Blauwschokker Peas & Cherry Bomb Chillies

A couple more seed purchases then for next year that I just couldn't resist!

Blauwschokker Peas
I love the taste of my sugar snap peas and enjoy growing them too but I'm always willing to try out an exciting new variety and I certainly found one in the Blauwschokker!

I was searching for the Cherry Bomb chillies (below) and stumbled across Sarah Raven's website (www.sarahraven.com) which was selling the seeds, a quick browse of others available and my attention was instantly drawn to this mange tout type pea.

The pods are a deep purple in colour, proceeded by the most intense blue/indigo flowers. I can't wait to give them a go and see them bloom in my garden next year.

Cherry Bomb Chillies
I was walking around Paradise Park in East Sussex but disappointly on this visit they didn't have many items that thrilled me and what they did have didn't look in the best of health but as I was leaving I spotted a pot that set my tastebuds tingling.

The plant in question was the Cherry Bomb which produces small, round, deep red peppers which I've had soaked in olive oil and stuffed with cream cheese as a treat but I'd never seen a plant before.

I didn't buy the plant there and then but I snapped a photo and took note of the name and as mentioned above, found them available on Sarah Raven's website (this was my first order there).

First Anablancas

As well as my much anticipated Pineberries, my back up option Anablancas have started to come in too.

They are equally sweet and also share the white flesh and vivid red pip asthetic of the pineberry but the two berries I've enjoyed so far have been larger and rounder than their more famous cousin.

Panic Over!

I needn't have worried so much! After tasting my first pineberry a couple of weeks ago, I've stolen half a dozen berries already and there's easily a couple of dozen across my three boxes.

As well as fruit for this year, this afternoon I've planted up around 10 more runners to pot up in large planters later on in the year.

Vampire Chillies!

I saw this today at a local garden centre and instantly added it to my wishlist!

The Vampire F1 Chili is instantly striking with its almost black stalk and leaves, deep purple flowers and black fruit. I held off buying it as even though it was 50% off, they were still asking for a fiver a plant!

I also saw a packet of seeds with were a fairer price so I may well grab some at some point before next year.

Pink Lemonades Coming In Too

Next to show promise (and 2nd on my most wanted this year) is my Pink Lemonade variety blueberry. Oddly, as mentioned before, there's really only one cluster of berries on offer this year and as shown below they've just started to show the most subtle pink hue hinting that they are starting to ripen.

First Gold Raspberry

After a snoop around my raspberry canes the other night, I found some hidden treasure I had forgotten about... A small collection of gold berries ripening up on an offshoot from last year's cane.

It was certainly juicy and tasted like a raspberry but it was still quite tart, probably down to the fact that this is an autumn fruiting variety. I am starting to find lots of buds appearing on the new canes which should be ready later in the year.

Last Seed Purchase Of The Season?

A while ago I noticed that Thompson & Morgan had teamed up with Tesco for a Clubcard Boost offer, my wife kindly permitted so I exchanged £10 of vouchers into £30 for their website.

After a lengthy browse I had collected a number of interesting varieties worthy of a spot in my garden next year. I made my purchase of seeds along with a Pinkberry variety Blueberry plant - expected Nov 2014.

They arrived a few days later:

Center:

Cucumber Long White
Instantly eye-catching, this white variety was the first thing that made my shopping basket! I'm not yet a confident cucumber grower but these have got to be worth a go!

Clockwise from Top left:

Strawberry Mignonette
This red alpine strawberry was recommended as the greatest strawberry going. I'm growing around 8 varieties this year. I need no excuse to give these ago next year!

Tomato Black Cherry
A small cherry tomato variety that ripens to a blackish-purple colour with a "complex, exceptionally sweet and juicy flavour".

Tomato Green Envy
This year I am growing Green Zebra toms because I like the idea of a ripe green tomato but even Green Zebras end up prodomently yellow. These grape-sized Green Envy end up entirely green but fully ripe and promise a sweet flavour.

Golden Berry Pineapple
I've taken pity on my indestructible Inca Berry plant. He's here for a 2nd season, has 8-10 little laterns already and is still putting out flowers, which is far more than it did last year! My next selection is Golden Berries (another name for the Inca Berries), I thought I'd give them a proper go next year. This variety is called Pineapple, promising a flavour that warrants the name!

