VEGETABLE GROWING 2020

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by ARMANDII, Jan 18, 2020.

  1. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2006
    Messages:
    60,998
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired - Last Century!!!
    Location:
    Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
    Ratings:
    +117,297
    Our blackberries are only just coming ripe for picking but they don't get watered. They have been in our blackberry beds for 70 years and have a lovely flavour, when ripe, but are horribly vicious.

    Our apples and pears are having a fantastic year, not ready yet, and the apple trees have certainly been thinning themselves out in the high winds. We have given away over 80lb of windfalls.
    P1490347.JPG

    The pear trees haven't dropped many and are doing well. These Williams pears should be ready in a couple of weeks or so
    P1490343.JPG

    Conference pears are usually at least a month later
    P1490344.JPG

    I'm picking about 5lb of beans a day at the moment but expect that to double in about two weeks time
    P1490346.JPG

    The rabbits ate the beetroot :mad:
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Scrungee

      Scrungee Well known for it

      Joined:
      Dec 5, 2010
      Messages:
      16,524
      Location:
      Central England on heavy clay soil
      Ratings:
      +28,996

      I can't understand using garden space for blackberries, plus pruning, training, feeding, etc., when the hedgerows are covered with them. We picked 13lbs in 45 mins yesterday and a another 13lbs 8ozs in 45 mins this morning. When one patch finishes simply move onto another where they ripen later.

      Even worse is paying about £5.78/lb for them in shops (Tesco Finest) when they can be picked a few minutes walk away.
       
      • Informative Informative x 1
      • shiney

        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

        Joined:
        Jul 3, 2006
        Messages:
        60,998
        Gender:
        Male
        Occupation:
        Retired - Last Century!!!
        Location:
        Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
        Ratings:
        +117,297
        I understand what you're saying but it's not quite the circumstances. The blackberry plants were put in over 70 years ago, they're not in the way, we never train them (although I do tell them to be nice) and we don't feed them.

        The 40ft run of them takes about 20 minutes to prune once a year and we don't have to drive any distance to try and find blackberries that somebody else hasn't already got to. We wouldn't pick from hedgerows near the road because of possible pollution.

        Our plants give us sufficient to last us all year and we're just using the last few pounds of those frozen from last year. Our resident birds love them and this morning the baby pheasants were picking the ones within reach. :) They were also eating some of the windfall apples but mum came along and brought them to the bird feeders for their seeds for breakfast.

        P1490429.JPG
         
        • Like Like x 2
        • Aldo

          Aldo Super Gardener

          Joined:
          Nov 25, 2017
          Messages:
          594
          Gender:
          Male
          Ratings:
          +1,318
          I see your point but I think it really depends on location, what type of garden and other things.
          Personally I love having blackberries in the garden and I would not want to be without.

          Once trained they take little space in our small garden, running behind the beds with other plants which seems to do fine anyway. I was a bit worried the blackberries might perhaps increase the chance of diseases and pests, but that does not seem to be the case.
          They are a veritable magnet for pollinators earlier in the season, the buzzing sometimes is even disquieting somewhat :D
          Also they give us some privacy from several other small gardens.
          Of course, many ornamentals could work as a screen, but the look of blackberries, with their thousands flowers and fruits, is really something else (to me, that is). It is a matter of personal taste, but given all my plants are edibles of some kind, they kind of fit well.

          IMG_20200803_142111.jpg
          IMG_20200803_142338.jpg


          And honestly, the faces of guests, and particularly children when they come to the garden, is well worth the effort :)
          They like the strawberries, when there is any, and of course the tomatoes.
          But that stretch of lush berries just waiting to be picked stands out.
          Granted, this year has not been great for inviting people over, because of covid and other reasons, I regret that. But still we enjoy plucking one or ten from time to time while enjoying the garden.

          It is a bit of a pain to maintain them at times, but now I have some practise taking them early.
          The only major pain in the back is removing them at the end of the season. Beside that, they really do not need watering. A feed a few times per year, some aspirine solution once, because I do that anyway with other plants.

          If I lived in the countryside and had a lot of bushes within walking distance perhaps I would think differently. But then, we had that in north London and frankly we did not go picking much and the competition was fierce, whole families filling up buckets with anything remotely ripe.
          And of course we only pick 6 to 10 kg per season, so that 20 feet or so of well maintained bushes which we can harvest continuousy are enough for us.
           
