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| Purple Sprouting Broccoli this year |
I am fast running out of veg to eat from the garden. It is getting to that 'hungry gap' stage now - there are only a couple of small Savoy Cabbages left, the Spring Cabbage is still not ready and there is no sign of any stems on the Purple Sprouting Broc. yet.
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| Savoy Cabbage last winter |
My planning for winter wasn't as good as last year - otherwise I would still have had plenty left. No January King cabbage, no Brussels Sprouts. The Scarlet Kale hasn't produced as much leaf as last year and the Cavolo Nero is, quite frankly, pathetic.
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| Scarlet Kale last winter |
It is hard to judge just how much leafy veg you need over the winter months and I thought I had planted enough - I grew several varieties of broc from early to late varieties, but something has gone wrong with the plan - the so-called early varieties just haven't produced anything yet
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| January King Cabbage last winter |
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| cabbage leaf in close up |
The weather seems to have taken its toll on my brassicas this year, the cabbage are a lot smaller than last year and not anywhere near as leafy as they should be - come on Elaine, get your act together - you can do better than this. There, that's me ticked off.
My Red Kale and Nero di Toscana are great - but the PSB ( early OR late) are rubbish. No cabbages to speak of and the frost has just put paid to the outdoor spinach - fortunately I have some in the polytunnel!
ReplyDeleteIt has been a funny old year for growing - hope 2013 is better for us all.
I totally agree, this year surely can't be any worse than last.
DeleteI'm rather the same, but I do still have Sprouts and Kale. My PSB started to flower well before Christmas, but then suddenly stopped; I hope it will perform correctly in March, which is when it is supposed to flower!
ReplyDeleteYes, that will be the test - I always look forward to the first of the PSB, one of my favourite greens.
DeleteOur savoy are really small and no PSB yet for us either. The spring cabbage has been got at by slugs and for some reason one PSB plant has been devastated by pigeons who usually don't bother them once the plants are a decent size!
ReplyDeleteNo pigeon damage so far and the spring cabbage has been protected by a very fine mesh cover.
DeleteThe purple veg provide wonderful colour. I will have to think about incorporating more of them into the garden.
ReplyDeleteThey do look pretty spectacular worthy of being planted in a flower border.
DeleteWell, you've done better than me, the only thing in my plot are the leeks. All my brassicas were devastated by slugs at the seedling stage and I never got round to sourcing any more.
ReplyDeleteMy leeks are pretty much past their best now - quite a few have gone to seed.
DeleteI'm stuck indoors again due to more rain. I was just thinking on the same lines as the content of your post. My Brussels are still good, as are my Leeks. I lifted the last 2 Swedes yesterday (they were smaller than normal), and I'm down to my last bag of spuds. Although I've still got oodles of fruit and veg still in the freezer, with the continuing wet weather, planning anything is becoming a real pain.
ReplyDeleteSnow, snow and more snow here at the moment. I finished the potatoes ages ago and I'm down to the last few onions with only a few packets of beans left in the freezer - reckon we're off to starvation city.
DeleteI still have some cabbages at the allotment and a few leeks .... but it's too cold to go out there and harvest them! I won't be planning my planting to cover winter .. ever! Bet Rooko is unimpressed!!
ReplyDeleteI have to go up to the plot every morning to feed the sheep so I do my harvesting then - not that there's much to harvest now.
DeleteMy PSB is the same, we have had a few pickings from the Cavalo Nero & still waiting for the spring greens. No leeks for me, they were weeded out by mistake.
ReplyDeleteOh well, as we keep on saying, there's always this year.
DeleteI suspect the weather is completely to blame this year, it has been so mad. I remember my PSB was quite late last year compared to come others on the plot. My mothers brussel sprouts more or less rotted and she had to throw the lot.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I blame the weather, absolutely, it has been enough to put anyone off growing veg.
DeleteI have lots of leeks and parsnips, I forgot to mention - it was a good year for them for me . Good job as that is all, apart from the Kales , we are going to have to eat!
ReplyDeleteTouch wood, I have never had a bad year for parsnips - I have them all snuggled up safe and warm in the greenhouse.
DeleteI've got plenty of onions, but that's it! Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteEven my onions are running out fast - only a handful left.
DeleteIts been a tough year, my PSB just never got going. I've got lots of kale and still have a few leeks. Just used the last of my spuds, but still got a few things in the freezer. As we, optimistic gardening folk, keep saying it'll be better this year!
ReplyDeleteHope so Annie.
DeleteThe best laid plans are often just a draft for the real thing; the review afterwards!
ReplyDeleteI do gardening by trial and error, since I am not an expert in anything and self taught by reading books and Internet blogs and asking questions. Never a dull moment in the garden :-)
I think that's why we carry on doing it - hoping for good results against the odds.
DeleteI think you need to give yourself a break Elaine, it has been a lousy year for brassicas, from what I have been reading. Lets all hope for better in 2013, I certainly want to be eating lots of lovely cabbages and broccoli I have grown this time next year.
ReplyDeleteIt is comforting to know that everyone else is in, more or less, the same boat.
DeleteNo snow here so I have quite a few greens left in addition to kale, sprouts and leeks. My winter cabbages are a joke though and my psb didn't survive. You'll certainly have those to look forward to by March though. It's incredible how one day you can leave the plant looking like a waste of good ground and the next it's covered in shoots!
ReplyDeleteEverything is frozen solid here at the moment just hope what little there is left survives the -6 temperature.
DeleteDear Elaine,
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures. When I tried growing Purple Sprouting Broccoli, mine looked the same as the one in your picture. It never did come to a head. I wonder why? I wish you the best with yours. Happy Gardening!
-Jay
As far as I amaware psb doesn't come to a head - it throws out shoots instead.
DeleteYou've done much better than me, all my efforts were washed away - 3 times - so I gave up and am seriously wondering if it's worth bothering again this year if the weather patterns continue.
ReplyDeleteLast year was a trial for all of us - if the weather doesn't get any better we will just have to try harder.
DeleteI love your picture of the scarlet kale. Did it lose its colour when you cooked it? My savoy cabbage and sprouting brocolli got eaten by slugs. So I am quite hungry too:)
ReplyDeleteYes it does lose its colour - which is a shame.
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