There is a current fashion for folks to compare their produce with some coinage. Well, I have succumbed and to set the context we have the burgeoning aubergine with one coin of Her Majesty’s pound sterling.
It is getting there. Ma hopes to make something Indian out of it in approximately one weeks time.
Went down to the plot to pull up weeds. This tends to be easier when we have had a deluge. And we have had a huge deluge over night; complete with thunder and lightening. Only ma and I got caught in another down poor and had to hide in the poly tunnel.
In doing so, we spotted a few more lilac flowers.
The purple stemmed one is the shop bought Black Prince, an F1 hybrid that is popping out purple floo’ers all over the shop. The pale green stemmed one is either the dancer or diamond, and these we have grown from seed. This one has only just set that one flower.
All have been tickled, just in case! I have stopped counting purple flowers. Do hope ma likes aubergines.
This afternoon I have got around to breaking in the newly acquired jam pan. The first round involved making red scotch bonnet and yellow sweet pepper jelly. This is recipe I have used before, namely the nigella chilli jelly one. Can be found in your nearest search engine!
The second round was having a go at making aubergine and mint chutney. The homegrown elements of this were onions, garlic and Mint. All popped into the maslin pan with vinegar, sugar, chillies, onion seed, cumin and coriander seeds as well as some mustard seeds. Even managed to get a steam burn from uncovering it! Will leave it cure for a bit before tasting. Whilst cooking it had a wonderful herby and focaccia like smell.
The aubergine continues to grow. This is the first one, there is another fruit in a second plant. With further lilac flowers opening across the three black prince plants. Quite rapid growth across the assorted plants as the weather warms up.
The warm spell has somewhat spurred on the contents of the poly tunnel. With the one vent open, and a tray of water in the middle to help maintain the temperature; there are lots of little flower buds dotted around. A welcome sight, since many of the plants have suffered episodes of sun scorch. The poly tunnel gets extremely hot! The highest I have observed is 40 odd degrees when we have had very warm spells.
The Dorset nagas are the competition plants; the plants that we are willing on daily. The plants are still quite small, and I am wondering how to get some height onto them. They are sitting on clay soil, that may well be part of the problem. But they have heat, light, and regular feeding. It is a long way to October, granted, but these really need some. There is marked difference between the orange and chocolate habaneros. The orange habs, there are three of them, I think, there is luscious green foliage. The plants stand quite proudly, and for the moment, are flourishing. Stark contrast, to the waxy, bright green foliage of the chocolate habanero.
A vista of the polytunnel as a whole. There are sweet potatoes there and out of shot, there are some newly transplanted sweet peppers. These are two bell peppers, and a cone shaped one. The california wonder pepper has sadly died a death.
The second round of super hots also need potting up. Simply because, they had started to pick up a little pace with the sun light and being fed. Jamaican jerk and serrano have certainly got leafier and taller. The two scotch bonnets don’t seem to be enthusiastic yet.
In poly, the aubergines are just as sloth like. They are still there, and looking more like growing aubergines. Just doing it very, very slowly. There could any number of reasons. They probably don’t like the clay, it’s not hot enough, they like being divas, I don’t know.
The california sweet pepper is starting to flower. Small in stature, but flowering. Nigel seems to be okay, sat where he is. Third from the right of the door. He is a chilli and not the leader of the political part, okay?
It may well be, that some of the super hots don’t end up in the poly. I still have to also squeeze in a watermelon.The sweet crimson has all of one true leaf at the moment, and is being carefully monitored.
I went this morning with the intention of planting more gladiolus. I actually ended up planting things in the poly tunnel.
Aunty tish has shared some sweet potatoes. So these are the very things ever to be planted in the poly tunnel.
There was also some aubergines and sweet peppers sat in a box.
They were looking a bit sad, but reasonably sized.
And have now been sunk directly into the ground. We have black beauty, dancer, diamond and tres hative de barbentane aubergines. As well as California wonder sweet pepper and Nigel the outdoor chilli. Have been watered in, and around the base I have put sand and the little blue pellets of doom. All of which were then covered with fleece.
