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» Ship of Fools   »   » Oblivion   » Back to the garden (Page 7)

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Source: (consider it) Thread: Back to the garden
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768

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I have two bags of prunings for the dump (not the plum, yet.)

I have been experimenting with the blackberry glut - put some in a jar with sugar, and then covered with Pimms blackberry and elderflower, before sealing. I feel that shouldn't need heating, though I will keep it in the fridge.

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Fredegund
Shipmate
# 17952

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Eldest made blackberry whisky last year, with the cheapest available. It was excellent - can highly recommend it. We didn't need sugar, but considering how varied the taste of our blackberries this year we may succumb.

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Pax et bonum

Posts: 117 | From: Shakespeare's County | Registered: Jan 2014  |  IP: Logged
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768

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My berries don't need sugar for flavour - I can eat them straight from the bush. But I used it for the preservation, and intend to eat the berries as well as drink the liquid.

[ 26. August 2016, 15:31: Message edited by: Penny S ]

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ThunderBunk

Stone cold idiot
# 15579

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quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
I don't have to prune this fig -- Nature does it for me. It dies right down to the ground in the colder winters, and the root is saved only because I cover the base of the plant with oak leaves. Every spring it grows again, and this year it has become taller than I am, in a span of 4 months. But nary a fruit!

This is the problem, I fear. It needs time to actually have some wood ripen and not be putting all of its energy into producing growth. It's in perpetual panic mode at the moment, which rarely does anything any good.

I have suffered a fig with similar tendencies myself. I think in my case it was lack of reliable water supply and/or nutrients that made its flowering extremely fitful: I have very poor soil. Again, it went into panic mode and produced foliage in abundance but only at most 2 figs a year.

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Currently mostly furious, and occasionally foolish. Normal service may resume eventually. Or it may not. And remember children, "feiern ist wichtig".

Foolish, potentially deranged witterings

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Brenda Clough
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# 18061

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Not sure what to do about it. Build a cage, and try to insulate the entire tree over the winter? Count upon global warming to make our winters warmer?

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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page

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ThunderBunk

Stone cold idiot
# 15579

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quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
Not sure what to do about it. Build a cage, and try to insulate the entire tree over the winter? Count upon global warming to make our winters warmer?

A tricky one indeed. In my case, it resulted in the fig tree's removal. Perhaps you are more merciful than I.

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Currently mostly furious, and occasionally foolish. Normal service may resume eventually. Or it may not. And remember children, "feiern ist wichtig".

Foolish, potentially deranged witterings

Posts: 2208 | From: Norwich | Registered: Apr 2010  |  IP: Logged
M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291

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It's been a funny old year this year for the vegetable garden. A lot of stuff didn't come up at all (runners, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, basil, coriander), some came up and promptly died (leeks). The carrots all came up beautifully and then just disappeared, all except for one. The cabbages were eaten by something that got through slug pellets, insect spray and netting.

So we bought some tomato plants, cucumber, beans and leeks. And then everything came on very quickly - the tomatoes and beans were about a month early and have now all died, as though it's the end of September. The leeks largely went to seed by the end of July, although the few of our own I rescued seem OK.

And while the soft fruit has been good (best year ever for raspberries), we have had not one plum or apple.

If we were depending on the garden to feed ourselves over winter, I think we'd be in for a hungry time. Except for stewed soft fruit.

M.

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Brenda Clough
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# 18061

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A friend of mine has urged me to plant garlic. To this end I bought one head, from the local farm market. I will plant the bulblets in a couple weeks.

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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page

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Jack the Lass

Ship's airhead
# 3415

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quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
A friend of mine has urged me to plant garlic. To this end I bought one head, from the local farm market. I will plant the bulblets in a couple weeks.

I'm hoping to plant garlic this year too. I will leave it later though - I'm not sure where you are, Brenda, but be careful not to plant them too early. What you need is for them to have started off, but not got very far when they get hit by the first frost (this is what makes the individual garlic cloves you plant divide and then form a new bulb of a bunch of individual cloves). Here in Scotland's central belt, despite the reputation for less than tropical weather, we often don't get a decent frost till very late in the year, so I'm not planning on planting much before the end of October.

We ate the first squash harvested from the little plant bought for £1.50 from Lidl a few months ago. It was delicious! The plant has gone mad, produced loads of little squash-lets, although so far only the one we just ate has gone beyond teeny-tiny size. It reminds me of little kids and balloons - when they first try to blow up a balloon it will only go a little way, as they don't yet realise that they need to feel the balloon 'give' and then it will expand really quickly. So far all the squash are like those little kid balloons, and only the one has received enough 'oomph' to expand to any kind of size. I'm still hopeful for some of the others though.

We also spotted a little proto-artichoke today, which was very satisfying. We grew a few artichokes and cardoons from seed, put the little plants that emerged on the allotment, and brought them back with us when we gave up the allotment last year. They've been plonked unceremoniously in a few pots, which they share with some pretty persistent weeds, and haven't shown any signs at all of growth, but not dying either - they've just sat there the same size for the last couple of years doing nothing. So we were delighted to spot the little artichoke heart.

[ 11. September 2016, 19:39: Message edited by: Jack the Lass ]

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"My body is a temple - it's big and doesn't move." (Jo Brand)
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Posts: 5767 | From: the land of the deep-fried Mars Bar | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Brenda Clough
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# 18061

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It might be good to thin out the little squashlets, so that the plant's energy can go to maturing the remaining ones.

I had not known that about garlic and frost! Will certainly wait until October -- it's going to be 90 degrees here this week.

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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page

Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014  |  IP: Logged
Jack the Lass

Ship's airhead
# 3415

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Yes, I've now chopped off the ends of the runners so that the plant can concentrate on the squash that is already there rather than carry on trying to attach itself to anything and everything in the back court. I've also snapped off the little squashlets which look like they might be heading down the mouldy road, so they don't end up infecting the plant. I spotted another squash today which I think is the best contender so far for the next one to get to eatable size.

I'm just so pleased to get something so pleasantly edible from a cheap unassuming plant from Lidl.

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"My body is a temple - it's big and doesn't move." (Jo Brand)
wiblog blipfoto blog

Posts: 5767 | From: the land of the deep-fried Mars Bar | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528

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Brenda, you'd better look up the garlic planting date for your area--mine said 4th of July. [Ultra confused] Though I think it's hard to go wrong with these at any time.

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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!

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North East Quine

Curious beastie
# 13049

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My three tomato plants, planted last March in our front porch, have produced eight tomatoes so far. However, they have just produced new flowers. Is there any chance that they might produce more tomatoes at this late stage? The porch is unheated, but frost-free.
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Brenda Clough
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# 18061

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Unless it's quite warm I doubt it. But at this point it probably does you no harm to wait and see.

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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page

Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014  |  IP: Logged
Penny S
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# 14768

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Does it need pollinating with a paintbrush?
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North East Quine

Curious beastie
# 13049

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Does anyone have a kumquat? We have ours on our living room windowsill, getting the maximum possible light. It has suffered extensive leaf drop recently, which apparently means that it isn't getting enough light.

The answer may be setting up a light source for it. Has anybody used hydroponic lights?

Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007  |  IP: Logged



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