Garlic: Germidor?

Part of the reason I need a blog is torecord what varieties I actually grow in a year, rather than have a hazy memory of months later. I'm not absolutely sure which variety of garlic I put in last year, other than it was the only variety available in the local garden centre, bought on impulse. Which is a pity, as it has done very well, producing a heavy (literally) crop of very large bulbs with no sign of rust whatsoever. A number of the larger bulbs did split, but careful harvesting ensured little earth ended up in the cavity, so they should keep quite well if dried properly.

Decorative potager

The distinction between a 'potager' and a 'bog-standard' vegetable plot is the degree of decorative value, largely derived from formal elements (regular beds, trained fruit forms) combined with flowers and the most decorative vegetables.

I had this very much in mind when I turned my front garden largely over to vegetables and a variety of trained and half-standard pears. The locals hereabouts aren't the most enlightened, and anything that strays from the norm of bedding plants edging a lawn, tortured to within an inch of it's life, (or worse, just grim concrete) is viewed with great suspicion as a sign of terminal eccentricity. Despite the risks of being tarred and feathered, my front is very productive, with 18 different pear/quince cultivars (growing in a number of trained forms, mostly step-overs, but also arches, espaliers and 2 half standards). One bed is entirely devoted to strawberries, which have yielded about 8lbs of fruit already in this, their first proper year of fruiting, and still have a way to go before they finish. The other bed will eventually be devoted to asparagus, which I'm gradually building up from seed. I planted the part where the latter had failed with garlic last year, and have just harvested a bumper crop of 40 very large bulbs.

For some reason the colour scheme ended up being red, with a stunning display of shrub rose Scarlet Fire, Papaver orientalis 'Turkenlouis', red valerian with contrast provided by dark red foliage of various sedums, bronze fennel and Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker'.

Winter Squash bed

Last year I stuck in a couple of winter squashes (my favourite squash, Marina de Chioggia) next to my 'duck sump', which is the overflow from the duck bath which is on continuous drip from a hose, flushed out once a day.

I was amazed by how well they did, climbing several metres into neighbouring rose and plumb trees, producing several very large fruits each. Previously squashes have done very poorly, and I'd rather given up on growing them.

This year I've extended the area that the water flows to, to irrigate and fertilise a larger number of squashes. So far they've taken off very well, and are looking healthier than in previous years, in different beds. Time will tell if this experiment will be a productive one.

Varieties grown this year: Winter Festival F1, Jack be Little, the intriguingly-named Pumpkin SC4-15 F1, Avalon A1 (butternut type) and one Jack o' Lantern pumpkin. It's possible there's the odd other variety, as I hang on to packets for years, and usually have a couple of ancient packets left.

Blackcurrant: Ben Sarek

My favourite blackcurrant, Ben Sarek. Compact, dwarf growth with enormous black berries, sweet and juicy enough to eat raw. I bought the first four bushes when I was 15, and grew them in pots. 28 years on, I still have the original bushes, plus a number I have taken as cuttings. Until this year, none has ever shown any sign of any pest or disease, and has always cropped copiously. This year, we had a very bad attack of aphids, which has reduced the amount of foliage on some of the bushes, and spoiled a small portion of the crop. I'm not sure if this is related to the age of the bushes, the pattern of attack was rather random. I'll removed as much of the old wood as possible once the bushes have cropped and see whether this makes any difference next year. 

The Tomato Tardis: Growmate greenhouse

My 'growmate' greenhouse which was christened 'The Tomato Tardis' by some friends. Bought very cheaply on eBay, it slots into a very narrow space, and allows access to the surrounding fruit cordons. We suffer very badly from tomato blight here, so it's impossible to get a crop in the open, but this arrangement theoretically allows the plants to grow directly into the soil, minimising the need for watering.

Last year wasn't a great success, as the first varieties I grew were my favourite tall cordons Tigerella and Andine Cornue. Being very leggy, cordon types, little fruit is produced on the low trusses, and there wasn't enough room at the narrow end of the pyramid. This year I'm growing determinate, bush cultivars ( Beefsteak, Pricipe Borghese) which will hopefully do better. Once I'm sure they are well-rooted, I'll close the opening but open the top to allow ventilation. Whether this will be access enough to keep out Tomato moth remains to be seen; this pest ruined the few tomatos we had last year.

Beetroot: sowings

We eat a lot of beetroot so I've dedicated a whole bed to it, with sowings at 2-3 week intervals beginning in early March which will hopefully provide a succession of roots which will keep us in beet until the early spring of next year.

Interestingly, the sowings made in April have caught up with those made in March, and all are now bulking up at more or less the same time (all the same cultivar, Red Ace). I sowed some in 'the Tardis' greenhouse in early March. The ones that survived lack of watering in there matured no earlier than those sown in the open ground. Next year I will try sowing under glass much earlier, as it would be nice to have beetroot a little earlier.

The latest rows are Boro, and an ancient packet of Forono, expiry date 2003 which germinated with unexpected vigour!

Beetroot: Red Ace F1

I used to grow mostly Boltardy, which I bought in bulk quantities as it is cheap and very reliable (plus a couple of rows of the cylindrical variety Forono for winter use) but this year I've decided to trial other varieties and see if the quality is better.

I've planted mostly Red Ace F1 at fortnightly successions starting in March, and pulled the first baby beet a couple of weeks ago. T&M describe it as having 'high quality roots with a dark red colour'. Taste is good; growth and germination were good too. It's supposed to be drought tolerant, so it will be interesting to see how later sowings get on. 

The other variety I'm trying for the first time is Boro (F1) (which looked like a monogerm when it appeared though not described as such).