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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I'm sure I have identified a third variety of my spectrum peppers now there are fruits appearing everywhere.
Standard green peppers grow downwards with the stem at the top but these ones pictured are a very deep green, with the stem at the base and the fruit pointing upwards. I will have to wait to see what colour these take on as they ripen.
My purple gusto chillies are performing very well and true to their name have taken on a very deep purple colour.
They are still small but long for their size and will eventually ripen to a more usual red but I will to harvest a few before that to sample and compare their different flavours.
After a couple of frustrating weeks with relentless attacks from slugs/snails and catapillars, the latter decimating most of my largest, most promising berries and a number of the leaves, I uncovered this little beauty.
After spraying some Bug Clear (for catapillars) on my pineberry plants a week ago, the attacks seem to have calmed so I'm hoping this survives another couple of days to finish ripening.
I've already tried one berry, it wasn't fully ripe but it was soft in places and it did taste somewhat like a strawberry and I could detect a hint of pineapple.
It has been very frustrating to lose some many of my fruits especially when the pineberry was my silver tuna of the year but it's made me more determined to make them work next year and I've already planted up 6 healthy runners from existing plants.
They took their time but finally a lot of my tomato plants have now started to flower. They are already in my polythene greenhouse which I leave open all day and close up at night. They are all the standard vivid yellow.
I've seen a couple of tiny toms so far but will watch out for more in the coming weeks.
We ate our first portion of Lambs Lettuce tonight along with some homegrown red spring onions. It doesn't have a particularly strong flavour of its own but it has a nice crisp texture and worked well with balsamic vinegar.
One of the best features of this salad leaf is that it seems to be of no interest whatsoever to slugs. I learnt this last year when I planted 6 varieties of salad leaves in a long planter. Slug decimated all of the other 5 varieties but completed avoided the Lambs Lettuce.
My main Blueberry bush, a gift from my mum (variety unknown) has been loaded with fruit for a while now. The small green berries have been getting fatter and fatter and I have now discovered the first to start to change colour.
If last year was typical, it should be a fairly rapid process now for them all to ripen and I should be enjoying my first handfuls of the season very shortly.
I'm so excited! The 'Pineberry' has been my main inspiration for growing my own (mainly strange varieties) for this year and last.
I've been aware of them ever since their April Fool's Day release a few years ago that looked so much like a traditional Fool's Day Hoax.
I wasn't buying it and then I walked passed a hanging basket of them in a nursery last year. I was genuinely taken aback - so sure was I that they weren't real.
Unfortuately the three plants in the basket had already flowered but had failed to be pollinated so I didn't get a single fruit. But I collected 10-15 plants from runners, filling two additional square planters and patiently overwintered the lot.
For the winter months, I added a thick straw mulch and watered them a little every 3 days or so, hoping to keep the plants alive in my garage.
Well it paid off, the plants came back to life in the spring and have now flowered, been pollinated and my largest berries' pips are beginning to take on their trademark red hue. It should only be a couple of weeks or so until I get to sample their flavour for myself!
My first attempt at growing raspberries is still going well. The new canes grow taller by the day.
I have inserted my tallest canes for extra support and have counted 7 or 8 separate new canes from my original 5. Flowers continue to appear sporadically at this stage and some small fruits are already developing.
A quick glance round my garden and you can quickly start to spot my pepper plants standing tall. I'm growing some exciting varieties including Orange Baby and Gusto Purple Chillies.
I've also been waiting to see how my Spectrum Peppers would develop and which plants would take on which coloured fruits. I know that usually peppers start green then turn to and orange (or yellow) and finally red but the image on the packet also promised white, purple and black.
Until very recently there was nothing to tell the plants apart as they were all pretty much identical in appearance but now they've flowered and are beginning to develop fruit there's two distinct types - the usual deep green peppers and also an unfamiliar pale yellow.
My best guess at this stage is that the latter will develop to the white peppers, ripen to a purple and end up as a black. I am looking forward to being proved right/wrong!
After an internet search for some white cherry tomatoes (that had caught my eye), I stumbled across a new supplier Victoriana Nursery that had some very interesting produce on offer, I filled my 'trug' and gave them a shot. I was pleased to see that they were also based in south-east England.
I was like a child in a sweet shop scrolling through their tomato section which featured many varieties I hadn't previously come across. Obviously the seeds will have to wait until next year and the plants may not see much action til then either.
My final selection included:
Top row (l-r)
Tomato Gold Medal
These just looked extraordinary! A lovely golden orange/yellow and a unique, almost scrunched up shape that kind of gives them the appearance of a pepper. They are said to have thick walls and perfect for stuffing so will be great for meal times.
