Thursday 28 June 2012

Immaturity

The title of this post sums up the state of play in my veg plot just now. Lots of the veg are at the "immature" stage. I thought I could give you a plot update quite easily using a few photos...

This is the one I'm most proud of at present. I have flowers forming on the Aubergine plants! Everyone tells me I'll be lucky if I get any fruit at all from these plants, but I'm determined to have a try.


There are lots of fruits on most of the Tomato plants, but they are a long way from maturity.


One of my Cucumber plants has four or five tiny fruits forming. Actually, the first one is nearly at a pickable size, so I'll showcase that one elsewhere.


I think Ill be harvesting the first of my Broad Beans in about a week or so - maybe earlier, at the rate they are currently expanding.


The Runner Beans have mostly reached the tops of their canes now, and are beginning to produce some flowers. Probably a month before I can pick anything from them though.


Lots of Chillis flowers. Not many fruit yet.


The Sweetcorn is growing at a rate of about an inch a day. It's loving the wet conditions, but it's no doubt also grateful for the support mechanism I provided for it, on account of the strong winds we are getting so frequently.


The first cobs are now visible, though very tiny.


Even the rather sickly-looking Squash plants are producing some flowers. This one on a "Butterbush" looks like a male flower, since it doesn't have a tiny embryonic fruit behind it.


I have high hopes of the Purple-podded Desiree peas. The plants have grown very big, completely eclipsing the poor Premium and Boogie ones. Lots of pods are forming too.


This is probably the next type of veg that I will actually harvest - kohlrabi "Modrava". I have four of these growing in pots. I reckon they might be ready at the end of next week.


For me there's always a dilemma: if you harvest early you get a small crop of young veg that are more tender, but if you delay harvesting you get a greater yield of potentially tougher veg. Which is the best approach? Well, it's somewhere in the middle isn't it? Judging when to pick is something that you only learn through hands-on experience. And I think it is always a good idea to try to grow veg that don't all mature at the same time, so that you can extend the harvest period. You can achieve this partly through successional sowing and planting, but you also need to choose the right things to grow. For instance, some tomato plants will yield fruit progressively for several weeks in a row, as will beans, but a cauliflower is a "harvest once only" sort of veg. Regular readers will know that my garden never produces a glut of anything. I prefer to grow small quantities of lots of different things so that, as far as possible, there is always something nice ready for harvesting.

17 comments:

  1. Good luck on the eggplants. I'm jealous of the corn though. I tried to do early corn, but it just didn't germinate. I do have corn at least. I resowed yet another section yesterday. Now if hte ones up will produce I'm all set.

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  2. It looks very nice to me Mark considering your weather has not been the best.

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  3. I feel optimistic Mark that you will get some aubergines. I managed to get some growing outdoors-just find they are a tad on the bitter side and do benefit from salting before using in cooking. BTW love the photo of that spectacular kohlrabi!!

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  4. Look at that purple podded pea! I'm just doing an order for some seeds and I think I will get some.

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  5. Lovely pictures as ever, especially that lovely purple pea! But I am fascinated, why do people tell you you will be luck to get any eggplants/aubergines? Are they not particularly suited to your part of the world?

    I find that eggplants (I'll use my version of English) are one of the easiest plants of summer. Nothing eats them (they are too spiky and furry), they never seem to get any pests at all.

    I hope everyone is wrong and that your plants bloom and bloom and produce beautiful shiny purple fruit.

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  6. Our plants are very immature. Is that an ant on your cucumber?

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    1. Sue; yes it's an ant. They seem to like "milking" the aphids on the cucumber plant!

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  7. It all looks fantastic, the weather doesn't seem to be holding you back at all. I can't believe how far on your tomatoes are. Mine aren't even showing signs of producing any flowers yet, never mind fruit.

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  8. Your plants are really getting on well. The kohlrabi "Modrava" is such an impressive looking plant. I'm trying to grow eggplant/aubergine this year as well; my plants aren't producing flowers yet. I'm enjoying watching them grow and developing spikes. I plan to keep them in the conservatory. My tomatoes are only starting to get some flowers now.

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  9. Wow, state of play is looking good at your place!

    Such an exciting time of year isn't it? The Kohl Rabi look great, we have never had much luck with them and I was starting to wonder if they actually grow sucessfully but yours are living proof!

    Martin

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  10. I'm so envious! Purple peas! This is my first year for peas, I didn't know I could get purple ones. How do you keep the blackfly from your broad beans? Mine always get covered in them! I love your kohlrabi too. There are so many things going on in your garden, I have one solitary chilli on my plant this year!

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    1. Caroline, I never manage to stop blackfly infesting the BBs. I usually spray the plants when they are in flower, and I usually pinch out the tips (which the blackfly find most attractive), but it's really a case of minimising rather than preventing.

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  11. I love the rich purple colour of aubergine flowers - I took pictures this week of ours which are sheltering in the greenhouse. Impressed with your sweetcorn, ours are nowhere near producing cobs yet, they have been very sulky this year.

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  12. The purples are spectacular! - Did you grow th eggplant from seed or did you purchase a start? Eggplants here are doing well, but it has been beastly hot and promises to be for the next week at least.

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    1. David, the Aubergines were grown from seed, like most things in my garden. I very seldom buy vegetable plants - usually only as an emergency measure if something has comprehensively failed.

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  13. You're doing really well - it really is the most exciting time of year for growing. Here's hoping for a bit more sunshine though :-)

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  14. I am envious! Your garden looks fantastic.I especially love the broad beans.

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