LL's Gardening Diary

Members adventures in the Vegetable Patch all year round
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lancashire lass
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Re: Too many plants & not enough room

Post by lancashire lass »

Richard wrote:Lovely photos Lassie, quite inspiring.

Richard )t' )t'


thank you for saying so Richard )t'

Thought I'd give another chilli update this morning and some piccies. First of all welcome to my "jungle" {rofwl}

The glass greenhouse ... :oops: (I really need to drop a shelf down sooner rather than later)

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The polytunnel (bear in mind I've already removed about 20 plants out):

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The big greenhouse (I have no idea why the peppers are getting so tall - I'm not feeding them!):

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Outside the polytunnel (just mind the raspberry sneaking its way into the piccie in the bottom RH corner):


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lancashire lass
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Re: A few more chilli piccies

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Bulgarian Carrot fruit set (and I can see an aphid on the flower )gr: ):

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A couple of Habanero Fruit Burst (seems to be the easiest of the habaneros that I'm growing and readily sets fruit):

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Hungarian Hot Wax:

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Bolivian Rainbow (I'm expecting different colours as the fruit mature at different ages):

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Pretty In Purple (loads of fruit - hot and spicy even when purple, but very hot when ripened red) Nice to see the saved seed are still fruiting as they should:

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Black Hungarian getting bigger - I tried one of the black fruits but not very nice and definitely no heat. I think I'll have to wait until they ripen:

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Padron:

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Ancho:

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Espelette:

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Monkey Face (I wasn't so sure I could see a face but now that there's a piccie, can just make something out +pinn+ ):

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Anaheim:

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One of the extremely hot chillies - Habanero Fatalli in flower:

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and Fatalli fruit set:

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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

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Just bought a new camera LL one like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Panasonic-Lum ... 53f44fbac2

Hopeing to improve my close ups once i get the hang of it ,will be happy if they like yours )t'
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

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billnorfolk wrote:Just bought a new camera LL one like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Panasonic-Lum ... 53f44fbac2

Hopeing to improve my close ups once i get the hang of it ,will be happy if they like yours )t'


)t' Just had a quick look of the reviews and it compares very well. The 21x optical zoom will be great - to get close ups isn't necessarily getting really "close up" to take photos, but getting them in good focus and then using a photo software to crop to size (and being 16 Mpix will mean you have a lot to play with before it pixalates) Your computer might have something already or you can always get free downloads, or use some gallery host like Photobucket. Have fun with the new camera and looking forward to seeing the photos :-D
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Re: Re-organised the glass greenhouse (photo heavy)

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Some of the plants on the inside of the smaller glass greenhouse were leaning forward where the tops hit the slant of the roof and all were in danger of toppling everything over, so I had no option but to set to and take out another shelf to lower them. Of course, I had to remove ALL the plants which was a good opportunity to inspect each one. The shelves are those plastic Keter type that slot together so easily pulled apart. In spring I had a pair of robins nesting in the greenhouse which I tried to avoid disturbing but I suspect a combination of my not knowing they were there and closing the greenhouse door, plus some disturbance though I tried to minimise it and the heat (temperatures in there could get phenomenally hot when the sun was out), they eventually abandoned the nest. As I took the shelving down, I came across the nest and eggs still inside {cry}

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Quite an amazing well constructed substantial nest too. All the chillies are back and I even managed to spread them out a little so should make it easier to pollinate the flowers and watering. While there, remembered to take a photo of the Purple Cayenne that is now fruiting:

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In the polytunnel, the Big Jim Cayenne has fruited at last! I was getting a little worried that it was taking its time but there are now several more flowers:

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The only chilli not flowering yet is the Nepalese Bell - even as seedlings they grew very tall and I initially thought it was due to poor light, but I've concluded that they are just very tall plants and they tower over everything. Hopefully they'll flower soon. Meanwhile, fruit set on the Indian PC-1:

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Chocolate Habanero:

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and Kashmiri (sowed late so I'm especially pleased):

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The Ancho fruit are going a dark green almost black colour - I think they are nearly ready for harvesting but have to confess I'm not really sure. I might leave one to go fully ripened so that I can harvest the seed as well:

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I've also got 3 aubergine plants in the greenhouse/polytunnel - I've not mentioned them before because they are the one veg I really struggle to get fruit. No idea why - the flowers get a lot of attention and pollinating but rarey is there fruit set but I may (fingers crossed) have some this time round. The flowers are ever so pretty and blousey:

