This year (2023) we seem have a glut of Courgettes. We have grown five plants (the same as we did last year) but so far (mid August) we’ve had more courgettes than we did for the whole of 2022 and there are more growing quickly. The tomatoes are not going as quickly (we’ve currently harvested…… Continue reading Recipe – Tomato & Courgette Risotto
Blog
How Much is Growing Your Own Worth?
We grow our own. Not on a large scale and certainly not enough to be self sufficient. Its essentially something to keep me occupied and for fun. However, I’ve always kept a record of what we harvest and tried to assign a value to that. My better half (frequently) gets cross because when there’s a…… Continue reading How Much is Growing Your Own Worth?
Tomato Greenback
Greenback (as the name suggests) is a problem with the tomato fruit where the shoulders of the fruit fail to ripen properly leaving you with hard, tasteless parts of the fruit. Its causes are similar to whitewall, too much light and/or heat as the fruit are maturing or lack of potassium or feed whilst the…… Continue reading Tomato Greenback
Tomato Seed Collection (2023)
Every year I collect tomato seeds for a number of reasons. Its simple to do and means that you only have to buy tomato seeds if you want to (my main reason to buy seeds is to increase the number of varieties I’ve grown in my effort to find the “best” range of tomatoes. Summer…… Continue reading Tomato Seed Collection (2023)
Tomato – Rainbow Blend
Multiple colours of small plum tomatoes on an Indeterminate Plant Description This is an F1 Hybrid which comes in a packet of multiple colours (red, yellow, orange). However, it is possible that the open pollenated plant will run true to the original colour (or at least the selected yellow tomato first grown in 2022 grew…… Continue reading Tomato – Rainbow Blend
2023 – First Tomatoes
We were so excited when we finally harvested our very first batch of tomatoes this week. It was such a rewarding moment. There weren’t that many, just a handful, but it still felt like a significant accomplishment. Surprisingly, they ripened a bit earlier than we anticipated. It’s interesting how nature sometimes works in mysterious ways,…… Continue reading 2023 – First Tomatoes
June 2023 – How things are progressing
Until now, June has been hot & dry meaning that the tomato plants in the greenhouses have got away well. Most plants have now got fruit set and, my guess is, we will start to see fruit ripening over the next few weeks (my records show that we get ripe fruit starting mid-July). The dry…… Continue reading June 2023 – How things are progressing
Tomatoes in Pots – 2023
A little early this year, I’ve potted up my tomatoes into their final pots. I grow my tomatoes in what’s known as “Morrison’s Flower Buckets (MFB’S)”. MFB’S are sold cheaply and, with holes punched through the bottom, they seem to be an ideal size. The benefit of growing them in individual pots is that there’s…… Continue reading Tomatoes in Pots – 2023
Apple Blossom Time 2023
This time of year I’m always pleased to see that the trees look like they’ll produce a reasonable harvest (the optimist in me, the weather always makes a difference). Anyway, the eater is showing a good helping of blossom. The cooker is always a couple of weeks later so that is yet to come. Surprisingly,…… Continue reading Apple Blossom Time 2023
Starting to sow other vegetables
The weather is certainly on the up with bright sunshine for the past couple of days. However, its still wet underfoot and the ground is quite soggy & cold. So, for that reason, I have decided not to plant out my potatoes yet, despite the fact that the tubers appear to be well chitted and…… Continue reading Starting to sow other vegetables