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Posts Tagged ‘tomatoes’

Do My Garden Birds Know Something That I Do Not?

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Do my garden birds know more than me and the weather forecasters? Sometimes it makes me wonder. This is the most severe winter we have had for years. Snow, freezing temperatures that have not even reached as high as the norm for this time of the year and yet as soon as the snow and ice have cleared the birds are singing like spring is just around the corner. Not only are the garden birds singing to claim their territories but the Jackdaws are trying to build a nest in my chimney. With the winds coming from the north temperatures are still below what they should be so what is it that instils so much encouragement in them? Maybe it is the lengthening days.

Food for our feathered friends must be in short supply; a Greater Spotted Woodpecker is visiting and feeding on the large fatball I hang in the tree near the seed feeder. I have had them visiting and taking peanuts from the feeder but this is the first time I have seem them take fat. The Blackbirds are still coming to me to beg for dried fruit but even they are now taking peanuts from the feeder.

The garden birds may be preparing for spring but I think it is going to be a while before I can do any gardening outside. The lawns are looking a bit sad after the snow and I have never seen so many shrubs, including hedging, with such burnt leaves for a long time. Mother Nature has a way of recovering from these setbacks but it would not surprise me to find the odd shrub and perennial plant not putting in an appearance this year.

Probably another week and I will be making a sowing of tomato seeds. As decided after last years growing season I will just be growing Harbinger. There are newer tomato varieties that will produce fruits all the same size. However that is not a consideration for me, my tomatoes can ripen at many different sizes and I can put up with that in exchange for the excellent flavour.

In spite of the very bad weather my early flowering Mohonia is still providing colour. I have met gardeners who do not like this group of shrubs but I am a fan. There were a couple in the garden when I moved here and I have added to the collection. Very accommodating, nice yellow flowers with a pleasing perfume that can fill a garden. They make great “full stop” plants in a border or can be used as architectural plants due to their shapely (and spiky!) dark green leaves.

Honey Fungus, Save the Hedgehogs and Vegetables in Season

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Honey FungusI strolled out into the garden to check what tasks needed to go onto the list of things to do and, although I have seen it before, I was amazed to see several eruptions in the garden. There is no other way to describe it. The awful Honey Fungus has decided that the time is right to send up its toadstools. One day there is nothing and the next there is this mass of toadstools so strong that they push anything in their path out of their way. Digging down to remove the horrors I found that it was living on and reproducing from bits of Silver Birch root still in the ground from when the Boot Lace Fungus destroyed the tree.


 


It is sad to read an article in The Daily Telegraph saying that gardening makeovers are being blamed for the rise in orphaned hedgehogs. The article states that Dr Toni Bunnell, who runs a sanctuary in York, has taken in dozens of baby hedgehogs this summer, many more than usual. It seems that mass makeovers where everything is cleared before creating a new garden is disturbing the families, the mother runs but the young get left behind. Sometimes it is difficult to get the balance right but if the new garden has planting that will encourage and help the wildlife then perhaps it is worth it but if the resulting new garden is neat, tidy and sterile then that is another matter. We gardeners need the wildlife just as much as the wildlife need our gardens as a way to navigate around their territory. If a six lane motorway was built across one of our favourite walks with no obvious way around we would get upset. This is what it must be like for the likes of a hedghog that forages for food one day and the next finds some of its prime food locations unaccessible.


 


This weekend I picked all the remaining tomatoes, all shades from green to light orange. The good news is there is enough to make some tomato chutney. Cannot wait!


 


Also the Runner Beans have come out. We tried to eat some of the remaining beans but they were a bit hard and stringy. Still, there is always next year. one of the great things, to my mind anyway, about growing your own vegetables is that you get educated once more into eating vegetables that are in season for your country or region. I am old enough to remember when we had to eat what was grown locally and in season and did not eat so much imported fruit and vegetables. Personally I would like to see more people with a bit of spare ground or space learning how to vegetable garden for each month and season or just to buy vegetables in season locally. It gives you something to look forward to and the food seems more enjoyable.




·        
UniqueDaily.com – Fat Hedgehog Gets Stuck Through Hole – Either way this poor hedgehog was left in a most humiliating position when he managed to wedge himself firmly in this hole in a garden wall. Animal rescuers were called out to help the hapless animal which became wedged in a hole, …


·         Vegetables in Season in September | Womens Nook – List of vegetables in season in September in Australia. Asparagus, artichokes and peas are at their peak. A recipe for leek and goats cheese galette included.