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The Hungarian Hot Wax in the pots outside are fruiting well:

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The unknown/Fresno ripening now:

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Both hanging baskets with the tomatoes are full of fruit. Cherokee Purple:

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Golden Ponderosa:

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Yellow Pearshaped - seems to produce loads of flowers, a lot like a Tumbling Tom so well suited for a hanging basket:

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A check on the home made wasp traps and )app( yes! they seem to be working - a couple of wasps in one of them. I made 4 traps around the plum tree - one was baited with sugar water, one with apple sauce and the others with jam. The jam and apple sauce seems to be attracting them:

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With Bill's new camera and hoping for some close ups, I felt inspired to take a couple of piccies. Raspberries:

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The lavender on my patio is in full flower and very popular with the bumble bees. They don't stay long at the flowers to take careful shots so I must have taken about 20 frames and these are the best of the lot. Enjoy:

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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

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You certainly like your chillies LL but after saying that they are lovely plants make nice indoor plants and keep coming every year.
Really good pictures again took me ages to get my bumblebee pictures non as good as yours keep em coming love to see them
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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

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billnorfolk wrote:You certainly like your chillies LL


ah, not really a big fan of chillies for eating {rofwl} - yes, there are some mild ones for my own use (even some of the hot ones to make sauces - I'm keen to see what the habaneros are like) and some are part of the chilli challenge with a colleague at work. The chilli challenge may open the door to something bigger as my colleague is also involved in research and I would like to be a part of it (from a "career" point of view and possibly, though I'm not getting my hopes up, provide a little income by supplying plants for future projects ... too early to say at this stage)

I should explain that I also do personal projects - every year I grow several different varieties of something to see how difficult/easy they are to cultivate, which ones are productive, find out which ones are great for eating so that I can decide in the future which I prefer, learn from mistakes, do research, improve my skills and gain experience. This year I had planned on a tomato project but the ongoing cold weather nearly brought that to a standstill and then of course there was the chilli challenge. As it happens, I still managed to sow several varieties but no room in the greenhouse/polytunnel so they are taking their chances outside on the plot - the heatwave has been a godsend but the deteriorating wet weather is now a bit of a worry at this stage as outdoor toms are prone to blight.

My other ongoing projects include the winter squashes and butternut - I'm a bit limited by space so each year try out new varieties alongside those that I like. Excess produce for my needs are taken to work as a "thank you" to those who contribute to my compost bin where people put their fruit peelings and tea bags. Garlic and potato varieties are also an ongoing project - I've learned that early maturing garlic varieties are best suited for my plot (Illico and Purple Wight are definitely top of my list and I hope to expand on that next year with some more early maturing ones) as later maturing ones are prone to rot, and I'm gradually dropping main crop potatoes because I have yet to find a variety that can survive late planting (my plot is at the bottom of a hill so the risk of frost damage is high) and get through a season without blight or slug damage (again, the location of the hill means it can get soggy during wet years so encourages both) and be a tasty spud (the blight resistant Sarpos are the most tasteless potato I've ever grown) I'm only trying Romano because I'd heard it was quite hardy, and the Maris Pipers were free.
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

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lancashire lass wrote:
billnorfolk wrote:You certainly like your chillies LL


ah, not really a big fan of chillies for eating {rofwl} - yes, there are some mild ones for my own use (even some of the hot ones to make sauces - I'm keen to see what the habaneros are like) and some are part of the chilli challenge with a colleague at work. The chilli challenge may open the door to something bigger as my colleague is also involved in research and I would like to be a part of it (from a "career" point of view and possibly, though I'm not getting my hopes up, provide a little income by supplying plants for future projects ... too early to say at this stage)

I should explain that I also do personal projects - every year I grow several different varieties of something to see how difficult/easy they are to cultivate, which ones are productive, find out which ones are great for eating so that I can decide in the future which I prefer, learn from mistakes, do research, improve my skills and gain experience. This year I had planned on a tomato project but the ongoing cold weather nearly brought that to a standstill and then of course there was the chilli challenge. As it happens, I still managed to sow several varieties but no room in the greenhouse/polytunnel so they are taking their chances outside on the plot - the heatwave has been a godsend but the deteriorating wet weather is now a bit of a worry at this stage as outdoor toms are prone to blight.

