#NABLOPOMO: Chillies in the sunshine

April 26, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit

This week, it has been attack of the aphids. The plants that had so far been coddled, have suffered an infestation. The horrible little green creatures have been hanging around the habaneros, and it’s not very nice having to squish the little critters who leave your plants sticky.

The plants in the poly seem to be okay, getting used to being in there. For now, they like the spuds in there, are fleeced for their own protection. With there still a possible frost til the end of May, I am taking no chances. Purple Haze now has two flowers, and the other standard cayenne has also got singular chilli white flower that has just opened up.

All of the pots, were decorated with the oh so pretty looking slug tape. yet one, brighter than expected slug has managed to take a chunk out of a bellaforma chilli leaf.I hope that slug dies a horrible death.

I am hoping that the habaneros that remain at home get a spot taller and bigger. Then, like the others, they will move into the poly.

Psychology Sunflower Challenge, The Big Sunflower Project 2015

#NABLOPOMO: Psychology Sunflowers planted out

April 26, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit

The sunflowers that were sown, have rapidly taken on a life of their own. Growing gangly, and hardened off, they have been planted out today. I have taken a risk, what with a potential for there to be a frost tonight. This may result in them ceasing to exist, a few of them were sulking as they were planted. I do still have a few that I have kept back, these weren’t as big yet in being recent sowings.

They have been strategically planted across the plot, mainly where they might be to signal in bumble bees required for pollination. We have a combination of giant sunflowers and sunburst. So even if the bumbles can fly seven feet in the air, they will fly straight into a sunflower.

Hopefully!

Ma's Herbs

#NABLOPOMO: Culinary Coriander

April 26, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit 3 Comments

As ever, Ma has her section for fenugreek and for Spinach. She has now moved onto coriander. All three of these are fairly useful for Indian cooking. For Mum, this means mandatory. There something about yellow dhal garnished with coriander leaves. Since she has her ‘plot’s for saag and methic, it naturally follows that she has to have a ‘plot’ for coriander.

Having carefully weeded the bed, she found both my fork and spade. Soil went flying, and there was a fresh bag of compost added. Fresh from an Indian grocery shop, ma had a bag of coriander seeds. She proceeded to crush them, at least crack open the seed cases by using a large stone from I have no idea where. Broadcast sowing them across the bed, she then had me help her water them. Two watering cans later, the seeds were suitably damp.

Have never sown or successfully grown coriander on the plot. Let’s home it will grow, having had some mama magic to start off with.

In a bit of pickle

#NABLOMPOMO: Preserving pan playing

April 25, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit 1 Comment

I learned some valuable preserving lessons today.

And by the way, there wasn’t anything in the goodies that I had actually sown and grown. Just putting that out there.

We’ve had the jelly disaster, of a sort, before. With that rhubarb jelly that didn’t set. Well, I was adamant that I would learn to set it. Rhubarb, I learn, has little pectin. Explains why it didn’t set, plus I probably didn’t boil it long enough.

So we set ourself another challenge. How about yellow plum jelly, as we try to get the jelly to set.

Plums contain pectin, I wanted to make sure that this was the truth. As variable as they are, I want this jelly to well…gel.

We would follow the same process. Boil up the fruit, with a lemon, in water. Till it went squishy, and then we dripped it over the night time. That was okay, I did that. This morning, we boiled up the solution. It had a kick, i had thrown in a scotch bonnet.

Boiling up, there was the jam thermometer positioned on the edge. Ma and I were watching it get to setting temp, 104. We kept it there, and made sure it was at a rolling boil. A rolling boil, for a while, til the solution had reduced, and was harder to stir, and the liquid was gloopy and on the turn as it were.

I learned that this was important, the rolling boil, the turning to gloop. I had clearly missed a trick. This is to be retained for later.

There was lot preserving today, I was in the mood for experimentation and getting things right. I just need to work out how to stop sugar crystals forming.

Uncategorized

Horticultural ‘obbit wonders “when is a tomato not a tomato?”

April 22, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit

world radio gardening

When is a tomato not just a tomato?

When you sow the seed yourself and grow your own.

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Experimental Chillies and be;;s, Potatoes, Taking stock

#NABLOPOMO: Pottering on the plot

April 21, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit

aubergine analogue 2015

#NABLOPOMO: Spindly Aubergines

April 19, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit 3 Comments

It has taken a while, but I finally have some rather spindly aubergines coming through.I did sow quite a few, with there being four varieties.

These were:

black beauty
diamond
dancer
tres hative de barbentane

Think they have some way to go, but all being well, they will catch up. The seedlings are quite dainty, and could do with some warmth and heat to give them a good start.

Fruit trees

#NABLOPOMO: Concorde Pear Blosson:

April 19, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit

The trees are starting to awaken on the plot, the concorde pear tree in particular. We need to keep our fingers crossed though, in the time that I have this tree, we’ve not had a single pear!

cabbages and brassicas, NaBloPoMo

#NABLOPOMO: Cabbage Cage harvest

April 19, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit

slightly depressed brocolli from the cage

Since I have been away from the plot this weekend, Ma has been digging over the cabbage patch. It was slightly full of weeds, that Ma was a little affronted by, and also about to keel over. So, sending me the occasional match report, Ma took the cabbage cage on. And she did what is a cracking job. The weeds are gone. I should probably water the contents of the cage though, it does look a bit depressed.

Potatoes

#NABLOPOMO: Poly Potato Progress

April 15, 2015 horticultural 'Obbit 1 Comment

We are finally seeing some progress with the the poly tunnel potatoes. The warm spring weather has somewhat spurred them on, and the poly tunnel does get rather warm. It was easily 30 degrees this morning when I went to water the chillies. The soil does look rather arid, now I think about it. You’ll have to excuse the spiked leaves, I had forgotten my gloves to pull them out. And trust me, those critters are vicious. Sting lasts for days.

At least half a dozen of the spuds have sprouted and growing. These were sunk mid February, two months exactly. But, as they are sat in clay and the weather is only just turning, they have taken a really long time to get a wiggle on. When they were in open ground outside, I harvested when the flowers had bloomed. Will need to work out when to harvest these as the conditions are a little different.

horticultural 'obbit