Cucumber La Diva
I tried to grow some Marketmore last year - supposedly a grower's favourite but suffered poor results that put me off growing cucumbers - but not for long. This looks like a solid variety producing attractive, more compact cues.
Cucumber Crystal Apple
Another fantastically different looking variety that is round and about the size of an apple but closer to a lemon in appearance. The info promises a mild, sweet flavour that is crisp and suitable for pickling.
Middle row (l-r)
Kiwi Issai
This was one of the main reasons for my order. A few years ago now, we stumbled across a unique punnet of Kiwi Berries in Asda that were only on sale for a couple of weeks. I had never heard of them before and having grown up with their larger, hairier cousins, I was excited to try them so I swiftly bought them and headed home. The berries were smooth skinned, deep green in colour, grape-sized but amazingly when I sliced it in half, it was identical to a Kiwi albeit in miniture form! But it was the taste that was most impressive; ridiculously flavoursome with the signature kiwi sweet but tart taste, like a regular kiwi compressed to berry size. I've never seen them in the shops again and after learning they're suitable for growing here, I've wanted one ever since.
Courgette One Ball
This variety produces round, compact, pool ball sized veg that is a golden yellow in colour when ripe. I've just planted some round courgettes so it will be good to compare them with the One Ball next year.
Bottom row (l-r)
Tomato Giant Delicious
I'm growing possibly 8 or 9 tomato varieties this year but the majority are cherry sized (not including my much anticipated Green Zebra and Tigerella). I fancied attempting something a bit bigger next year and this looked the biggest! Fist-sized deep red fruit that can fill a sandwich with one slice - I fancy getting a quality steak and frying up one of these to accompany it!
Tomato Snow White
These caught my eye on a random image search on Google and led me to Victoriana. Impossibly pale, these cherry toms have an ivory white appeance which makes them leap out immediately. I can't imagine what their flavour offers but I will happily wait until next year to find out!
Whitecurrant White Pearl
I have thought about getting a little currant bush for a while now and the one I've had my eye on the most is a pale pink Rosa variety, so far I have only seen one on Suttons' website and it was fairly expensive. 2nd on my list was a more humble white and at around £4 this one was a must! They promise to be heavy fruiters and having only ever sampled black and redcurrants, I'm intrigued to see what these will taste like.
My very first pineberry is making great progress, growing fatter by the day with its proud lime-green pips. I am excited to see it slowly adopt its trademark white flesh and vivid red pips.
After a good solid growth of my pea shoots they unleashed a shower of their pale yellow flowers and just a few day the first few immature peas have emerged.
They were a last mintue thought when I grew them last year but we very much enjoyed their flavour and crunch and I look forward to using them this year in salads and stirfrys!
Just the very briefest of updates to show off my very first Toscana flower! It had been opening for a couple of days but this morning it was well and truly there.
I was particularly excited to see this flower as the description promised a vivid pink when I ordered the seeds and as you will see from my photo, the plant does not disappoint!
As all my other strawberry varieties have run-of-the-mill white, this will add more than a splash of colour to my garden and as this variety is an everbearer, I can expect the flowers to continue to show as the fruit is developing later on in the season.
Fruit/Veg: Carrot
Variety: Paris Market 5 - Atlas
Provider: Mr. Fothergill's
Seeds/Cost: 1000 seeds, £2.05
I planted some of these up in my vegetable planter a little ealier in the year and tonight harvested 5 mini carrots.
I lost a few for reasons unknown and mine appear less round than the uniform examples pictured on the front of the packet but they have a nice orange colour and good flavour, tasting like a traditional carrot.
They are a bit of fun and I imagine great to grow with small children (my daughter is just too young this year) but to consider them as a serious dinner ingredient is a little unrealistic as you would need a good 12-15 to make up a portion and to grow enough to produce that demand would take up far too much of my space (going by the recommended spacing).
I will happily grow the rest of the packet and it's nice to have successfully grown any type of carrot but I may only purchase them again if they are a future favourite of the kids.
Sadly the duo grafted cherry tree that my mum purchased from Suttons Seeds back in March (for my birthday) failed to show any kind of growth despite me taking all the steps to ensure it was planted correctly.
On the upside - after a 2nd email - Suttons have agreed that it should have shown some signs of life by now. They have agreed to send me a replacement tree but not until they are back in stock in November.
I am glad I've got another tree coming as I was looking forward to seeing both black and red cherries growing on one plant. In the meantime I've got plenty going on in my garden to keep me entertained.
At last! I finally got to sample my very first homegrown strawberry of the season. As suspected, it was my Honeoye (from Homebase) that were the first to turn.
This was a very deep red and extremely glossy berry with a very rich and sweet flavour, I look forward to more in the coming days!
