9:33 am

Yesterday, a big bowl of salad leaves (still the same over-wintered plants) and good portion of spinach. The salad rocket has now gone to flower, so that was composted, apart from a few plants left for seed. The rest of the salad plants are growing strongly and threaten to overtake the cold frames.

by Chilli-head 25th March 2018, 7:47 pm

Just ate our last two leeks. They were starting to try to grow, so about time. Not much to harvest for some time now except salad leaves.

by Dandelion 31st March 2018, 4:18 pm

I've just dug up the rest of my leeks too, which are destined to go with Easter chicken for the family tomorrow.

by Dandelion 2nd April 2018, 2:24 pm

Well, that didn't work out! We spent most of Easter Day waiting at my mother's house for an ambulance after she had had another fall, then waiting at A&E for an x-ray. The leeks are still in the porch uncooked as my daughter was kind enough to cook the chicken while we were at the hospital, but I didn't feel I could ask her to do any fancy veg. Never mind, we'll have them another day. Mother still in hospital today with the doctors querying a broken hip just as they did in October when it happened last time.

by Ploshkin 4th April 2018, 3:56 pm

I've just had the last of the carrots from the polytunnel - perfect, unscathed and really sweet. They were from the second sowing in June. When I was clearing the compost from the January sowing there were still a few perfectly serviceable carrots still left in there too.
I really see little point in attempting carrots outside with patchy or non germination and pest damage. The crop from a couple of 18" rings kept us in carrots for 10 months.

by Chilli-head 4th April 2018, 4:54 pm

Darn, you should get a job as a polytunnel salesperson Ploshkin. You make me very envious Laughing

by Sponsored content