My other ongoing projects include the winter squashes and butternut - I'm a bit limited by space so each year try out new varieties alongside those that I like. Excess produce for my needs are taken to work as a "thank you" to those who contribute to my compost bin where people put their fruit peelings and tea bags. Garlic and potato varieties are also an ongoing project - I've learned that early maturing garlic varieties are best suited for my plot (Illico and Purple Wight are definitely top of my list and I hope to expand on that next year with some more early maturing ones) as later maturing ones are prone to rot, and I'm gradually dropping main crop potatoes because I have yet to find a variety that can survive late planting (my plot is at the bottom of a hill so the risk of frost damage is high) and get through a season without blight or slug damage (again, the location of the hill means it can get soggy during wet years so encourages both) and be a tasty spud (the blight resistant Sarpos are the most tasteless potato I've ever grown) I'm only trying Romano because I'd heard it was quite hardy, and the Maris Pipers were free.



It sounds you have more going on with them chillies than meets the eye and realy hope it all goes well for you and you gain from it what you want ,certainly wont be through lack of effort by the looks of them plants )t'
I often wonder if growing potatoes is worth the effort ,got some of me sprouts going to seed because of last years spuds comeing up this year ,trying to get them out without loosening the soil around the sprouts is nigh impossible,sadly though i like the wow factore especially when the grandkids dig some and there is lots on a root,its like buried treasure to them )t'
It is usually the old traitional veg that have the best taste ,if something is resistant to this and tolerant of that its usually missing something and most of the time i find its flavour.
We seem to have a plague of cabbage whites at the moment and spending alot of time squashing eggs }hairout{
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

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billnorfolk wrote:It sounds you have more going on with them chillies than meets the eye and realy hope it all goes well for you and you gain from it what you want ,certainly wont be through lack of effort by the looks of them plants )t'


>fi< It certainly has been a lot of work - every morning I must spend a good hour and half just going round every single plant pollinating flowers, watering and misting, and that's before I go to work! I accept that I grew too many plants - at least 2 or 3 of each variety and there were a lot of varieties ... I've even got a load more new seed for next year :oops: but I might trim the numbers down next time LOL.

billnorfolk wrote:We seem to have a plague of cabbage whites at the moment and spending alot of time squashing eggs }hairout{


Tell me about it! Earlier in the year there was a distinct absence of butterflies but they are definitely coming out in full force. I'm so glad I got the debris netting for the plot but the plants still on the patio are exposed and being targetted.
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Re: Pleasantly surprised

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Every time I visit the allotment plot, I always leave with the feeling that I need to spend an entire week down there to get on top of things. So I tend to do too much on the days when I'm there and regret it when back at work and too tired to do my job properly. Last weekend I decided to have a rest so this morning I was expecting to see a disaster meet me when I arrived. Instead, there was a bit of a "wow" factor - everything had grown so much!

The cabbages were all forming good heads (I think the Greyhound are nearly ready for harvesting), the Brussel sprouts were enormous, the french climbing beans were at the top of the posts, the winter squashes were escaping from the main beds and I could see several large fruits, the butternut were flowering and I also spied a 6-8 inch long fruit on one, the sweetcorn were just starting to throw up the flower heads (still a bit behind for my liking considering it is nearly mid-August), the oca had fallen over (normal - the foliage always looks like it gets top heavy), the one surviving rhubarb was massive, the onions were starting to die back and most were ready for lifting, the courgettes were all marrows, and there were masses of fruit on the tomatoes. Some of the container plants however, were looking a bit thirsty, potatoes including the main crop were all dying back, and a couple of beds had got so weedy, I couldn't see what was growing in them - luckily most were fat hen that had shot up and were easily pulled out. But on the whole, not what I was expecting at all.

So today's tasks was mainly just weeding and the transformation was miraculous. I wish now I had brought the camera along as I was particularly pleased with how the pond bed was looking. The container herbs looked spectacular and better than I anticipated - the lemon mint (Monarda Citriodora (looks nothing like mint such as garden or peppermint) was bursting into flower as was the Korean Mint which has a lovely liquorice/aniseed flavour. I really must gather some leaves from both for drying as they'll make lovely teas.