Winter Flowering Pansies Have to Wait Their Turn

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When you go away on holiday in the height of summer it is always a worry that friends or neighbours cannot get round often enough to keep up the watering. Everyone is busy and they cannot be expected to lavish all the love and care that you would yourself. One of the good things about taking a vacation this time of the year is that most things will survive well enough with a watering every other day. This has been the case with my week away rambling in the wilds enjoying the fresh air.


The birds have had to find alternative arrangements for the week but they are slowly finding the food again. Each day is bringing back more feathered friends.


Only a week away but I can see significant changes. Autumn colour in plants, tree and shrubs that was not present a week ago. The grass is not growing so quickly, it is cooler and the days are getting shorter.


There is still plenty of colour in the garden from flowers and the colour from the flowers is being joined by foliage colour.


The Rudbeckias seem to have been flowering for weeks as do the white Cosmos. The large flowered Dahlias have certainly been worth waiting for and have provided good value.


The tomatoes are coming to an end now. There are still tomatoes on the vines but it is doubtful whether they will all ripen. Of course I can pick them and ripen them inside but my preference is to use the green tomatoes in chutney. The theory is that we will eat the chutney through the winter months but believe me it has no chance of lasting that long no matter how much we manage to make!



The Runner Beans are also coming to an end, there are still some to pick but do not look as appetising as a couple of weeks ago. Very likely they will be a bit hard and stringy.


One success of this year has to be the Mini Iceberg Hearts lettuce. Sown close together in a deep box they have done well and hearted up into nice crunchy heads. They stand for a long period and the cut heads will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.


I sowed seed of Winter Flowering Pansies a few weeks ago and they are ready to go into their winter locations now. Two containers can be cleared to make way but I am pleased to say that the other containers that will home them are still full of flower. Sorry pansies, you will just have to sit in trays a little bit longer.




  • Gardening Jobs for November | Gomestic – One of the easiest ways to brighten a dull garden is to put in a few winter flowering pansies. They do well in pots, or in the borders. Winter jasmine and early hellerbores also provide some welcome colour. Image via Wikipedia …

Tomato Harbinger Takes the Prize

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0998a Porch Tomato Harbinger Takes the PrizeIt is not so long ago that I made an entry in my diary giving an opinion on the tomato varieties that I have grown this year. At the time I stated that I would grow more of the same next year, this being Harbinger and the plum variety Red Alert. I have changed my mind and will only be growing Harbinger next season.


So what has changed?


Harbinger has proved to be the best cropper by far and in my opinion Harbinger has the better flavour. In addition Harbinger tomato plants have proven to be much healthier.


The blackbirds have disappeared as they usually do at this time of the year to moult. I spotted one in one of my rhododendrons and he hardly had a feather left on his head.


The great news on the bird front is that we have more sparrows this year that we have had for a very long time. They are doing their best to eat me out of bird seed but I have no complaints. Flocks of them arrive on mass and disappear together. I hear them in the bushes near the feeder waiting for a refill. Their numbers suddenly declined dramatically one winter and it has taken years for them to make a comeback. The funny thing is, last winter was the harshest we have had for many years and yet it is this summer that we have had the biggest increase in numbers. Long may it continue.


For the first time ever I have had problems with caterpillars on my salad crops grown under cover. I recognised the caterpillar of the cabbage white but I must confess my ignorance when it comes to identifying the other thug. Whatever it was it had a voracious appetite!


This autumn I must give some thought to my vegetable garden layout. I have already made some alterations that will help next years crops which has entailed cutting back shrubs and trees that had put on more than expected growth due to good growing conditions.


My begonia hanging basket is looking good at last. For the first time this year I have grown tuberous begonias from seed that are recommended for baskets and containers, having only grown the fibrous rooted varieties from seed. They have taken a while to reach flowering size but the wait has been worth it. Hopefully I can over winter the tubers and have earlier flowers and a cheaper hanging basket next year.



Tomato Blight Strikes and Ideas for Next Year in the Garden are Forming

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Normally I take pictures of beautiful flowers to show on my diary. This week is very different; this is a picture I never wanted to take.


I have been growing tomatoes for over thirty years with very few problems. This year I had a few extra tomato plants going spare so I asked my daughter whether she would like to try her hand at cultivating her own tomatoes. There was no room in the greenhouse and so I helped her to plant in containers outside.


