How Grows It? (September)

 

 

 

 

 

 A warm welcome to September, well I say warm; it's all well and truly on the slide into Autumn now and you can feel it starting to resonate down deep in your bones.  The mornings are darker, the days are noticeably shorter and the temperatures are starting to take a dive.  But before we get into all that let's review how things went last month and get a gander at these lovlies.

 

'Ere 'ave a look. 

 

 

They’re the cock of the walk aren’t they?

 

 

These Gladdies were the pride of the border throughout August.  Check out the gamma point of this colour.

 

 

This here is the money shot as the pic is all natural and unenhanced and shows the real vibrancy that these plants can bring when they really turn it on.

They showed up in their trillions (well about 30) and even the paler colours are delightful and delicate

 

 

The first part of August was hot as hell.  That’s purely surmised you understand as I’ve not actually been to hell, not yet leastways; (unless you’re all counting the old Waitrose car park in Berkhamsted, or Stansted Airport, as that’s sure one hell of a dookie). 

Next came the monsoon. 

 

 

 

If you remember we had record breaking temperatures in July and if it hadn't been for the August bank holiday weekend, last month would have been another record breaker in terms of rainfall averages (or lack of).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what of our veggies? 


We did really well with these yellow courgettes, they are reliable and ripen very quickly into huge specimens. 

Though to be absolutely honest they don't really deliver on flavour - taste is minimal. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beans on the other hand were the exact reverse in that they were quintessentially delicious but we really felt that the cropping averages were well below par. 

 

 

 

There was an early set back when all of the plants on one side were demolished by black fly although these did revive and are now producing flowers; but it remains to be seen if this is too little too late in terms of being able to develop as the sunshine ratio is now greatly diminished. 

 

We've already researched high croppers and will definitely select a different variety for next year. 

 

 

 

The tomatoes this year, despite days of prolonged sunshine, have been slow to ripen and I don't think that's just us, it seems to be a national trend but now they're coming thick and fast and the flavour is exquisite. 

 

Do be mindful though that if you decide to try these cherry tomatoes that they do need plenty of space as our plants here have now reached 7' and they also have a wide spread.

 

 

 

They're sweet, juicy and so delicious no short-changing on flavour here and there's no doubt that they earn their keep in the long run.

The full sized tomatoes from the Gardeners' World trial are maddeningly slow but are at last on the verge of ripening. 

Lots of people keep theirs under glass right through so those will be quicker.

Plus we started these off about three weeks later than the others so on timing they are about right.

Now we've got them to this stage not sure whether the ripening will happen more quickly if left on the vine or be accelerated by being brought inside? 

So we've picked just one to test this and never fear will let you know how best to turbo ripen off your toms.

Remember those cucamelons? 

They've spent months busily developing a multi-layered tangled mat of foliage and then some tiny fruits begin to develop. 

But these have a nasty habit of detaching themselves and dropping off before developing to full size. 

Of the one fruit that has ripened we can report it does have some inner seeds, reminiscent of a cucumber but the texture is less firm while the skin is slightly tough. 

Might be nice for making pickles as it was slightly gherkinish. 

 

 

 

You'd need a bit more of a batch though than we've managed here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of the plants have given of their best and are now beginning to look decidedly shabby so we've already started to cut hard back to lose any tatty foliage and keep things going for as long as the weather allows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite that all of the poppies have been spectacular and brilliant irrespective of variety.

 

 

 

 

And to end here's a last little bit of sunshine in the hope that we continue to see warm days right through into October.

 

 

 

How Grows It? (August)

 

 

 

Arh, there you are.  Cushty - didn't want to start without you. 

 

A warm welcome back to G.H.Q. for this, another month’s shake down.  I say warm.  The last week of July was as cold and wet as a St Bernard’s nose and, can’t let that slide by without reminding you that we also had an entire month’s rainfall in just one day – and all the trimmings.  Well, we just had to hunker in, batten down the hatches and wait til they blew the ‘all clear’ on that one before venturing out to check on the Zinnias (our new BFFs).  Fear not following that fracas no irrevocable damage sustained.  Excepting for the odd droopy Dahlia and some recumbent cornflowers; nothing dislodged from its moorings.  Good enough. 

 

I know what you’re thinking. 

What about the carrots?  Right?  Well yes, precisely, what indeedy?  Nothing.  Nada.  No idea why that particular fixture was scratched but they just never bothered themselves with anything so prosaic as, like, growing.  Meanwhile the companion plants (lilies) to whom we sub-let the pot have shot up like Sputniks and produced the biggest, plumpest, ripest buds ever known.  Proving that heat, light and water sources were all abundantly available to anyone who cared to avail themselves of said amenities. 

 

Well those carrots can please themselves because, knowing as we do that there's more than one way to skin a cat; undeterred, we’ve started off another batch and will naturally keep you posted about their development.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrots excepting, we are getting a mini harvest twice a week now.  See, here this charming spring onion.  Maybe only one but so packed with flavour.  Took me right back to Catweazle, Kerplunk and salads of yesteryear; simpler days when salads were salads and not something in a plastic bag, sanitised, sterilised, chlorinated and homogenised.

