The "Grow Your Own" Thread

[darlowolf64]

Tonight for tea we are having Roast Chicken served with Carrots, First Crop Potatoes and Peas fresh out of their pods. The veg is all from our veg patch and I'm really proud of it :icon_biggrin:

 

[PPB]

Let's all go round to darlo's for tea

Sounds yum.

 

[lemonjelly]

My cucumbers have grown bigger than I've ever had cucumber plants grow before. They have a multitude of flowers, & I think I can see a fair few fruits appearing!

Harvested a pot of carrots today, in preparation for salads this week.

Planted out a few beetroots that were left in pots. They looked like they were struggling - perhaps space was an issue? Anyhow, just hoping they take well & quickly in the soil.

Repotted the last of my tomatoes, and also repotted my chillis. Think that is likely to be it for the repotting now this year. Merely a case of harvesting later.

Spotted the first tomatoes appeared on the plants! Good times!

 

[lemonjelly]

Had a shock this weekend. Turned round in the chair I was sat in to see a huge (for me) cucumber had formed & grown on the ladder! Already about 7 inches long! Very pleasing. Lots of other little fruits on there - so very hopeful. Couple of others nearly as big too.

Have emptied & eaten a tub of carrots. Made some lovely salads, as well as some carrot & leek soup.

Still waiting for my first tomato! They're all still green. That said I am noticing more & more appearing on the plants though.... However, am preparing to make more of that soup, having brought in 2 tubs of carrots. I'll only have 4 more tubs to harvest (before getting to the ones in the ground!)

I did transplant some beetroot out from tubs, & was worried that they were struggling in their tub. They didn't seem to be taking, so I intended to harvest them this week, but got tied up 3 evenings running, then saw they were fine. Few leaves starting to look a bit rough, so will possibly harvest them next weekend.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Just some of the potato crop now being harvested

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Broad beans finished (and very tasty they were), but tomatoes coming on well though not ready for picking yet.

 

[From Distant Shores]

Spuds look good Parkin's. Did the missus complain about them being dirty. Mine would.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Spuds look good Parkin's. Did the missus complain about them being dirty. Mine would.

Probably would have if we still lived in the same house, but as she's 90 miles away I doubt that I would hear her, though she would probably think that was not much different from when we were together anyway

 

[lemonjelly]

I believe I can see flowers forming on my chilli plants!
Carrot & leek soup being eaten.
Need to prune excess branches off my tomato plants for the fruits to finish developing.
Still haven't got around to harvesting the beetroot yet - probably next week now.

 

[lemonjelly]

Harvested all the tubs of carrots now. Last 2 tubs were the bigger tubs, & had a few corkers from these. Still have the carrots & onions in the ground to eat/harvest.
Have started picking cucumbers. Really pleased with the quality of these this year. They've also grown bigger, longer, thicker than before.
Harvested the biggest beetroot crop I've ever managed earlier today. Over the next 2 days I'll be pickling and roasting.

Tomato crop coming along, & definitely have a decent sized crop, but still none are reddening yet...

Definitely got chilli flowers. However strangely I have noticed a few of the leaves have also been shrivvelling/looking dry. Using the logic of how tomato plants work, I pruned these leaves off, assuming that the plant would try to heal them, & this would divert nutrients away from flowers/plants. Does anyone have any idea whether I've done the right thing? hnoes:

 

[Wolf Hunting]

Tomato crop coming along, & definitely have a decent sized crop, but still none are reddening yet...

Saw a prog on food last night Mr Lemon and they were demonstrating how you control the ripeness of bananas.
Apparently they release and absorb a gas, but they're particularly efficient at producing it.
It then went on to explain timelines and blah blah, but then they said, 'Once you start waking the green bananas up you can't stop the process, so this 'ripening' gas has the same effect on other fruits too, PARTICULARLY TOMATOES'!

So it sounds like if you put some ripe bananas in a sealed container on the worktop with your tomatoes in with them, they'll all ripen at the same time....!

Voila!

 

[lemonjelly]

WH, I did know that bananas ripen other fruits.
Problem with this idea, is the tomatoes are still on the plants!:icon_biggrin:

 

[The Bear]

Yep that's well known Roy. Bananas speed up ripening of other fruits if you put them in the same bowl.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

WH, I did know that bananas ripen other fruits.
Problem with this idea, is the tomatoes are still on the plants!:icon_biggrin:

Duh!! Sellotape?? Staples?? Hang the bunch of ripe bananas on the tomato stem and place large plastic bag over it all??
No imagination some people!

 

[Wolf Hunting]

Yep that's well known Roy. Bananas speed up ripening of other fruits if you put them in the same bowl.

Well I must have been out when that one got passed around Nick, but fairynuff...

 

[The Bear]

Bananas are mildly radioactive as well. They have an isotope of Potassium which has a half-life of 1.25 billion years.

Apparently the Fukushima radiation leak is equal to 76 million bananas!!

 

[Wolf Hunting]

Bananas are mildly radioactive as well. They have an isotope of Potassium which has a half-life of 1.25 billion years.

Apparently the Fukushima radiation leak is equal to 76 million bananas!!

That can't be right!
My bananas only last about a week...

 

[lemonjelly]

Harvested the onions today. Best onion crop ever - biggest specimens ever too!:happy:
Plucked 3 more cucumbers also. Again, really pleased with these.
I finally think that my tomatoes are starting to change colour...hnoes:

 

[Parkins left foot]

I finally think that my tomatoes are starting to change colour...hnoes:

You have done well in that case - all of mine are still green (apart from one that is half red & half green - not quite sure how that works )

 

[lemonjelly]

Patience! (or bananas...)

 

[Wolf Hunting]

Not quite 'Grow Your Own', but does anyone on here keep their own chickens?

I'm toying with the idea of keeping two of them.
I like the idea of going out and getting a couple of eggs every day.....
I have space and I can easily build a henhouse...
But I'd like opinions and views if anyone has any.