70e4c tomato blight Tomato Blight Strikes and Ideas for Next Year in the Garden are FormingShe probably gave her tomatoes more TLC than me, she was doing a good job, listening to all the advice and had started to pick fruit. There is nothing better to encourage and enthuse people to gardening that enjoying the fruits of their labour.


However, one day she asked me to look at her tomatoes as she thought they were suddenly taking a turn for the worse. Although I have never experienced the problem it was clear what the problem was, tomato blight. Thankfully this is a tomato disease that does not affect tomatoes grown under glass very often but it can devastate tomatoes grown outside when the summer is warm but wet.


On a brighter note my large flowered dahlias are open and stunning again this year. The cuttings I took earlier in the year are looking healthy so I will hopefully increase my stock again next spring.


That sounds like I am already planning for next year in the garden and, yes, I am! I have identified one area of the garden that needs revision next year. Around the patio has perhaps been a bit neglected while developing another couple of new areas but you cannot do everything. I have not decided fully what changes I will make but I always like to mull several ideas over before taking action. Whatever I do I want it to be there for a few years so it is worth taking that extra time to think it over.


Do My Garden Birds Know Something That I Do Not?

Do my garden birds know more than me and the weather forecasters? Sometimes it makes me wonder. This is the most severe winter we have had for years. Snow, freezing temperatures that have not even reached as high as the norm for this time of the year and yet as soon as the snow and ice have cleared the birds are singing like spring is just around the corner. Not only are the garden birds singing to claim their territories but the Jackdaws are trying to build a nest in my chimney. With the winds coming from the north temperatures are still below what they should be so what is it that instils so much encouragement in them? Maybe it is the lengthening days.

Food for our feathered friends must be in short supply; a Greater Spotted Woodpecker is visiting and feeding on the large fatball I hang in the tree near the seed feeder. I have had them visiting and taking peanuts from the feeder but this is the first time I have seem them take fat. The Blackbirds are still coming to me to beg for dried fruit but even they are now taking peanuts from the feeder.

The garden birds may be preparing for spring but I think it is going to be a while before I can do any gardening outside. The lawns are looking a bit sad after the snow and I have never seen so many shrubs, including hedging, with such burnt leaves for a long time. Mother Nature has a way of recovering from these setbacks but it would not surprise me to find the odd shrub and perennial plant not putting in an appearance this year.

Probably another week and I will be making a sowing of tomato seeds. As decided after last years growing season I will just be growing Harbinger. There are newer tomato varieties that will produce fruits all the same size. However that is not a consideration for me, my tomatoes can ripen at many different sizes and I can put up with that in exchange for the excellent flavour.

In spite of the very bad weather my early flowering Mohonia is still providing colour. I have met gardeners who do not like this group of shrubs but I am a fan. There were a couple in the garden when I moved here and I have added to the collection. Very accommodating, nice yellow flowers with a pleasing perfume that can fill a garden. They make great “full stop” plants in a border or can be used as architectural plants due to their shapely (and spiky!) dark green leaves.



Do My Garden Birds Know Something That I Do Not? is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden

Home Hydroponics for Growing Vegetable Plants

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Home Hydroponics for Growing Vegetable Plants

Grow your own vegetable plants indoors using hydroponics.

Growing vegetables year round can be a challenge in most of the US. The winter
months won’t support any type of outdoor gardening in most of the US, and
in the southern states many types of vegetables won’t survive the summer heat
and drought.

But Indoor Gardening can be a real challenge as well. Proper lighting is always an issue, as most vegetables want 8 hours or more of sunlight a day.

Of course many vegetables such as corn or large vining plants like cantaloupe are just not practical even if you could create enough lighting to support them.

But it’s not at all out of the question to grow small leafy vegetables for salads,
and many herbs can be grown indoors as well. These generally are not heavy feeders, so they are also well suited for a Hydroponics Systems.


One of the more popular systems for growing container vegetables indoors is the Aerogrow Aerogarden system. It includes room for several seed pods and a built in adjustable height grow light. With a microprocessor based controller, the flow of nutrients in the hydroponics system and the timing of the grow lights are optimized for the specific type of plant that you are growing at the time.

By varying the height of the grow light as the plants increase in size, you
are able to maintain the optimum growing conditions for weeks at a time.
Another advantage to the Aerogarden indoor garden system is the variety of seed
types available for the system.

You can grow a variety of lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, herbs, chili
peppers and even petunias.

With this large a variety of plants, some folks find they need more than one Hydroponics system
to keep up.

Gardening – What A Great Activity

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My Introduction to Gardening.