          • Like Like x 2
            Last edited: Aug 4, 2020
          • Aldo

            Aldo Super Gardener

            Joined:
            Nov 25, 2017
            Messages:
            594
            Gender:
            Male
            Ratings:
            +1,318
            Of course you were right, they are recovering already and looking much better :)
             
            • Friendly Friendly x 1
            • Aldo

              Aldo Super Gardener

              Joined:
              Nov 25, 2017
              Messages:
              594
              Gender:
              Male
              Ratings:
              +1,318
              I decided to remove the only pumpkin from a Huchiki Kuri. It has been hanging there looking ripe but without growing since forever, and the plant is slowly dying, it seems.
              Tomorrow I think the plant will go too, replaced by a spare jalapeno or pepper.
              The pumpkin is half the size of what it should be, but I think it will taste fine once cured.
              I was expecting the plants to be more productive though.. Perhaps I should have mixed in more BF&B.

              IMG_20200802_135043.jpg

              Some of the veggies ended up the Pad Thai. I tried volunteering the pumpkin flowers too, but only few were allowed, with reservations.

              IMG_20200802_134837.jpg

              The new spacemaster cucumbers are still small but growing.

              IMG_20200802_140152.jpg

              I also lost a tomatillo branch to the wind.. It has been planted and watered abundantly, after all it is a relative of tomatoes, but I fear it is wishful thinking.

              IMG_20200802_181753.jpg
               

              Attached Files:

              • Like Like x 1
                Last edited: Aug 3, 2020
              • shiney

                shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

                Joined:
                Jul 3, 2006
                Messages:
                60,998
                Gender:
                Male
                Occupation:
                Retired - Last Century!!!
                Location:
                Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
                Ratings:
                +117,297
                The flowers could be used a few ways. A couple of ways is stuffed (with anything you like) dipped in Tempura flour and deep fried or just dipped in lightly spiced Tempura and deep fried. You can get recipes on the internet. :blue thumb:

                I used to train our blackberries on wires stretched between 8ft high posts but gave that up years ago. The branches would grow 30ft in a season. As we have the space they are now kept no higher than waist height and the long runners are lopped off so they don't get in the way. There is space kept around them so we can just walk round the bushes. I'll try and remember to take a photo. :)
                 
                • Like Like x 1
                • Aldo

                  Aldo Super Gardener

                  Joined:
                  Nov 25, 2017
                  Messages:
                  594
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Ratings:
                  +1,318
                  Actually, frying the flowers is the most popular way back in Italy. That is how I used to have them as a child and loved it :)
                  My mum did not put anything in, but I do stuff them with cheese and/or anchovies and basil before dipping them in either eggs and flour or beer batter.

                  IMG_20200726_124733_1.jpg IMG_20200727_144350.jpg IMG_20200727_154320.jpg IMG_20200727_154343.jpg IMG_20200727_155524.jpg IMG_20200727_155408.jpg

                  I do the same with zucchini, calamari and all sort of things..
                  Which is a problem because, even when frying in olive oil, the result is delicious but too high in cholesterol to be had often I think.
                  So we were trying other recipes. We get so many pumpkin flowers every day right now, while I never see them in supermarkets, so I feel bad not using them.

                  For now we have tried with Pad Thai, but honestly they do not work very well, and with a pasta sauce which I enjoyed but my family was not that keen on.
                  I think next time will try a risotto..

                  Looking forward to the photos of your blackberry bushes, I love blackberry plants :)
                   
                  • Like Like x 3
                  • Emily Jones

                    Emily Jones Gardener

                    Joined:
                    Mar 31, 2020
                    Messages:
                    90
                    Gender:
                    Female
                    Ratings:
                    +224
                    Got to say Aldo...looks delicious. Tummy is rumbling :rolleyespink:
                     
                    • Friendly Friendly x 1
                    • Emily Jones

                      Emily Jones Gardener

                      Joined:
                      Mar 31, 2020
                      Messages:
                      90
                      Gender:
                      Female
                      Ratings:
                      +224
                      Wowee...I am in awe. Looking f.a.b!!
                       