There is hot patio sizzle, hot thai, and pretty purple in pots still in another transparent box. These are heavily slug damaged at the moment; and I’m going to wait til they get a bit more leafier again.
After watching the allotment challenge, I got a little defensive about my own little creatures. So I had to go take a look to see if they were still there.
Yes, they are slug damaged; but they are still alive! And fuzzy and green too. Currently sat beneath a duvet of fleece inside a plastic box. They are small, yes. I am wait them to get a wiggle on. The plan would be to stick them into the ground in the poly tunnel.
I know they are difficult, fickle and temperamental. Wouldn’t be nice to get something out of this experiment.
This year, there were high hopes for the aubergine analogue study. Why? Because of this guy. Okay, admittedly, I grew him outside, and did temporarily have a plastic greenhouse over him and Claude the astia Courgette. Alas, the wind took it and it was goodbye greenhouse. At one stage, there was a plastic bag covering him as a cloche.
There are many naysyers with aubergines, and to be fair, I can see why. These are fickle, fanciful creatures. If they do not like the conditions, noses are turned up and little feet are stamped. The aim of the aubergine analogue study was to learn from the kevin mistakes.
Not sure if I will try again!
Yours in anticipation
Horticultural Hobbit
Everything was where it should be, and things were starting to look pretty. Plants were and are flowering, filled with a promising potential harvest. Scarlet emperor beans have started to cascade with reddy orange flowers from the bottom upwards. Lessons from last year have been learned, the use of seven foot long canes means that a nice wigwam of leaves and flowers is really quite pretty. Baby beans are now being harvested every few days, and the smell as they are cut up is really quite nice.
With the scarlet emperor beans, are those wonderfully curly ones that are the product of the tendergreen dwarf french bean. At first, I was was somewhat alarmed. All the beans that I have ever known had been straight. That was just the way that they came! And how my illusions were shatttered. A beautiful almost puce green with a mottled purple speckling.
The onions seem to be minding their own beeswax as they push up the dirt contentedly. Some of the foliage has started to go whispy and raffia like. There were a handful of bolted onions, mainly red, actually, that formed a would be purple flower. The bud was pinched off, and out came the onion. Have only had one white bolt so far. These are effectively like spring onions. Chopped up and put on cheese on toast, are really quite nice!
Courgetttes are having fun. Are at the moment quite regular, and producing about two courgettes a week. Regular feeding with tomato feed seems to be doing some good.
I think Kevin the Aubergine is just being oppositional and defiant. Will turn up in his own good time.
Gladys the butternut is certainly very leafy, There were at one point lots of male flowers, These were edged out by female flowers. Currently there are three female flowers, and whilst there are boy flowers, both tend to open when they feel like it. The buds behind the girl flowers are large, and the flowers open. However, there are hardly any bees around and the boy flowers are remaining closed. Stroppy things. One fruit did go a lovely bright yellow, however, it became a three course dinner for slugs and snails. Thus unviable. Bruno the Ghost rider pumpkin, has leaves as big as dinner plates and requires almost daily watering. There appears to be one bud, so watch this space.
Standing on the touch line, to sow or not to sow:
Have been watching the garden grow, and wanted to see what else could be sown. Sow and have something nice at the end. So have chanced upon sewing some lettuce and cabbage. A little late, but with a potential pay off. Have planted in cells, so that they get a flying chance. Declaring war on slugs and snails, I will not surrender.
Green aphids are first on Aubergine and then Black bean aphids turn up on the runners. Have invvested in Slug Stoppa tape for slugs and snails. At the moment, there seems to have been a reduction in the amount of lacey looking leaves. Shall have to monutor the situation. Diluted fairy liquid as a way to get rid of the aphids, did appear to work. It is however a regular thing, and I have been lax enough not to be doing that. Did a quick check, and the aphids had reduced a little.
That’s all I can think of at the moment.
Yours in Anticipation
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