Monday 11 June 2012

Corn, Carrots and Broad Beans

This is the first part of a comprehensive Mid-June progress report...

Having had plenty of rain just recently, my garden is looking quite lush. If only we could have more sunshine it would really take off. Over the next couple of days I want to show you how some of the veggies are doing. The Sweetcorn in the Three Sisters bed has tiny ears now. (Doesn't that sound wierd?)


My Carrots are growing in black plastic crates. I had intended one of the two batches to be ready a fair while before the other, but the second sowing seems to have caught up the first.


They are deliberately sown very thickly, because I want to harvest them as little "fingers", for eating raw in salads, not as mature carrots for cooking.


I have a tray of Rocket that is cropping at present. Lovely strong, peppery stuff, great for boosting-up a leafy salad.


Unfortunately it does have a few holes in it - probably the result of flea-beetle nibbles.


Here are the Parsnips and Beetroot. The ones nearest the camera were sown about a month after the ones at the far end of the bed, underneath those cloches you see parked at the back. The small ones are still protected by some chicken-wire. This is to deter digging by cats and foxes. I think the plants are probably nearly big enough to fend for themselves, so the wire will come off in the next few days.


The first sowing of Beetroot is approaching the stage at which I could reasonably pick one or two small roots.


In view of the wild weather we have had over the last few days I'm very glad I boosted-up the supports for the Broad Beans last weekend. I added another line of string, but I also loosely tied the plants to a series of bamboo canes. This has kept them upright, and I think that without it they would have been flattened.


The flowers are now beginning to fade and die off, leaving the tiny embryonic pods. This year the plants have had a huge number of flowers, so I just hope they all set, and that their pollen has not been washed away by the torrential rain!


Finally for today, here is my next batch of Radishes, sown "broadcast" in one of the Majestic Wine wooden boxes.


They are very tiny at present, but of course at this time of year Radishes can grow from germination to maturity in about four weeks.

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P.S. I also want to show you this. I've been experimenting with some more of the features offered by Picmonkey.com and I have made this collage of some photos of Ferns.



15 comments:

  1. We pop chicken wire over our newly sown seeds too as otherwise something walks over the soft earth and leaves paw prints - it could be a fox but may also be cats as they manage to access the site.

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  2. Very nice. I love all your ferns.

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  3. Strange I know, but I was looking at your lovely carrots in their wooden box and found myself admiring the brickwork of the house.

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  4. Hi Mark - I'm back on the commenting merry-go-round after my hols. Nice to see everything doing so well in your well-ordered garden, I have quite a bit of catching up to do in my own - but the weather has put a damper on that for the time being.

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  5. Very nice, Mark. I too have problem with neighbouring cats. They use to pee on flowers and lay down in lavender bushes. I am really frustrated.

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  6. My corn is so tiny right now. Some is just coming up. It is a long way for getting ears. But our fava beans are just the same. The little beans are starting to form. I can't wait for the first harvest.

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  7. I think I'd just pull up a few beets and cook them "young and tender", add a tiny bit of sugar. Sounds yummy!

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  8. Your garden is looking good despite all the rain. Funny how the weather can be so similar on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Maybe proximity to the Atlantic has something to do with it? Here's hoping for a few more days of sun.

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  9. The one experimental 'cherokee eagle' corn plant that has been growing since hmm january in the basement now has that center column bit as in your photo. I'm glad to see yours looks the same. As this is the first time growing it, not quite sure what the stages look like!

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  10. The garden's looking great, I seem to remember reading you're based near Farnborough. If you needed any more large black plastic crates then Farnham tip had a stack of them last week that they were happy for people to take away (the crates have been replaced with large blue wheely bins so are being chucked away, such a waste!).

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    1. Thanks, Gwil, that's interesting information. A couple of months ago I asked my local council (Hart) whether they had any spare crates, but they said not... Must pay a visit to nearby Farnham tip!

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  11. I really like how delicate carrot foliage is - almost fern like, I think perhaps a collage of carrots is in order.

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  12. All looking good. There you are with beetroot just about ready to harvest, yet I haven't got a seed to germinate yet.

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  13. Everything looks good, especially the beets! On the road this week and missing my garden.

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  14. Wow! All looks wonderful! I am failing miserably this year but hey, there is always next year!! :oD

    Re flea beatle, we seem to be gettig them again this year after a massive infestation last year :o( They infested some grow bags that I had toms and nasturtiums (sp?) in last year,so binned the lot in the hope that they wouldn't come back but seems they are determined little....well, insert your own words!

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