Successes & Failures

[Nick69]

Zucchini--no matter how I try the darn things won't pollinate. Oh well, at least it's a pretty plant

Regards,
Martina

You could polinate them yourself

[Peggy Sue]

Well as this is our first year growing fruit n veg, the rate of success was low. Everything is outside btw
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Don'e be so hard on yourself- that looks a pretty good selection and no-one gets ALL successes. Well done for a first year

[Peggy Sue]

Squash- I MUST learn not to plant so many...or so close....need I say more. Certainly a plentiful crop.

Tomatoes- I've grown some on the allotment which ahve had no attention at all, and some in growbags at home that have been tended carefully with water & feed and nipping out shoots etc on a warm southfacing wall. Home ones have blight and look sickly, the allotment ones despite being wrestled to the ground by the pumpkins seem really healthy- high hopes!

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I must update you on this (sorry, so excited).

Last night I spent 2 hours tacckling the squash that were invading the poor tomatoes. Some tomatoes were laying on the floor under vast sqaush leaves, some of which had died and gone mouldy....not ideal!

Under all the weeds and pumpkin/marrow leaves as I slowly cleared a dividing path and staked the toms up, I could see that not only was there one or two colouring but hoards and hoards all lying on the floor going red and quite a few ready NOW.

What plucky little plants to thrive under those conditions. Very rewarding 2 hours, but still have the other half the tomatoes to do

[Millymollymandy]

That was a nice surprise! I've been having to do the same with my courgettes, I'm forever chopping off the older leaves and trying to make them go in different directions (one plant has decided to branch out and trail like a ruddy pumpkin!) and they were smothering some melons. Sadly the melons underneath weren't ripe like your toms! But I can now (for the moment) actually get in there and pick courgettes a bit more easily!

[Martina]

Zucchini--no matter how I try the darn things won't pollinate. Oh well, at least it's a pretty plant

Regards,
Martina

You could polinate them yourself

Nick69,

I have tried, but to no avail .

So I will just enjoy it as a plant and try something different in that pot next year.

Have a good day,
Martina

[Millymollymandy]

I just looked at your photos Martina - (it's time for you to take some more to update us ) - and I get vertigo, literally, when I see that photo showing how high up you are then looking at how narrow your balcony is..... I'd be crawling out there on my hands and knees in order to tend those veggies.....

[grahamhobbs]

Oh yes the successional sewing thing with salad- I ALMOST got there,then I had loads bolt. There must be a magic formula somewhere or are lettuce just out to get you? I may have fooled them by planting some at home so the allotment ones now think I'm deprived after bolting but I have a secret supply...

I've been trying for years but still haven't got it to work all the way through the season - lots depend on the weather of course and right now I'm lettuce-less for the time being. But that's probably not a bad thing!

It seems to me that lettuces all want to go to seed at the end of July / beginning of August whenever they were sown. But I have found that there are a few varieties, usually the non-hearting type, that seem less prone to bolt, these can be used to tide you over this period to when the next batch of lettuce are ready. Also if you keep taking most of the outer leaves, just leaving the centre, it will slow others from bolting and keep them producing new leaves.