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

Saturday 23 July 2011

Veg Update (Broccoli, Cabbage, Cucumber, Hot Pepper, Tomato, Turnip)

This is the first year I've grown broccoli and I spotted a spear forming this week!
Variety: Broccoli '(Autumn) 'Green Calabrese'. Sown indoor 8 April 2011. Planted outside mid-June; netted.

Slug control - above the cabbage is a glass of milk sunk into the ground - an attempt to catch/drown slugs.
Variety: Cabbage 'Golden Acre/Primo III'. Sown 3 April 2011 indoor. Planted outside mid-June; netted.

The bush cucumber plant is producing lots of flowers and tiny cucumbers are forming - will I ever get cucumbers large enough to eat?!?

Variety: Cucumber 'Bush Pickle'. Sown 3 April 2011 indoor
The veg box is stuffed with... kale (2 types), 1 x cabbage, 1 x broccoli, celery, celeriac, radish, carrot, turnip and perpetual spinach. The perpetual spinach has bolted. It was sown on 21 April; not sure why it bolted so quickly?

VarietyTurnip 'Purple Top Milan'
I love turnip! It grows quickly, looks good and both leaves and turnip are edible. I use them in casseroles, stews and stir fries.  

The tomatoes are doing well in the sun room. One of the plants has reached the ceiling. This is my first time growing tomatoes and so far so good.

VarietyTomato (Red Cherry), Sown 3 April 2011 indoor.
This week I'm getting hot peppers turning red - yeah! They range in size from less than an inch (tiny) to about 3 inches.
Variety:  Pepper (Hot) Cayenne, Sown 20 Feb 2011 indoor.

One of my salad containers. I thought it was a good idea at the time to put a nasturtium in the pot but on reflection nasturtiums flower best in poor soil so better to plant them elsewhere.
This plant grew from my compost... it looks like a courgette or maybe a melon of some sort - time will tell.




Hope your veg is pest free & productive!

12 comments:

  1. Everything is looking good - I'm impressed with your peppers! And your tomato plant is loaded! Hmmm.... I need some nasturtiums! They would love my soil!

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  2. Everything is looking good. The turnips are great looking; did you have them last year? The cucumbers may stay small and be a variety used to make pickles. They will be good, at any size, I bet. Your pepper looks nice, and that tomato plant looks loaded! Happy gardening!

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  3. You have a very productive garden. My broccoli has already bolted. We only planted 3 plants, regretfully, but they all matured at the same time. They were so yummy, sweeter and much more flavor than those from the market. I have not grown cayenne peppers. We grew big jims last year and they were very hot. Let me know how like them. Your garden looks healthy and I'd dare say, happy.

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  4. That's a great selection of veg, Kelli. And you have got ripe chillis already! Are they in the sun-room beside the tomatoes? The Perpetual Spinach may have bolted because of the weather conditions. I bet many of our plants are totally confused at present. We had a "summery" Spring, and now we have a cool, gloomy, wet July. I'll me interested to hear how your Celeriac does - I've found it difficult to grow up till now, but this year's crop is looking more promising.

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  5. Kelli you have such a green thumb - look at all your fabulous produce. Does everything grow brilliantly in Ireland???

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  6. Everything's looking good, especially the brassicas. I picked my first calabrese last week, it was delicious. Your tomatoes are looking good, we just need some sun now so they'll start ripening.

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  7. Impressive. You have so many healthy vegetables. You will be busy with harvesting soon.

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  8. The hot peppers are inside; they're on the stair landing on the window ledge. The leaves are falling off perhaps from too much and too little water, however the peppers seem to be doing well.

    First year growing turnip, and it will be on my 'must grow' list for the future. I really like it.

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  9. Very good and productive garden as always!
    My brocolli always bolted due to hot weather. I eat the leaves only....

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  10. Hi Kelli, you vegetables are doing so well! How excited you must be to keep finding lot's of growth. How is your slug control working? I have one bugger slug that is eating my pumpkins.
    Hey, I used your post in April about making fertilizer and used comfrey leaves and guess what...It worked!!! So THANK YOU for the excellent idea!!
    P.S. totally jealous you have cucumbers.

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  11. I have had quite a few veg bolting this year. I think it's a combination of sandy soil and lack of rain. The rest of your veg look like they're going to crop well. You must be pleased with it all.

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  12. Your vegies look fantastic! I like that we are both growing broccoli on opposite ends of the earth :)

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