Broad beans

The Early Long Pod broad beans have had masses of flowers on them for a long time now and I was wondering if they were ever going to set pods. They were planted on the 7th of June and today I noticed the first couple of pods, about 17 weeks later. There is a lot of conflicting information on plant and row space affecting the time it takes to set pods, mine are 150mm apart with rows 300mm apart. I now think that the timing is about right and it's purely a temperature thing. I've also read that cutting the growing tips encourages the pods to set. I've decided not to try this and see how they get on. Hopefully now they've started the first couple of pods will be followed by a lot more.



In a Pod

I resisted eating peas straight off the bush for a few days so today I could pick enough pods for a small bowl of very sweet peas. Steamed and eaten about five minutes after picking they were perfect.



Ready to go

It's nearly time for the main crop. I went to an agricultural supply place in Carlisle and got some 2400mm star pickets. These will be strung with wire to form a sort of cage for the tomatoes to grow in. I don't know why you can't get decent sized stakes from nurseries for tomatoes. They sell the seedlings knowing the stakes they supply wont be tall enough. Why? Anyway, this long weekend is planting time. 



Cavelo Nero

This is the first time I've grown Cavelo Nero, or Tuscan Black Cabbage, and I'm completely sold. I've been picking this for a couple of months now from just two plants and I can't keep up with the growth. It has a richer, nuttier tast than normal cabbage and is the stuff to use in Minestrone soup. Growing ball type cabbages is fine but they take ages to form and then you have to do something straight away with all that cabbage. Anything you can harvest over a long period is a boon for the backyard veggie patch.



First Carrot

I pulled the first carrot on Saturday, just to see what was going on really. It was about 100mm long and well formed. It was a bit yellowish rather than rich orange and tasted ok but not as sweet as I'd hoped. I'm not sure if this is some sort of nutrient deficiency or, as one site suggests, too much moisture. Maybe I'm treating them too well.



First spring Planting

On the 12^th of September I sowed seeds of Derwent Globe beetroot, a heritageTasmanian variety from the 19th century apparently. These were up on the 18th and are being thinned out now. Seeds of Dwarf Sensation sunflowers went in too. I’ve planted these for some colour and to help bring bees and wasps into the garden. They only get around 40cm high so hopefully, if the seed packet is anything to go by, they will give the sunflower look without the space requirements of proper sunflowers. The “Potted sunshine” claim is a bit twee though. I used to grow Russian Giant sunflowers in a house in Bassendean and growing these monsters to over eight feet tall, with a single flower 40cm across, was fun but they took up a lot of space.

 I also planted some flat leaf parsley from seed saved from plants from the garden at my last home. My pot planted parsley is going to seed so I need replacements.

I found some volunteer basil seedlings coming up in some pot plants and I’ve pricked these out and planted them around the beds that will be planted with tomatoes this coming long weekend.