                      • Like Like x 1
                      • Aldo

                        Aldo Super Gardener

                        Joined:
                        Nov 25, 2017
                        Messages:
                        594
                        Gender:
                        Male
                        Ratings:
                        +1,318
                        Very easy to make actually. You can use any squash or zucchini flowers, but pumpkin flowers are best. The green bits at the bottom of the flower, and the stamen inside, need removing because they taste bitter. The zucchini needs to be sliced quite finely so they can cook quickly.
                        Mozzarella, anchovies, basil, other kinds of cheese too work well as stuffing for the flowers, but they are nice even whithout.
                        The batter is one egg whisked with an optional splash of milk, a pinch of salt and pepper (I like the ground fresh). They can soak a lot so I drain them in a strainer a bit and then roll them in normal flour. One way to do that with less mess is to put some flour in a bowl, then some battered veggies, cover with a plate and give it a good shake.
                        Then I fry it all in a few inches of vegetable oil, sometimes mixed with olive oil. Or full olive oil if I am having guests :D
                        The oil should be as hot as it can go, but the frying time is very short, 30 seconds for the flowers, 1-2 min max for the zucchini slices, to light brown only basically.
                        Normally I dry them on a metal strainer, sprinkle a bit of salt and toss them so a little goes a long way. If you do not normally use much salt, you can skip that. Then dry further on kitchen paper if available.

                        Carrots are quite nice fried that way too. If you have a spiralizer and a potato, you could also make the spud into spirals or spaghetti, soak it briefly in warm salty water, strain it and fry that up too (with no batter). My kid loves potatoes that way, very crunchy and takes 30 second to one minute to fry.

                        Well, if you have some zucchini and perhaps flowers from the garden, give it a fry! :heehee:
                         
                        • Like Like x 2
                        • Informative Informative x 1
                        • shiney

                          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

                          Joined:
                          Jul 3, 2006
                          Messages:
                          60,998
                          Gender:
                          Male
                          Occupation:
                          Retired - Last Century!!!
                          Location:
                          Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
                          Ratings:
                          +117,297
                          If you're gluten free you can use chick pea flour (also known as Gram flour) and I actually prefer it to ordinary flour. It usually gives a drier, crisper finish. :blue thumb:
                           
                          • Like Like x 1
                          • Informative Informative x 1
                          • justracing2

                            justracing2 Gardener

                            Joined:
                            Mar 1, 2018
                            Messages:
                            10
                            Gender:
                            Male
                            Ratings:
                            +45
                            I have recently moved and have a pretty restricted planting area for vegetables so I decided to grow some runner beans in pots this year and quite frankly they have been a complete waste of time. P1020259.JPG . Any advice welcome please for next year.
                             
                            • Friendly Friendly x 1
                            • Sheal

                              Sheal Total Gardener

                              Joined:
                              Feb 2, 2011
                              Messages:
                              35,546
                              Gender:
                              Female
                              Location:
                              Beauly, Inverness-shire. Zone 9a
                              Ratings:
                              +52,311
                              I picked the first of the runner beans today and although your can't see them on the plants it's going to be a good crop. :)

                              IMG_5677.JPG

                              IMG_5679.JPG
                               
                            • shiney

                              shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

                              Joined:
                              Jul 3, 2006
                              Messages:
                              60,998
                              Gender:
                              Male
                              Occupation:
                              Retired - Last Century!!!
                              Location:
                              Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
                              Ratings:
                              +117,297
                              It looks like a lack of sufficient water and nutrients (but not feed additives). You have a lot of dead leaves, which shouldn't happen.

                              I can't see any flowers on there. Did you get any?

                              When runners are grown in the ground they need a good couple of gallons of water, at least twice a week, for about 10 sq ft of ground. When they're in pots they need more than that as they dry out quickly. I would tend to double that figure for pots that size. The bigger the pot the better the water retention. A mulch on the top will help a bit, even in pots.

                              Runners don't like hot and very sunny weather (they do like sun and bright skies) so tend to be late in setting pods during heatwaves but as I can't see any flowers that doesn't seem the problem. As there are no flowers any pollination problems won't come into the situation.

                              Some people have asked me questions about poor pollination of flowers this year. It could be lack of pollinators. Having some pollinator attracting plants nearby helps but not ones that are the greatest favourites of pollinators as they may keep to those instead. Hot evenings don't help as the pollinators are not as active. The old saying about spraying/misting the flowers to help pollination has been proved to be wrong as it tends to deter pollinators. If using plant food don't feed the plants until they are in flower otherwise it will promote leaf growth instead of flower.

                              Runners don't like acid soils so if your soil is below pH 6.5 you would need to use an additive (e.g. lime) to bring it back up.
                               
                              • Like Like x 2
                              Loading...

                              Share This Page

                              1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                                By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                                Dismiss Notice