This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Veg Update (Courgette, Cucumber, Peppers, Radish, Turnip)

The first few courgette / zucchini have been eaten by slugs. I've put most of my plants in pots so I can hopefully keep a better eye on them - before the slugs munch. I must have hundreds if not thousands of slugs and snails in the garden!

Left: Courgette (yellow zucchini) 'Soleil F1', Mr Fothergill's, 10 seeds, £2.39. Sown indoor 3 April 2011.





 
Courgette (zucchini F1), Carters Tested Seeds, 20 seeds, 79p. Sown indoor 3 April 2011. Planted out early June.
Left: Cucumber, Plant Hart's Seeds, US$2.29. Sown indoor 3 April 2011.

I'm down to one cucumber plant. The others were damaged in our Spring gales and didn't survive. I brought this one back indoor to grow in the glass house. It's just starting to get tiny cucumbers on it - fingers crossed!
Left: Bean 'Dwarf Purple Queen', Mr Fothergills, 100 seeds, £2.35. Sown indoor 3 April 2011. Planted out early June.

Ever grow a veg and think... when is it ready?!?! (I'm eating them, ready or not.)
My poor chili pepper plant - its leaves are turning yellow like they will all fall off. Hope the hot peppers keep growing.

Left: Chillis (hot) - Pepper (Hot) Cayenne, Mr Fothergill's, 60 seeds, £1.89. Sown indoor 20 Feb 2011.
Left: Pepper 'California Wonder', Thompson & Morgans Seeds, £1.50. Sown indoor 20 Feb 2011.

I pinched the growing tip of my peppers in Spring (based on an article I read ) and it kind of dwarfed my plants. Oh well, next year, I won't pinch the peppers.

Veg box with perpetual spinach, carrots and radish.
Spotted a little leaf in the veg box; lifted it to find a slug underneath - surprise!

Above: My first turnip (yeah)! A slug got the first tiny nibble (pictured above left). Turnips in the grocery store a quite large; this one is about the size of a tennis ball. I couldn't resist pulling one out to have a look! The seed pack says they're quick to mature and best eaten small and young. Variety: Turnip 'Purple Top Milan', Mr Fothergill's, 1,750 seeds, £1.49. Sown outdoor 21 April 2011.


Left: Radish 'Candela di fuoco'. 

Don't think the radish are quite big enough - thought I'd pull one to check.


Happy gardening - hope your veg is pest free and tasty!
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13 comments:

  1. cathy@home29 June 2011 at 01:56

    Love the purple bean warning I nearly bought them this year.

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  2. Jo29 June 2011 at 02:42

    Slugs are such a nuisance. The first of my courgettes are just starting to grow, I'll watch out for any slugs near them.

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  3. ann29 June 2011 at 05:16

    You really do have a slug problem. My friend wages war on them to keep them off of her hostas. She buys a slug bate. Perhaps you find something on line to help control the little boogers.

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  4. Mark Willis29 June 2011 at 11:11

    You have some great stuff there Kelli - despite the slug problem. You have done better than me with Candela di Fuoco. I have tried a couple of times to grow them, but they always bolt before they get to a useable size. Have your purple beans been outdoors all the time, or did you start them off indoors? My plants are only about 6" tall, and nowhere near ready to produce pods.

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  5. Egretta Wells blog29 June 2011 at 11:35

    You certainly have some interesting veggies there...I've never seen purple beans like that. Let us know how tasty they are. The elongated radishes look good and will be delicious, I'll wager, while very young and tender. Sorry about the slugs---those nasty creatures.

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  6. ~TastyTravels~29 June 2011 at 22:15

    Nice veggies there!! You'll soon have a fabulous harvest!! Darn slugs!!

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  7. Malay-Kadazan girl30 June 2011 at 06:26

    You have so many varieties to harvest in your garden now. Snail and slugs are also having a grand party on our Chinese Cabbage.

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  8. Anonymous30 June 2011 at 07:05

    You're zucchini are looking lovely :)

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  9. Malar30 June 2011 at 17:08

    Came here from MKZ blog! You have wonderful blog!
    So many snail and slug? May be you can try putting a lot of sea shells or egg shell?

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  10. Sue Garrett1 July 2011 at 02:01

    If you have problems with slugs on things grown in pots then try smearing Vaseline 9petroleum jelly) around the pot in a band. Problem is that if the slugs have already got into the pot it won't work.
    Don't put it too near the rim or you end up with messy fingers when you move the pot.We also usr copper tape around pots.

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  11. thyme2garden1 July 2011 at 05:50

    Hi Kelly, thanks for stopping by my blog! It's always interesting to see how others garden around the world. I also have occasional problems with the "follower" feature of Blogger, especially the one in most blog's sidebars. So I go to the very top left corner of the blog page and click on "Follow" text right next to the search window.

    Anyway, you have a very interesting and pretty blog here. I really like that you posted the sowing dates of your vegetables so we can get an idea of how long it took for your goodies to get to that size. The last radish is really interesting with its long shape! Did it taste good?

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  12. thyme2garden1 July 2011 at 05:51

    Sorry, I meant to say Kelli...

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  13. Janet5 July 2011 at 05:33

    Your courgettes are way ahead of ours. Are the pots inside or outside? The veg are looking good, Kelli.

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