After redirecting the meandering squash plants back into the plot, I decided to harvest the onions - after years of experiencing rot on the other plot, I get a bit twitchy when bulbs start to fatten up and as half had already died back or dropped their leaves, they were almost ready anyway. I lifted them up with a fork and at home spread them out on a pallet table to dry off:

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There was even a couple of tomatoes that were ripening - I decided to pick them in case they over-ripened by the time of my next visit. Of all the tomatoes I planted, I was surprised to find Bloody Butcher was the first to ripen - most UK seed sellers don't make a point of mentioning that it is actually an early maturing variety. I do hope it tastes as good as it sounds (sorry the piccie is blurred)

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One other task and that was to put 2 weeks of compostables (including all the kitchen waste of peelings and pods) into the compost heap and then head off home. Once again I left with the feeling that I would have liked to have been able to go back tomorrow to "finish" off.

While taking photos of today's harvest, decided to go into the garden and show you some other things coming along. First, the outdoor chillies are looking good. The unknown chilli now with loads of ripened fruit:

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Pretty in Purple full of lovely small grape size fruits:

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And Chenzo - one of the first to flower and been a mass of flowers throughout the summer. It's a small bushy chilli so I've not been able to see the fruit, but you can see when you lift the foliage just how productive it really is:

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Further down the garden, I could see some ripened apples on the ground - the Discovery apples on the tree are nearly ready for picking, and this year there are loads of fruit:

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I have a hazel in the garden and despite chopping it back hard in spring, it is turning into a huge tree. I usually have difficulty seeing the fruits develop but this time, easier to spot as I was looking up:

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Finally, I just had to show you the jasmine growing over the pergola. A week or so ago when it was warm and humid, there was a heavenly scent in the garden and it was the jasmine. Today you had to hold the flowers to your nose to be able to smell it. As you can see it has taken over the pergola somewhat LOL

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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

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Everything looks realy well LL plenty of onions by the looks of things ,that red chillie plant in the garden looks realy pretty ,like its decorated up for crimbo.
Think there is going to be a glut of apples this year most of mine are full even after the june drop,the apples you have there look nice and healthy )t'
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Re: Harvesting Potatoes & a wildlife photo session

Post by lancashire lass »

billnorfolk wrote:Everything looks realy well LL plenty of onions by the looks of things ,that red chillie plant in the garden looks realy pretty ,like its decorated up for crimbo.
Think there is going to be a glut of apples this year most of mine are full even after the june drop,the apples you have there look nice and healthy )t'


Thank you :-D Short of a disaster until about late September, this year has definitely been exceptionally good )t'

This morning I decided to call in at the plot (normally my Saturdays are my days of rest LOL) but I've got to get on in the garden tomorrow. Forecast rain by mid-morning so I was sure I could get a few hours in before the weather deteriorated. When I arrived it was lovely and sunny so I quickly went round the plot with the camera and took some piccies (too many for this post so I'll have to divide it into groups), then it was straight in to dig up some potatoes. The Charlottes had completely died back, and the Kestrel were more or less close behind - the problem with leaving potatoes in the ground especially on my plot, is that when the soil starts to get wet, slugs move in and have a feast so I was eager to get the spuds out of the ground.

I started off digging a row of Kestrel (2nd early) and although none of the giant spuds from last year (they seem to relish very wet summers and grow into monsters), there was a lot of decent ones and I'm very happy. A little scab but on the whole, not a bad crop. Then the rain came so I took refuge in the car but it was a quick short shower, so decided to get on with the Charlottes. As I suspected, the hot dry weeks had sapped all the water out of the soil, and although most were unblemished, there were a lot of small useless potatoes amongst some lovely ones - the fact that the plants had died back a lot earlier than I would have expected was an indication they were not doing so well.

After another break, I decided to leave the last row of Kestrel - the plants had not died back completely so there was a chance some of the smaller potatoes might just swell up. Instead I turned my attention to the now very weedy shallot bed and gave it a thorough dig over and is now ready for a sowing. I even came across a few more shallots that I had missed LOL. I went round the bean and pea beds to lift up weeds but the ones near the peas were very difficult to get out without disturbing other plants. It wouldn't have made that much difference as most had now died back but I want to save the seed, especially the Kent Blue mangetout which is a rare heritage variety.

Meanwhile, the forecast rain didn't seem to happen but the wind was picking up. My poor climbing bean frame was on the verge of collapse, but there didn't seem to be anything I could do about it with the wind against the plants like a sail. All I can do is see if I can salvage something tomorrow.

