Monday 24 October 2011

Top of the Crops

I thought I would do a little bit of a progress report on the allotment garden to keep you up to date on how certain plants are faring.

The Ruby Chard which provides a good splash of colour amongst all the greens has slowed down considerably, but will stand the winter well before going to seed next spring.
Do you remember that I said that I had left the stump of the Calabrese in the ground, not pulling it out as I normally do - well, this is what it looks like now - the plant has re-grown, and I am just wondering if it will be viable next year.  It has already given two sets of heads and numerous tenderstem spears.  I will mulch it with garden compost to replenish the soil a bit and see how it does.
This is one of my Purple Sprouting Broc plants, and it stands waist high.  I have put a cane in for support, as I am sure it will get a bit battered during the winter.  I think perhaps I will find something stronger just in case, but this particular row of plants are double the size they normally are.
The Savoy Cabbages are hearting up nicely and have no caterpillar damage at all - but the leaves are jolly tough, so perhaps that is in their favour.
This is January King which has a long way to go before it is ready to eat, but they do stand the winter well, so there is no hurry.
Earlier in the year I dug up all the Leeks that were left over from last year and moved them to a corner of the garden and promptly forgot about them.  And what has happened is that they have re-grown.  You can see the old stalks with the new plants growing inbetween.  So that's another success story that happened all on its own without any help from me.
I wonder what would happen in the garden if I just left it alone, which I seem to be doing more and more,  would it all just regenerate itself eventually.  I like to think it would.

11 comments:

  1. The chard is a lovely colour, mine didn't do very well this year so I'm without. Savoy cabbage is one of my favourites, you've got a beauty there.

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  2. You've got some lovely greens to keep you going through the winter and well done on the self-seeding leeks :)

    I've heard of homes and entire communities in Scotland which were abandoned 50+ years ago. Apparently the only thing to survive the infiltrating grass was rhubarb! I'll bet Jerusalem artichokes wouldn't have much of an issue either ;)

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  3. The colours on the Chard are fab. Nice veg coming on for Spring. Gardeners always think ahead.

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  4. I'm envious of your cabbages. I didn't do any brassicas this year apart from Cavolo nero. The allotment has a bad problem with club root, but this hasn't stopped the old guys growing brassicas, although some look better than others. I think I might try some next year though. I love Savoy Cabbage. You inspire me to be more organised for next year.

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  5. Def' going to try Chard again next year. Tried twice this year, the first lot was demolsihed the moment shoots appeared by nibbling critters and the second attempt just about grew to a couple of inches before giving up. Yours look delicious xx

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  6. There's still plenty going on, and I like your last comments! Flighty xx

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  7. I find that my PSB plants get so big that bamboo canes provide insufficient support. I use stout hardwood stakes (which last for several years).

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  8. Great looking cabbages. My sprouting broccoli plants are about half the size of yours, so I will be interested to see what kind of crop I get from them. They are currently unsupported, which is probably a BIG mistake given how windy the site gets. Ah well, add another job to the list!

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  9. your cabbages look great. My PSB is quite large but no sign of any shoots to harvest, not grown it before so I am not sure if they are behind or what

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  10. Your ruby chard is worth growing for the shot of colour alone! Wish I'd found time to put some in but it's too late now. Maybe next year ... Fab cabbages by the way!

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  11. Lovely looking chard. I let the hens out and they finished ours off.. Also great looking cabbage. Do you cover them? Any sign of caterpiller poo on anything and P refuses to eat it...I do wash it off before cooking, honest.

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