Monday 28 May 2012

May update

Achocha Lady’s Slipper (cyclanthera pedata)
 
I haven't sown these this year yet - I have grown them before so I will sow them with some students after half term
 
Alliums
 
Babington Leek (allium ampeloprasum babingtonii)                     
Stamme onions
Egyptian Walking onion Catawissa allium cepa proliferum
 
the Babington Leeks and EWOs are in my Hugelkultur bed - and the Stamme onions are in my Gertrude Franck bed and all are looking good. Some of the Babington and EWOs were given to my good chum for her plot.
 
Broad Beans
Vitelotte 
Unknown Variety
 
Not sown these, I am going to save them for an undercover winter 2012/13 crop
 
French Beans
Major Cooke 
Bonne Bouche
Cherokee Trail of Tears
Succotash
Magpie
Madeira Maroon
Edamame
Swedish One Dot
 
The climbers and will be sown next week and grown up my Munty Frames - I still have work to do on getting the frames all back up again this year. Magpie, Edamame and Swedish One Dot were sown yesterday and are in the Gertrude Franck bed.
 
Runner beans
Mrs Connell’s Black 
Will be sown in a week for a later Runner Bean harvest
 
Corn
Painted Mountain
I have sown some of these at one of my schools, and the teachers are looking forward to using the cobs for art next term. The problem with schools and sweetcorn is that they generally aren't there when it matures so we sow it later for a Sept crop - but these guys finish earlier so we opted for the decorative type. 
 
Herb
Borage
Dill 
Quillquiña = Bolivian Coriander
Rocket
Turkish Rocket (Bunias orientalis).
Lovage
Flat Leaved Parsley
Sorrel Belleville

Dill, Lovage and Parsley was sown yesterday - the rest will be sown and dotted around the plot over the next fortnight.
 

Kale 
Both varieties will be sown after half term. 

Lettuce
Grandpa Admire’s
Pommee Brune d’Hiver
Pink
Pink is already sown, and the others are being sown a pinch at a time and will be grown at the plot. 
 
Parsnip
Avon Resistor 
 
Sown yesterday in the Gerturde Franck bed
 
Peas and Mangetout
Golden Sweet mangetout 
King Tut/Pran’s Pea 
Magnum Bonum
Paula
Salmon-Flowered Pea 
Skånsk Märgärt
Stephen’s Pea 
Suttons Purple Podded 
 
Lots of peas! Goldensweet is sown in the GF bed - the others will be sown over the next few weeks at the plot. 
 
Pepper, Chilli
Alberto’s Locoto, a Rocoto pepper
Chilli de Cayenne 
Small Unnamed Chilli 
Anaheim Chilli
Pepper, Sweet
Napier Pointy Red 
 
All of these were sown at school and the ones that we don't grow will be sold at Ryton Gardens' Chilli day on behalf of the students that have grown them. I am having one of each in my greenhouse though! The small unnamed chilli wasn't happy though and these did not survive. the Cayenne weren't sown this year. 
 
Pumpkin/Squash
Hungarian Zucchini
Georgia Candy Rooster Squash 
Waltham - butter nut squash
Zapallito Squash 
 
Candy Roaster and Zapalitto I supplied - and I have herds of these growing now in all my schools..the others will be sown over the next fortnight. 
 
Tomato
Alpatieva 905A
Beijing Yellow
Delhi
Demidov
Dwarf Mr Snow  
Early Tanana
Eli
Green Bell Pepper
He-man rootstock,
Koralik 
Korol Rannikh  
Latah
Michael Pollan
Monkeys Ass
Plumpton King
Prairie Fire 
Yellow Out Red In
Red Pear
Slovienian Black
Tasmanian Chocolate Dwarf
T.C. Jones 
Vova Yellow 
 
All these were sown and are growing well, at home, at the lottie, at some schools and I am giving the rest away this week as I am running out of space in the greenhouse.
 
True Potato Seed
Blue Belle TPS                          
 
Not sown this year - just didn't get time/space.
 
 
Spring Cabbage Durham Early
 
will be sown in a couple of weeks. 
 
Tzimbalo Solanum Caripense
 
These were sown and all are growing well - will be growing them at home, at the lottie and at schools. 
 
Sweet Peas [mainly pink]
Helianthus Sungold
 
These 2 haven't been sown yet - will be in the next 2 weeks. 
 
I am away from home for a few days to miss the Jubilee - so all the remaining seeds that I intend to sow will be going in as soon as I am back - the person looking after our house isn't good with watering [will probably drown them] so I am hesitating in sowing too many in the greenhouse with all this stonking hot weather. 




Here is a photo of the netting that I have made this year - it's on the Munty frame but needs fixing at the edges and the first batch of beans is ready to go in later this week.

Saturday 19 May 2012

Plant fair

Our haul from today

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Sunday 13 May 2012

2012 Bean sowing

So - a few weeks back I sowed:
Cranberry CFB
Lablab beans
and some Moonlight and White Lady runners - got 1 Moonlight and 3 White Lady runners to germinate - out of new packets. Big wow.

All the cranberry and lab lab ones came up. Bearing in mind these are self saved by other gardeners - and not even guaranteed fresh - this makes me even more keen to stick to swapped seed.

Anyway - today's sowings are
all 6 of my Hopi Yellow - these have been put into vermiculite in a plastic bag and will be put into the airing cupboard to try and encourage them to germinate - I have no idea how old these are but I suspect 10 years at least. Fingers crossed. 

Flavert - one of my favourite DFB - I am growing quite a few so have put them into a sprouter and will remove and plant up as each germinates. All my own fresh seed from last year.

Into pots/modules/root trainers have gone:
CFB -
Cranberry Lilac
Trionfo Violetto
Purple King
Veitch's
Kentucky Wonder
Coco bianco

DFB -
Minodor
Dapple Grey
Flavert from another year's batch
Black Valentine
Canadian Wonder
Anasazi
Coco De Paimpol

Bush -
Italian Rose
Scarlet Beauty
Vermont Appaloosa
Blue Jay
Littlefield's Special

And 2 off the wall ones:
Walawi Red Bean - originally from Zambia
Mystery bean 

I'll do another batch in a week or two - it's about the space and timing the beans to be in the plot around the time when they are not going to be affected by wind burn...which can put them back weeks.

Tar Heel Beans - these I am still trying to get to germinate - although my good chum has managed it I am due to try again in a few weeks.

Tar Heel Beans