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

Thursday 1 September 2011

Veg Update (Peppers, Broccoli, Cabbage, Courgette, Celery, Celeriac)

 In the veg garden...

Peppers are being harvested - quite small (approx size of tennis ball). Next year I mustn't pinch the growing tip and plan to use bigger pots.



VarietyPepper 'California Wonder' Thompson & Morgans seeds, £1.50. Sown 20 Feb 2011 indoor.

First time growing broccoli - some of it flowered before I could eat it. Pictured left - three stages of growth.

Variety: I think this is Broccoli Romanesco, Thompson & Morgan seeds. Sown 3 April 2011 indoor. Planted outside June (netted).
Cabbages have been under nets. Some of them have slug damage. This one isn't too bad.

VarietyCabbage 'Golden Acre/Primo III', Mr Fothergill's seeds. Sown 3 April 2011 indoor. Planted outside in June.

The zucchini / courgette has had alot of blossom rot (pictured with dark end - looks like dead leaf / dying flower) - what a shame. Loads of bees and insects in the garden too.

Variety: Courgette (yellow zucchini) 'Soleil F1', Mr Fothergill's seeds, Sown 3 April 2011 indoor. Planted outside in June.

First time growing celery and decided to harvest a few  - not as big as you see in shops but just as tasty. Happy to discover slugs don't seem to like celery - good news!

VarietyCelery, Plant Hart's Seeds. Sown 3 April 2011 indoor. Planted outside in June.
The celeriac are looking strong and healthy. I've never grown before so not sure when they are ready. Slugs don't seem to eat celeriac leaves but have tasted the bulbs.




VarietyCeleriac 'Monarch', Mr Fothergill's seeds. Sown 3 April 2011 indoor. Planted outside in June.
Decided to pull one out of the ground -it's the size of a golf ball. I ate the bulb/root bit any way in stew. Apparently celeriac leaves are edible. So many veggies I'm not sure how to eat or cook!

This looks like a slug nibble in one side of the celeriac. My war on slugs... its a tough fight this year.




Hope your veg is tasty & pest free!

8 comments:

  1. WEll done on the celery. We have grown Primo too and have some great cabbages.

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  2. My celeriac is a bit bigger than yours, but I'm not harvesting any yet - I only have 6 plants and I want to let them get a bit bigger still (it's a long wait!). I can confrim the fact that Celeriac leaves are good for flavouring stock, though you wouldn't want to eat them as a veg.
    Your cabbages look better than last year's. I remember that your crop was decimated by caterpillars last time.

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  3. Everything's doing so well. My peppers are only just starting to change colour, I haven't harvested any yet. The celery looks great, it's such a relief when you find something that slugs don't like.

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  4. You have a very productive garden! Looks like you will be busy harvesting this month.

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  5. Your celery is amazing...I have never tried to grow it. Your cabbage looks great, as well as the red peppers. I really never heard of celeriac until I began reading gardening blogs! I have a lot to learn! Good job, Kelli.

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  6. Your garden harvest look great! Hope you can have good fight with the slug!

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  7. Great results. Thanks for the detail on celeriac . I'm growing it for the first year too... and I'm hoping against hope for a late spurt!

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  8. So cool you grew celery this year! Kelli, it looks like your battles with bugs and slugs are paying off! Your harvest is looking plentiful ~ Haven't heard of celeriac before, will be looking into this one :) Have a great week!

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