Lots of the veggies are nearly ready, like these Broad Beans. I can feel little beans forming inside the pods. It will surely be only a few days before I feel justified in picking the first few of them.
All 10 of my Runner Beans are climbing their poles now. The nematodes did their thing very well this year, and there were no casualties amongst the beans. I have even given away the last of my spare ones (tempting Fate, you will say!)
The French Beans at the ends of the rows are just beginning to think about climbing, although so far they have been less enthusiastic.
My six "Modrava" purple kohlrabi are nearly ready too. They are currently about the size of a golf ball, but I want them to be at least twice that size before I harvest them.
When they are harvested, their place will be taken by these Leek seedlings, which are looking healthy and strong.
Next-door to the Kohlrabi are my four Celeriac plants.
They are not big yet, but they seem to be progressing at the right sort of speed.
The Cucumber plants on the other hand don't look so happy. Most of the leaves have been affected with some sort of leaf spot disease. They will probably survive, because they seem to get this every year to some extent, but usually go on to do OK in the end.
The growing tips look fine:
But one or two of the leaves have gone limp, like this, which is worrying.
My first generation of Chives is over now. We cut lots of them for use in the kitchen, but left some to flower. The flowers were initially quite a deep purple, but they have faded to a pale blue now.
Only one of my Chilli plants has set any fruit so far - and then only one - but with the recent warmer and sunnier days they mostly seem to be growing more vigorously now.
The Pears are going to be almost a complete washout this year. A week or so ago I counted a mere five little fruits like this.
But now two more of them have dropped off.
I don't know why the pear tree produces so few fruits, because it has no shortage of leaves. The record number of fruits it has produced in a year is only 11. I'm ready to give up on Pears!
I pruned my Blueberries very hard during the Winter, to stimulate new growth (which has happened), but even so it looks as if the bushes will give me a few nice berries.
All things considered, I think the garden is doing OK. We just need a bit more sunshine to bring on the tomatoes and chillis.
I'd say more than OK. I like the way you did the leeks; I have both the cups (small pots?) and tub that you are using plus some seeds I got last week mail order. So planting leeks as you have done, will be one of the delightful garden "chores" this week!
ReplyDeleteThe slugs are making a bee lone - or slime trail for our climbing beans. Areas have had the nematode treatment but the plot is too large to cover everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe damage to the cucumbers could just be down to the cold conditions or wind burn,
As for peatr I think some small fruits drop due to poor pollination
My understanding is that most pears get better fruit set with cross pollination. Perhaps you should add a compatible variety to the garden or graft another variety onto the tree?
ReplyDeleteThose broad beans look beautiful. BTW, I do enjoy an occasional nibble at the tender young leaves. Have you ever tried your broad beans grilled? The entire pod becomes edible so it really maximizes the harvest.
Your garden is coming along beautifully, thanks for the update, I always enjoy a good garden "tour".
If you lived here I'd say your cucumber has wilt. But then you'd be saying you have cucumber beetles (that transmit the wilt) on your cucumber plants too. I'm not sure I've ever seen a UK gardener complain of wilt, so it is probably something else.
ReplyDeleteThose runner beans look fabulous. I've always liked runner beans because of their showy flowers.
Your garden is looking so good this year Mark, especially the broad beans. I agree with Michelle, a second pear tree might not be a bad idea.
ReplyDeleteThe garden is coming along great. I gave up on broad beans because I don't get enough yield to justify the space, but yours look wonderful. I agree, the cucumber problem could just be wind burn or cold - they are a heat loving plant. And I third the suggestion you may need another pear variety for pollination. When I planted my Asian pears, I put in three different varieties.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is really coming along well - I doubt there is ever a perfect year in the garden, so the few issues you are having is really par for the course. And looks like you will be in for quite a few blueberries - just might make up for the lack of pears!
ReplyDelete