Harvesting timelines

[tremone]

Due to friendly but unpredictable farmer i only got my plot ploughed & rotovated in early april so there was no time for soil improvement so then i had to dash to make up beds & remove rocks etc which in turn meant everything went in around the same time. As this is my first year planting a full plot i'm now unsure when to expect what's going to be ready to harvest. So if you could give advice on the following:

Peas...........Harvesting away..yummy
Runner Beans......Very small pods beginning to appear(thought they'd be
a lot quicker)
Early spuds......Some flowers not as many on the maincrop
Maincrop spuds....Taller than earlies and with more flowers(kerr pinks)
Onions(from sets)......Growing up although some are collapsing
Onions(from seed).....Slow progress
Carrots...Apparently more seasoned gardeners tell me Carrots do not do well in Donegal(North of Ireland) and also we transplanted them which is another big no no-again slow process
Leeks....Another slow burner
Courgettes...Under cloche and loads of flowers, only one courgette formed as yet)
Sweetcorn..under same cloche as courgette but not fairing so well
Any help appreciated to newbie in the game

[red]

leeks you would not expect to harvest until about November

my runner beans are at about the same stage.. so its late.. but I blame the weather

my sweetcorn have cobs on, but immature.. i would bring out of the cloche.. they depend on the wind to set

early spuds - i would take a look now...

I've been picking courgettes for a couple of weeks now - so that sounds about right - again i would do without cloche - as they need insects to pollenate the flowers...

[ohareward]

Remember to mound up soil around the leeks as they grow. This makes the stems whiter.
Runner beans like to be picked often, as this will promote more growth.
Spuds- depends on the type as to how much flowering they do.
Onions- as long as they are still green, the floppy ones should stand up in time. Onions do take a while to grow to maturity.
Carrots don't like being transplanted. When thinning out you can get 2-3 lots of baby carrots. Also carrots can be left in the ground when mature, and pulled when needed. I still have some in from last season.
Courgettes- Red is right, the bees need to get to them.
Corn- needs to be able to be swayed by the wind to allow the male flowers to drop their bits on the lower females. Make sure that there is not too much wind, unless you have a large plot of them to support each other.

Robin

[Mare Owner]

How do you know when the peas are ready? I have some full-looking pods, do you pick while still green?

[red]

i feel them. if they feel full.. they are ready. if the pods hae a different appearance.. slightly paler.. then the peas are probably a bit too grown for me.. more starchy than sweet ... but i pick all that are ready

and i barely cook them - just bring them to the boil and thats it.. cos i love that raw sweet flavour...
but its a matter of taste

[tremone]

Thanks for the replies but i have one query, many of you mention removing the cloche on the courgettes & sweetcorn, but i live in a place called Co. Donegal in Ireland, very north in line with Stranraer in Scotland, so i'm concerned about extensively windy & cold spells. It is a weird summer up here

[ohareward]

Can you make a wind proof shelter around your corn. They will stand a bit of wind, even if you put in stakes and tie string around them to support your corn. Remember that the corn can grow up to 1.8m tall so cloches won't be much use.
If it looks like it is going to be frosty, then you can put the cloches back on the courgettes and take them off again in the morning when the frost has gone. Or just use frost cloth. That will make it easier to remove.

Robin