Or 'Is your wether weird this year?'

Gardening seems to be either one thing or the other, this years early rain here in the Dordogne produced 4lb cauliflowers [after leaves had been removed] now in florets in the freezer, broccoli the same, the 3lb kohl rabi  below together with the 1lb silver-skin onions that deffo won't fit in any jar I have! I shan't be bottling my shallots either, they are about 3-4 ozs each. The red onions are just average at about 8 ozs, those that I've pulled so far for Greek salad with the green peppers which, with their habit of growing tucked under their leaves have escaped hail damage.

It has meant I have lost all the grapes on my Black Hamburg and my Muscat grape vines, through Brown Bunch Rot, after the best set I've ever had, although one Sauvignon vine is still looking healthy.

A horrendous hail storm flayed my peach and apricot trees three weeks ago, so they have all dropped, and my nectarine has less than 50% of its fruit undamaged after last weeks hail which was bad enough locally to damage cars. Surprisingly the butternut squash, through 'ventilated' are still growing up to 6" per night and the current  fruits oversize, about 12" long, Iceberg lettuces are now just 'mashed spinach' but not one Kos lettuce seems to have suffered!

We've 10kg of dessert type blackberries in the freezer but barely made 3kg of blackcurrants, sadly my favorite in home-made icecream.

Three out of ten tomato plants have been reduced to 12" stumps surrounded by red porridge but carrots and parsnips are like triffids,  carrots are about three to a pound, 'Chantenay Red Core Improved' shouldering their way through our heavy clay soil.

Hows your veggie patch doing?



Doug

I don't have the space for veg, mine is mostly roses, the early bloomers were over 2 weeks early, instead of being around April 24, they started blooming about April 5, some of the later bloomers however were up to 2 weeks later than previous years.

Hi Mike,

I remember you are a 'Rosarian' from previous lovely pictures. Strange, earlies being earlier, and lates being later?

Yup, we've had big brassicas, but plenty of black-spot on our rose bushes too, needing feeding again already as the rain has washed it all through. I just use tomato feed on them, as dedicated rose feed is very expensive here.

Doug

Nice looking crop Doofer. First time I've seen kohl rabi since I was a nipper, and that was well over 6 decades ago.

Here in the midlands of the UK I have had loads of early cucumbers, tomatoes just starting to go red up but peppers and chilli's only just flowering.

Gardening of any type is swear word to me !!  
 My late wife was the one though - gardening was her pastime she enjoyed most.

I don't mind gardening but the back does.

Mick - We chop it [khol rabi] into little cubes with carrot for a winter 'stew pack'as it doesn't seem to go bitter in the freezer like swede, which in any case get leaf mould very readily, and mandoline it with apple for coleslaw for summer use.

Andy - This year is awful for tomatoes, and like you I am still having to buy peppers as mine are all green still, enormous, but green….The red chemical of ripe ones is considered a powerful help in preventing testicular cancer, and like tomato the benefit is actually increased by cooking.  We chop it into bits for the freezer and put it in stews and curries, mainly.

Sol - in your efforts to cover large areas of Australia with Peco Streamline, I sure you can be excused gardnin'!

Alan - Raised beds? [In the garden, that is, not the bedroom  :)




Sum karrits…


Doug

Some nice looking karrits there, our dogs would love them to chew on.

[user=644]Campaman[/user] wrote:

Some nice looking karrits there, our dogs would love them to chew on.

Oh! I'm glad we are not the only ones to give our dog carrots….best doggie breath-freshener on the market!

Doug