Tag Archives: GYO

chillies, Experimental Chillies and be;;s

Baby Chilli Fruit Alert Purple Haze

chillipurplehaze

Remember that imperial purple chilli flower, well, it may well have set. I had to check in the poly tunnel that the plants were still there. Plus there was an aphid infestation that needed removal previously. Lo and Behold, we have the tiniest of purple haze fruit. These start out purple and go a beautiful red, like other cayennes. Funnily enough, the cayenne plants have got a couple of pepper white flowers on. The purple haze has a couple of other flowers forming too, so we may well end up with at least a couple of chilli fruit at some point.

cabbages and brassicas, success

Gobi roti anyone? Surprise Cauli harvest

I don’t remember sinking cauliflower plugs, but I must have done. Was pottering around, having sunk gladoli, and saw the white curds of a cauliflower. Naturally, I had to tell my mum about it and she was the other side of the plot pulling up weeds. She then decided to harvest it, and ear marked it for her to have it in her stuffed chappatis tomorrow. It’s not huge, just a little bigger than my hands. But the curds are okay, tightly packed together. There were a lot of leaves, and these were chopped away. Not bad, and hopefully we will be plugging in more cauliflowers at some point.

Fruit trees

Apple blossom

There are three apple trees on the plot. Two of them, the braeburn and Worcester pearmain are relatively new additions on having being planted last year. The falstaff is something of a resident. In the past, the falstaff has fruited, and last year we may have had about a dozen red apples. That was lovely. the apples were nice. This year though, all three are in blossom, lovely pink flowers, that suggest a possible bountiful  harvest. I was very surprised to see the braeburn in full blossom, I had only seen buds about a week ago. This has to be the biggest tree as well, in comparison to the other two. The worcester pearmain is the smallest. With May only just starting, I am conscious of the fact that here in Birmingham, we get a frost right up to the end of the month. This means, that in the next three weeks, if the temperature drops, and the flowers have not set; then it’s good night Vienna for them all. The blossom looks rather robust, however, so we shall exactly what happens.

Uncategorized

#NABLOPOMO: Chillies in the sunshine

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

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

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.

cabbages and brassicas, NaBloPoMo

#NABLOPOMO: Cabbage Cage harvest

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

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.