Growing your own - is it worth it?

[Jonathan]

If taste is a problem, it is probably the variety that is the cause. The popular variety is "Moneymaker", which sounds good because of the name, but actually tastes like a bag of water stained red. Try any of the cherry varieties, they taste great. Plant World Seeds (www.plant-world-seeds.com) have a fantastic range of tomato varieties available as seed.

Thanks again for the advice - will bear that in mind for next year!

[Dave2002]

I find alpine strawberries do well on neglect and are as tough as old boots,this includes being left in 4 inch pots for months with only very occasional rain to relieve their thirst, in short plants for that most valuable of qualities, the ability to thrive in dry shade.

There are perhaps different degrees of neglect .......

The plant was looking better today, but I now wonder whether I should pray and risk putting it outside for the winter.

[doversoul1]

Never had so many Conference pears. Branches drooping down with the weight of them. Enough usually survive storage to keep us going for weeks.

Nor have I, and nothing got them before they were ripe. The problem with pears is that once they start ripening, they all ripen together. One can only eat so many pears a day.

My Crimson Crush tomatoes have been a great success. The ones outside are now over 6 feet high and still looking as healthy as ever and loaded with fruit, red and green and very large. Taste-wise, they are not so amazing but more than good enough for salad with simple dressing. They are excellent for cooking, as they are very fleshy.

[umslopogaas]

I've been planning next year's vegetables. I discovered an interesting thing about potato scab. Last year my Pink Fir Apple spuds were planted in the veg garden and I had very bad scab, had to throw half of them away. So, this year I grew them in pots in sterile soil from the garden centre but they still had a lot of scab. However, some left over plants in the veg garden produced scab-free spuds. It turns out the scab isnt in the soil, its a surface contamination on the seed tubers: a low level is permitted. So, to get scab-free spuds, next year I shall treat the seed tubers with fungicide, that should solve the problem. I will probably still grow them in pots though, because it frees up ground for more peas and beans.

Apart from spuds, I shall grow onions, French and runner beans, and peas. The onion vars. will be Bedfordshire Champion and something red, Red Baron or similar. Peas will be Hurst Green Shaft, there are far more peas per pod than the old vars. like Kelvedon Wonder. French and runner beans, I shall use up what is left over in the fridge from this year.

This year was relatively pest free, the main problem was field mice eating the peas. I set traps and caught lots.

[pillow book]

So, to get scab-free spuds, next year I shall treat the seed tubers with fungicide, that should solve the problem. I will probably still grow them in pots though, because it frees up ground for more peas and beans.

Hello umslopogas,

Isn't potato scab a bacteria, Streptomyces scabies?
How then will a fungicide help? I thought basically keeping the spuds well watered and in an acidic soil was the best way of preventing, or at least reducing scab so as to be not really a problem.

[umslopogaas]

Its an actinomycete, a group of organisms mid way between bacteria and fungi. The cultural methods you describe are correct, but I think treatment of the tubers with a copper fungicide such as Murphy Traditional Copper or Bayer Disease Control would be helpful. Dont tell Pesticides Safety Directorate I said so, because although those fungicides are labelled for use on potatoes, that is to control blight and technically it is illegal to use a pesticide for an unlabelled purpose. Alternatively one could treat the tubers with a disinfectant such as Dettol, which is not a pesticide: I think that would be legal, but dont quote me.

[gradus]

From some years ago admittedly, the horticultural advice I followed to control potato scab was to place a handful of grass cuttings along with a sprinkling of Growmore under each spud. As far as I recall it didn't do any harm and may have helped with scab control. These days I tend not to bother since mild scab doesn't affect eating quality. I also plant in a slip trench - spade in wriggle it about and pop in the spud - not bothering with all the text book rigmarolle and they come out fine, mind you we're on lightish soil so the ground isn't too solid.

[umslopogaas]

Very good advice! The grass cuttings would have increased organic matter and helped to retain soil moisture, both of which effects would reduce scab, which is bad on dry soils low in organic matter.

I'll probably continue to grow spuds (Pink Fir Apple, delicious salad variety) in large pots, it worked well this year, apart from the scab, and it frees up land for other things - spuds take up a lot of space.

[doversoul1]

Salad Panic seems to be sweeping through the country. Anyone growing good winter salad vegetables? My Endive and Lamb’s Lettuce (Corn salad) lasted well into January. I’ll be starting the first lettuce for the new season (Tom Thumb and All-year Round) in the next week or so. Tomatoes will be next.

[umslopogaas]

Concerning potato scab, I have just discovered something that I should have known. The causal pathogen is carried on the surface of the seed spuds, so even if you plant in sterile soil, you will still get the disease. Apparently plant health regulations permit low levels of contamination. The answer seems to me to be to soak the seed spuds for 24 hours in copper fungicide before planting. A brief soak in disinfectant or bleach would also do the trick, but I dont know how long you can do it before damaging the eyes. Copper would be safer. I'm going to try it this spring on my Pink Fir Apple seed, though I havent decided whether to grow them in pots or open ground. Maybe some in each.

[gradus]

Anyone on here grown Apriums or Pluots (apricot/plum crosses)? I've been growing a Pluot for 5 years with no fruit so far, largely (I think) because it flowers so early and there is no pollination, so I'm going to hand pollinate this year to see if I can get it to set fruit. Similar idea to hand pollinating apricots and peaches both of which respond with reasonable fruit yields. The Aprium is predominantly an Apricot, the Pluot predominantly plum.

[Dave2002]

There are perhaps different degrees of neglect .......

The plant was looking better today, but I now wonder whether I should pray and risk putting it outside for the winter.

It has survived so far, and is looking pretty good, though I've still not put it outside. It's in a cool spot, and I do remember to water it occasionally.

I suppose given the recent panic about vegetables and salads I should think about getting some things ready for this year, though normally we just rely on Sainsbury's and Lidl for vegetables and fruit. Often it's a major problem trying to work out when we're going to be around during the summer and also the weather conditions seem to be so variable that it's difficult for someone with only occasional forays into growing to know what to get ready, and what to plant.

We have friends who are more successful, but then they seem to be tied to their gardens, or maybe just better at planning. Whenever we try it seems as though we can blink and things will go wrong - go away for a few days and it'll be too dry, or too wet, or too hot, or too cold .....

We did have some potatoes a few years ago (several years) but although they were quite tasty, they weren't very economic, and the shops had similar ones.

Any suggestions for things to try this year? No guarantees of success, but there's presumably still time to get started with some.

[doversoul1]

Any suggestions for things to try this year? No guarantees of success, but there's presumably still time to get started with some.

It’s difficult to recommend anything useful without knowing when and how long you are going away but apart from lettuce in the greenhouse and radishes, my earliest crops are peas and broad beans. On the other hand, runner beans and climbing French beans can go on until well into October if you plan carefully. Although I’ve never done it myself, beans (not sure about peas) can be grown successfully in tubs which will save you the heavy work of preparing the ground. Also, I imagine easier to ask someone to look after them while you are away.

[jean]

It's not the not being there to look after them that's the problem, I find - it's the not being there to actually eat them.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It isn't often that one digs up potatoes in February, but I've just dug up this small crop.