I was what you would call an armchair gardener. It’s not that I didn’t have the drive. When I lived in my parents house when I was a teenager, I remember having a flower and garden spot in the backyard that would rock your world. I grew some of the freshest tomatoes and some of the most beautiful daisies that could exist. Then I lived in a small apartment in New-York, I had about no room at all for my possessions. Have something growing was unthinkable.

Then I moved to San Francisco and everything changed. I went to a SF flower and garden show, and was blown away by what I saw. You see, San Francisco has a unique climate. Practically everything that can grow can grow there. It is bright enough for plants that need a lot of sunlight, yet there is enough precipitation for plants that need a lot of moisture. It is not too cold and not too hot. It stays almost the same temperature all year. In short, it is the ideal temperate climate.

Because of that, San Francisco flower and garden shows are known over the globe. They have some of the best and brightest flowers, the freshest fruits and vegetables, and the most striking gourds that people have ever seen. Every garden and flower publication profiles them every year, and each year it is getting better and better. It’s quite impossible not to be obsessed with the idea of growing something on your own when you go to the flower and garden show in San Francisco. The plants look so wonderful, after all that, how could you resist?

Tools For Diy Lawn Care And Gardening And Your Landscape

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It seems that home improvement stores are making their gardening supply and nursery stocks more expansive year by year. I think this is because DIY lawn care and gardening is the easiest to break into as a homeowner.

You can buy gardening products in various stores or nurseries, or you can order gardening products from catalogues, or even order them online. The trick is in knowing what you need for the jobs you plan to undertake.

You will obviously need the basic landscape garden tools no matter what you are planting, such as a hoe, spade, and maybe even a shovel. You must have watering supplies, like a hose, sprinkler and watering can. Other possibilities include a spade, a pot (if you are pot planting), and a pair of gloves for comfort, some pruning shears and a rake. Then, of course, there are the essentials such as the lawn mower and weed whacker, but we are mainly going to focus here on the basic landscape/gardening tools and leave the grass for another day.

When first starting a garden you will definitely want some type of mushroom mulch, manure or peat moss to properly amend your soil. There are a few types of potting soil that you can also add into your slurry including organic potting mix, seed starting potting mix, cactus potting mix, and root development potting mix, just to name a few.

Once you have your garden planted, you must have gardening chemicals so that you can add nutrients to the soil to ensure a healthy plant life. Miracle-Gro is one of the most popular growing enhancements for plants. There are many different types of Miracle-Gro to choose from and what kind you choose will depend on what you are trying to grow. The good thing about Miracle-Gro is that it is labeled very well with easy-to-follow instructions. This same brand name can also be found on insecticides and fungicides with that same easy-to-follow labeling.

If you are growing vegetables or herbs, you may need different gardening tools than regular flower gardens require. If you are growing tomatoes for example, you will need a tomato cage and ties to protect the plants against the wind. Many plants, mostly vines, are designed to grow on something and you will have to have a fence or trellis of some sort.

You can also find tools for the landscape that serve a greater purpose than just “function,” and that being “form.” In other words, they can also come in the form of decoration. There are decorative flower pots, sundials, plastic figurines, stones or bricks for a pathway or looks, and even lawn furniture. The big trend in country gardening is to find old, weathered and rusted garden tools and plant those in and amongst the greenery. Decoration will add to the charm and uniqueness of your garden and is an excellent way to give it a personal touch.

The winter months will bring a whole new set of gardening products to store shelves. When the frost hits the prime place to put your plants are in a greenhouse. However, if you do not have a greenhouse for whatever reason, a tarp of some sorts can be used to cover plants up at night. You also might need a light source, like a heat lamp, to both keep plants warm and give them extra light. In addition, you are going to need a snow shovel or maybe even a snow blower, as well as some good quality snow melter.

New and upgraded gardening products are always popping up on the market. It seems like every day there is some gardening product that claims to be bigger and better than the last. While many gardening tools are not a necessity, they sure make the job a lot easier and more enjoyable. Fall time is a great time to pick up deals on lawn and garden tools as the season is nearly over and they are often found on clearance. Check them out today!

When the basics of your new garden are in place you will want to enjoy it, Summerhouses and Garden Rooms are ideal places to relax.

Things to do in The September Vegetable Garden

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Tomatoes

Remember to keep up a good and regular watering regime which will help to reduce the chance of blossom end rot and split fruit. Remove split fruit as soon as you notice it, if left it will soon start to rot and introduce disease.