Mooli Neptune
I've been interested in trying to grow moolis for a while now so this was the perfect moment to grab some seeds. This variety produces long, crisp white roots. There's still time to sow these so I may give them a go this year.

Rocket Wildfire
I'm hoping that its peppery flavour will make rocket unappealing to slugs and snails in the same way that my Mustard Bite leaves does. Again, this can been sown until September so hopefully we'll enjoy this in some salads later in the year.

Radish Amethyst
There were purple radishes in the Bright Lights mix that I enjoyed so I thought I would try this purple-only variety.

Radish Chinese Dragon
I quite like growing and eating radishes and these look like they will be a very interesting variety. With a vivid pink/red skin and full bodied flavour, they are suggested as a great addition to stir frys - yum!

Epic Popcorn Growth

Just a very quick update on the progress of my Strawberry Popcorn since it has been around a month since my last.

I still have four quality stalks growing and they've grown exceptionally well over the last 4 weeks although one has been nibbed by something.

I'm still not sure if they will work or how they will develop, this is by far my most experimental endeavour of the year.

Amethyst Dwarf French Beans

At last I have something to report on my amethyst french beans. I lost my entire first batch to slugs and snails - evidently the tiny seedlings are irrestible to the pests!

For the second lot, I started them off in the safety of my garage windowsill (which gets a good dose of the morning sun). Once they were well established, I transfered the 4 or 5 plants to a large pot and tied together 3 canes for them to climb.

For a long time they were fairly uninteresting to look at, just putting out leaves and growing in height but then last week I started to notice dark purple buds appearing. Now, finally some flowers are emerging and a delightful shade of purple they are too.

Pea - Sugar Snap Review

Fruit/Veg: Pea
Variety: Sugar Snap Delikett
Provider: Suttons
Seeds/Cost: 200 seeds, £2.75

I'm sure last year I just bought a strip of around 8-10 plants for a couple of pounds from Homebase. They were delicious and a hit with the family so this year I decided to grow some from seed and a much better value option it was too.

The only real frustration was that the young seedlings were extremely tempting to slugs and snails and I lost quite a few young plants (I will combat this next year by starting them off on my garage windowsill - as I did with a later batch).

Once germinated they grew at a fantastic rate and as I used a tall enough cane scaffold they happily climbed.

This particular variety, provided by Suttons, grew particularly well, producing an abundance of  delicate looking pale yellow flowers, which, once pollinated near immediately turned to peas. The peas were deliciously sweet as promised and, once left long enough were fat and tender and made a fantastic addition to our chicken stir fry.

This season may be over for sowing but with handfuls of seeds left, I will not need to purchase again next year (maybe even the year after).

The only downside was a slight stringiness down the front seem on a few of the pods but on the strength of the quality and quantity and value the huge number of successful seeds provides, I'm not in a hurry to move away from Suttons on this variety.

First Handful Of Blueberries

I've stolen a couple of berries every night for the last couple of nights but tonight I got enough to warrant a photo and a post.

It was mum's old plant to again ripen first (a good few weeks earlier than last year too, thanks to the milder weather). The berries are quite large and have a delicious, perfumed flavour.

After hearing it is possible, I've decided I'd like to have a go at taking some cuttings and so I've been watching a few how-to videos online and will give it a go later on.

Lots Of Little Lanterns

My indestructable Inca Berry plant from last year continues to go from strength to strength. It is still putting our flowers but already has 6 or 7 fruits growing inside their own personal laterns.

These will appear to dry out and will eventually fall off the plant when the fruit inside is ripe. An interesting looking plant at this stage.

Pretty Toscana Tubs

The plants I bought from Suttons Seeds have finally caught up with the Mr Fothergills seeds I planted myself. I have already planted two lots of four plants in planters and will have enough to make up at least one more planter.

They look quite attractive now they've all come into flower and so are something nice to look at for the garden.

Windowsill Herbs

My windowsill herbs are growing incredibly quickly and I expect to be able to use some in meals in no time at all. We've already enjoyed the Sweet Basil this year but I am very much looking forward to trying this purple variety and my first attempt at homegrown thyme.

Cucamelons

I planted 4 cucamelon seeds a couple of weeks ago, right at the end of their sowing season. One failed to germinate but the other 3 have been developing well.

Today I repotted all three in a larger pot and tied together 3 tall canes for them to climb. I expect to harvest the tiny watermelon clones later in the year.