While I was weeding, I found a caterpillar - he must have got blown off the weedy vacant plot next to mine as I know he likes to eat ragwort. So I grabbed my camera and fitted the macro lens to see if I could find some more in the neighbours plot. Unfortunately the wind was rocking the plants a bit so not good photos. Meanwhile, I found a few more subjects as well:

Cinnabar moth caterpillar (click on link to wikipedia) The red and black moths are unmistakable:

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A Pterophorus pentadactyl (another wiki link) caterpillar - you'll be happy to know that this wee thing likes to eat bindweed The moths are a very unusual shape so if you see them, leave them be!

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A grasshopper - I used to have loads on my plot in the first couple of years. When one jumped down inside my t-shirt, there was a lot of squealing and an urge to rip the shirt off but just 2 plots away were a gathering of the old boys (seasoned mature members on the site) so I managed to restrain myself from further embarrassment and extricated the thing behind the shed LOL:

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The squash beds were full of very big bumble bees and they were all full of pollen as they visited the flowers. One flower seemed to have a dead bee actually inside and when I followed a live one to another, inside was another bee that seemed to be dying ... and then a common wasp appeared from inside the flower. It seemed to attack the visiting bee and I wondered if that is what had happened to the other bees:

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Other (wild/weed) flowers:

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And brambles are ripening (when I see them, it sort of reminds me that it will soon be autumn):
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Re: Latest Plot piccies (photo heavy)

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Sweetcorn just starting to flower .... worryingly late but fingers crossed:

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Meanwhile the strawberry popcorn is well on its way:

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The weedy squash beds - I can't reach the weeds in the middle without treading on the squash plants so I've left them:

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And several fruit set (some managed to escape the bed):

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The pond bed with all the outdoor toms:

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The toms on the Roma look worryingly round - I know I didn't mis-label as I sowed loads specially for making passata with them, and they are a classic short bush type plant:

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The containers with the various mint/herbs:

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Korean mint (wiki link):

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The "lemon mint" is actually bergamot (wiki link) and have quite spectacular flowers:

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Red soup celery:

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Self blanching Golden celery:

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Brussel sprout bed:

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And if you look carefully, the sprouts are just starting to form on the early variety:

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Cabbage bed:

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Greyhound:
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Golden Acre:
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Primo:
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The Red Drumhead, Kalibos and Langedijk just seem to be huge but no signs of heads yet.

Yellow Minidor bush beans ready for picking:

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These Cherokee climbing beans usually go a deep purple colour as the pods mature:

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Meanwhile the Jerusalem Artichokes have shot up - I can't believe last year they barely got 3 feet high:

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The "rhubarb" bed - only 1 out of the 4 crowns I bought last year survived, and it seems to be doing very well. Luckily it is the Stockbridge Arrow as I have a Timperley Early at home anyway which I want to move to the plot in winter. To the left, 2 year old asparagus (grown from seed last year):

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The trailing stuff at the back of the rhubarb is actually achocha which I struggled to grow from seed when I first tried, but now self seeds like mad. It is a real triffid that wants to grab you. Ideally it should have been allowed to climb up a frame but like a lot of things this year, not enough time to get on top of everything. This is a close up of the grasping tendrils and tiny flowers:

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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

Post by billnorfolk »

All your things look very healthy LL,hopefully autumn will be late this year so sweet corn will catch up where I have several things finishing yours are still at there best,think the weather between Lancashire and Norfolk is different enough to notice.
Love the pictures once again )t'
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

Post by lancashire lass »

billnorfolk wrote:All your things look very healthy LL,hopefully autumn will be late this year so sweet corn will catch up where I have several things finishing yours are still at there best,think the weather between Lancashire and Norfolk is different enough to notice.
Love the pictures once again )t'


.... I actually live in Nottingham :oops: My username goes back to when I was younger and lived abroad - the community where I lived in were mainly from Lancashire/Cheshire/West Yorkshire (while a new textile mill was set up) and I was often referred to as a lancashire lass LOL

Much of the delay was due to the long cold spring (and my plot at the bottom is the slowest to warm up) - it was well into May/June before I could get some of the plants out but the heatwave really got things moving and catching up. The sweetcorn was a late second batch so always was going to be testing the limits.
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