Any remaining outdoor tomatoes should be picked by the end of September and ripened indoors. The whole truss can be cut off to allow the fruits to ripen on the vine either on a windowsill or in a box with a ripe banana for company. Green fruits can be used in chutneys as can any red tomatoes surplus to requirements.

Potatoes

Potatoes should be lifted before slug damage becomes a problem. Leave the tubers to dry before storing in paper sacks or boxes. Take care to only store undamaged potatoes.

Keep a watch for potato blight, any blighted potato haulms can be cut off and burnt or disposed of with household rubbish. The good news is that the potatoes can still be harvested.

If there is a danger that inclement weather spreading the disease and you are happy using sprays try products such as Bordeaux Mixture, Dithane 945 and Murphy Traditional Copper Fungicide.

Wet weather at this time of the year, especially if you are gardening on clay soil, is when potato powdery scab makes an appearance and affected tubers should be disposed of. Crop rotation becomes very important to prevent the problem building up in the soil.

It is just not clay soils where problems can occur, common scab and other potato skin problems can be a problem in dry warm weather. An important regime here is watering and as alkaline soil worsens the problem use of acidic fertilisers may help).

Clear debris created when lifting potatoes and care should be taken not to damage the haulms. Potato debris left out in wet weather could cause the development of fungal diseases such as black leg or fluffy grey mould.

Reading the above might make you wonder whether it is worth growing your own potatoes but remember that with a good regime of watering and cleanliness most problems can be avoided.

Vegetable Garden in September – Hints and Tips

Vegetable Garden Things to do in August

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We are that time of the year and garden season when hints and tips for the vegetable garden once more include the phrase “depending upon where you live”. In warmer regions you will be able to get away with late sowings while cooler regions may wish to take a risk or accept that there may not be enough warm weather to come to get crops to maturity.

Tomatoes

I make no secret of the fact that I am an enthusiastic grower and eater of tomatoes. Early in the season I can buy locally grown tomatoes from a market gerdener but there is nothing like that taste that comes from those freshly picked from your own vines.

Pick those tomatoes that are ripening quickly now and enjoy the abundant harvest.

Irregular watering can lead to problems with blossom end rot in tomatoes so it is advisable to water well during dry spells.

Keep up with potato blight control on outdoor tomatoes to prevent further infection of the crop.

Also keep your eyes peeled for ghost spot, blotchy ripening and greenback. Problems with ripening can be caused by heat damage, lack of feeding or water, or by a genetic tendency in some varieties. Tomato viruses are another problem.

Reading back over this it may not at first glance look like a good advert for growing your own tomatoes but with a sensible care and good housekeeping regime most problems are avoided.

Quick Maturing Crops

Here we go with one of those depending upon where you live:

In warmer areas you can still sow quick maturing salad crops such as summer lettuce, radish, rocket, sorrel, chicory and fennel. Continue to sow spring cabbage, turnips, Oriental vegetables and overwintering onions.

If like me and you have a , try sowing salad leaf crops such as lettuce, matzuna, rocket, greek cress and golden purslane in seed trays on the greenhouse benching. Sow seeds thinly, grow to maturity in the seed trays and graze the young leaves so that they cut and cum again.

Remember to regularly pick fast maturing vegetables such as French beans, runner beans, courgettes and cucumbers which will prevent stringiness or toughness and encourage further cropping.

Read more Vegetable Garden in August – Hints and Tips

Time for Summer Salads

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We have been eating our own salad crops this week. The tomatoes and cucumbers are not ready yet but are coming on well. The cucumber flowers are so decorative, the yellow flowers brighten up the greenhouse.

What an interesting mix of salad leaves you can put together when you grow your own. Our mix was Mizuna, Greek Cress, Rocket, Spinach, Beetroot and Lettuce. The Greek Cress went down well adding a very peppery taste to the salads. The only disappointment to date is the Purslane which has been very slow. However I have a second sowing which seems to be coming along much better.

I have started my tomato questions and answers page and still have many questions left to answer.

More at Cutting Hedges and Eating Salad

Spring is a Little Late this Year

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Looking at my notes from last year the weather at this time was hot, very hot for the time of year. My were romping away and other seedlings demanding attention as they grew at an amazing rate. Then guess what happened? The weather turned colder, a lot colder. The tomatoes continued to look very healthy but took ages to set fruit. Bedding plants that had raced away could not be planted out into the border as it was too cold and some had to have the growing tips nipped out to hold them back and help them to bush.

When will Spring arrive this year?