 

 

 

 

 

Like this, entirely home grown salad

 

This bed has been a’fizz for weeks tangy and zesty like a bag of sherbets and even though it's nowhere near going off the boil, so the season rolls on and new headline stars of the repertoire continue to emerge. 



Or in this case a few moody cosmos.  

These Cosmos we started off inside, just to be on the safe side.  Then latterly sowed a few outside to follow-on.  Well, if you want giant beefy great brutes of Cosmos (which we don't), then this is the way to go.  The last time we inadvertently grew giant ones they sprouted upwards; they went up four or five feet.  This time they're very much more round and billowy, of full habit, bulging in all directions and showing next to nothing in the way of bud. 

Not sure if this is down to the feed they've had, encouraging them to put on a lot of foliage at the expense of flowers.  Either way we were aiming for something much less substantial.  Not these rotund and frothy giant mounds, reminiscent of a mucky uncle on a family picnic.

Giant plant - one measly flower!!!

 

I was about to say that this entire bed is altogether a definite fail because it's not as was originally envisaged.  The object was to achieve something neat and tidy, compact.  Just some nice low growing ankle ticklers, serene and demure.

But of course it's not a failure because it's a teeming mazuma of life. 

Loving the Zinnias and these vibrant vampish Geraniums.   

So that's OK, this is only year one after all and any garden progressively devolves so hopefully we can learn from this and avoid over-cluttering next year.   

Meanwhile, brace yourself as there's more bad news to come.

 

Tragedy has struck.

 

Yes, it was like dawn of the aphids on the runners. 

We warned you about those tiny bugs that attack the flower at the tip so no bean can develop, but we didn't anticipate a plague of blackfly. 

One plant was completely smothered so you’d have to hack your way through, while the other remained relatively bug free.  Weird.  I’d always assumed that they swarmed in, but guess it's actually down to where the eggs are laid.  Hatch out.  Instant infestation.  Had to spray.  Sorry; I’m not an organic manic but like to keep chemical free as far as possible on home grown.  Which kind of chafes as you’ve don’t got a Scoobie on the squirting that the kit and kaboodle you’re hauling back from the supermarket has taken.  

 

 

ALIVE, ALIVE-Oh

DEADED

Anyway a few weeks on and the plants which were attacked have taken a direct hit , shrivelled and turned brown. 


Those guys must have sucked the guts right out. 

 

 

However, it is now believed that some plants may now be quietly staging something of a revival.

Either way, the beans we've had off the four plants in the undamaged pot are sublime.  Best meal of the year so far, a plate of runner beans dripping in melted butter - get yourself round that. 

 

So what have we learned this month? 

 

GET SOME ZINNIAS IN YOUR LIFE

is what. 

Whoa, these guys are the real deal and have really got the party kicking off. 

 

 

 

 

How Grows It? (July)

 

 

 

 

HAPPINESS IS A RADISH  

 

Greetings amigos. 

Drop the dead donkey because the scoop is that we achieved our first harvest last week and yes it’s official, you may have thought that happiness came in the shape of a new Mercedes or a Caribbean cruise but forget all that because the hot skinny is that starting a garden from scratch and getting your first nosh on the table is as good as it gets. 

 

 

IMPRESSIVE (I think you’ll agree)

We dined like Kings that night. 

 

And the micro-lettuces from last month?  Yes they're at it again. 

From this







To this 







Have you got yours' yet?


So where’d we leave you last time, oh yeah, I recall, at the end of ‘grey May’.  Well flaming June hit the ground running and we had to sprint to keep up with it, keep up with all the watering that is.  May, non-stop rain so we were quaking in fear at the prospect of losing our tender juveniles.

 

Then June rolls up bringing with it heat so extreme that at Wimbledon they recorded the highest temperature ever.

HOT

HOT

HOT

 

So what else is going on around the USG-Plot?

 

The beds, though not quite yet at full throttle are flowering around 50% capacity.

 

 

Think about Mimulus for bedding. 

A highly under-rated annual. 

They’re often not so garish as other varieties, go on and on and seed around, so they’ll pop up again next year, just where you’re not expecting them.

 

 

The veg have all put on good growth.  From having coped with the coldest ever May to rocketing temperatures in June, leaving them gasping some days.

Flowers on the

Toms

Cukes

Beans

 

The Gardeners’ World tomato trial plants are a bit behind, but still doing well.

If you're doing these too let us know how yours' are getting along.

Tom Thumb

 

Beany Baby

 

These guys are under steam, maybe a while before the plants are groaning with produce, but the signs are good.

July already.  Not sure how that happened.  June was gone in a flash to carry on enjoying your garden an rendezvous back here very soon.  Meantime, keep sending us your comments.