vegetable plotters

[Cab]

Iffy - butternut squash (haven't had many considering how many plants I put in and those which have grown are not as ripe and sweet as they should be)

Few people have done really well with butternuts this year. If you have the space, try spreading your bets a bit, grow a few other varieties of winter squash. This year 'celebration' has done okay, 'uchiki kuri' superbly, 'waltham butternut' badly, etc. The worst performer this year was 'spaghetti'.

 

[Chuffy]

Few people have done really well with butternuts this year. If you have the space, try spreading your bets a bit, grow a few other varieties of winter squash. This year 'celebration' has done okay, 'uchiki kuri' superbly, 'waltham butternut' badly, etc. The worst performer this year was 'spaghetti'.

Ah. I also planted another type (Gem, I think) and although there are a few tennis ball sized fruits on the vine they don't look as if they will ripen before the frosts hit. My garden is huge though, so I may ease off on the 'gettes next year and plant a good spread of other squashes.

 

[Cab]

Ah. I also planted another type (Gem, I think) and although there are a few tennis ball sized fruits on the vine they don't look as if they will ripen before the frosts hit. My garden is huge though, so I may ease off on the 'gettes next year and plant a good spread of other squashes.

Try 'uchiki kuri' and 'celebration f1'. I find them most productive.

 

[Cab]

Funny isn't it? I've had masses of butternut squash again and despite the lack of heat, I've had a really good year for Thai pumpkins (Lord knows what variety they are, I got the packets from a market in Hua Hin). We have a nice frost-free shed so they keep for months. I usually leave my "keeping" butternut squash out to ripen as long as possible, as that improves the taste.

Glad you've done well with the butternuts In my best year I had 15 or so from two plants. This year I've got four good ones from three plants. Butternuts were just rubbish this year, at least in these parts.

Still, its swings and roundabouts. Chillis poorish, but brilliant sweetcorn. French beans inexplicably poor, but brilliant peas and mange tout. Just the way it goes

 

[Cab]

Oh, forgot to mention, great aubergines this year. Never done well with them before, but this year they're fab. Peppers are okayish but rather late. Tayberries were excellent and hugely yielding, silver stemmed bramble fruited for the first time, and got my first couple of kilos from japonica 'Cido' planted last year.

 

[purplemoon]

Have you got kale growing already? I've only just put mine in, along with calabrese and cabbage (January King). Will also be planting autumn onion sets and garlic this week

 

[palinurus]

I've been eating my kale for a couple of months. First time i've grown it- someone gave me some small plants, they had loads.

 

[User482]

Good: potatoes, strawberries, carrots, french beans, onions, garlic, beetroot, little gem, rocket, runner beans, raspberries, gooseberries

Poor: tomatoes, sweetcorn, loganberries, blackcurrants, blueberries

Disaster: Apples (lost the lot to scab & brown rot)

 

[4F]

Good - Runnerbeans, peas, carrots, onions, cucumber, tomatoes, pumpkins, sweetcorn, lettuce, celery, red currant, white currant, black currant, raspberries

Average - melon (first time this year), spuds

Poor - Cabbage, cauli's (dam caterpillars)

 

[Cab]

Have you got kale growing already? I've only just put mine in, along with calabrese and cabbage (January King). Will also be planting autumn onion sets and garlic this week

Gosh yes, been in since the edn of July. Good size now, it'll do us all winter.

Cabbage for November-January went in about the same time, cabbage for January-April just went in about three or four weeks ago. In all cases its home grown seedlings planted out.

 

[Cab]

Oops, another I forgot, gooseberries. They did grand.

And total failure with melons.

 

[Maz]

The only fruit that grows with hesitation in my garden is blackberries.
I also have strawberries growing (not planted by me), but I think they are ornamental, because they are really small.

 

[Night Train]

We got a lot of spinich and figs again this year. Tomatos were a little low but we did get green beans, broad beans and sweet peas for the first time. The rest of the greens were pretty much the same and the bonzai count went up again.
We have managed to germinate some dragon fruit seeds, they are weird looking!

 

[summerdays]

Good: tomatoes in greenhouse, spinach, beetroot, SLUGS, SNAILS, potatoes, rocket, corriander, cucumber

Poor: Lettuce (slugs), Carrots, outdoor tomatoes, fennel (1st time grown I don't think I did it correctly), baby sweetcorn (but my fault for not reading the instuctions properly and encouraging fertilization), Pak choi (grew well but kids hate it), garlic (think I planted it too late really), pepper, chilli

Disaster: Butternut squash (very few fruit, and those that grew never got above 2 inches in size) Is there any tips on growing conditions to improve these.

Savoy cabbage - still to early to tell who is winning me or the cabbage white!

I have to say the discovery of the year was that Old Red Duke of York potatoes were fantastic in flavour and quite floury, so they are a definate for next year.

 

[dantheman]

The only fruit that grows with hesitation in my garden is blackberries.
I also have strawberries growing (not planted by me), but I think they are ornamental, because they are really small.

many varieties of strawberries will only grow very small (such as alpine, usually wild) but you should find these types have much more concentrated flavour, usually a lot nicer than large ones.