Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Veg Troubles

This week has brought warm days, gray skies and heavy rain. My first developing courgette has been a bit of a flop (pictured left). I assume this is blossom rot. I've also noticed many of the flowers are shriveling up and falling off the plant (pictured below). This is very disappointing - can this be blamed on the weather?

I did a search on the internet and it says blossom rot can be from a lack of calcium. I would have thought the compost I used would have all the nutrients the plant initially needs.

Courgette 'All Green Bush' not producing healthy courgettes so far.
Below: the plant looks healthy otherwise to me.

Above: Potatoes in grow bags, starting to show flowers.
I have six bags of potatoes growing as well as potatoes in the ground. I've positioned the potato bags in pairs in three different locations in the garden. I've noticed one of the bags in each pair is fairly healthy whereas the 2nd bag is getting devoured by slugs.
I'm wondering do they eat one bag, before they move to the other!

Above: Slug munching through potato plant leaves.
Below: His smaller friend joins the party.
I have every size, shape and colour of slug and snail in the garden!

Above: The grow bags provide the perfect habitat and home for slugs. On the other hand, they're easy to find if I can remember to check! I must have removed about 50 today alone!
Below: This is the result of the slug party.

These parties have got to stop!

Thursday, 21 June 2012

Veg Progress (Eggplant, Bean, Courgette, Tomato)

June seems to to have brought lots of rain and gray skies! Some plants put outside in early June (pumpkins, butternut squash and courgettes) have suffered. Some cucurbits I've delayed planting or have put into pots positioned closer to the house for protection from the windy conditions.

Left: Aubergine / eggplant are slowing growing. Sown indoor from seed sown 8 April 2012. I plan to grow these in the conservatory throughout Summer (along with tomatoes).

Above: Growing aubergine / eggplant I've discovered the plants are developing little prickly spikes!

My 2nd year growing tomatoes and I've grown two types:
Tomato (Red Cherry). Sown indoor 8 April 2012.
Tomato 'Gardener's Delight'. Sown indoor 8 April 2012.

My dilemma with beans - when are they ready to eat? I picked some and ate them, ready or not.
Bean 'Dwarf Purple Queen'. Sown indoor 8 April 2012; planted outside early June.The other beans are either 'Cobra' or 'Scarlet Emperor' - I've lost track!

Above: Courgette 'All Green Bush', Sown 8 April 2012 indoor; planted outside in early June.
Canes have been placed around the plant to protect it from wind damage.

Above: Squash 'Patty Pan'. Sown indoor 8 April 2012; planted outside into a container 17 June 2012.
Is that blossom rot developing on the first squash??

Potatoes in grow bags seem to be doing well. These are either 'Maris Peer' or 'Pentland Javelin' - I forgot to look at the tag. As usual the potatoes planted in the ground are suffering from slugs and snails.

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Friday, 15 June 2012

Blogger's Bloom Day

It's Blogger's Bloom day and I've had my first courgette flower! Hopefully this year my courgettes won't suffer from blossom rot. I've grown two varieties of courgette 'All Green Bush' and yellow 'Soleil F1'. The plants I put into the ground have suffered from slug and insect attack. I'm hoping my pot grown veg will be good producers this year.

Here's a snapshot of what's in bloom...