Veggie growers

[anjuschka]

Ah how interesting! Just catching up with this discussion - I'm a very small scale veg grower (2 largish raised beds + containers) and have just learnt a lot:

Did your brussels sprouts bolt? If so it is probably because they 'rocked' on their roots. I didn't realise at first they needed to be as firm in the ground but now, with all brassicas I literally stand and push with my feet the soil around them and I finally got cauliflowers that didn't bolt. We now stake our brussel sprouts and that has helped too.

Tried Calabrese last year and this year - last year it bolted, I put that down to the weather. this year first the pigeons had most of it (not a problem last eyar for some reason) and now the ones that were protected and are growing are not evening hinting they might ever bud? I think that's my last try with them, despite your very helpful info re brassicas. We also have Kohlrabi - the first one I picked last week was woody, it wasn't even very big - something I am yet again putting down to the weather. Last year they were fine except the ones that grew too large while we were on holiday.

DS has gone to school with some of my beetroot to make beetroot and chilli brownies today - he had to make a cake with an unusual ingredient - not that beetroot is that unusual in a cake any more.

Cool! I have a similar recipe lined up that I can't wait to try. I think I might stick with yours, looks very tempting! I made courgette cake last year and it was a bit of a flop so I'm still rooting around for better recipes.

Izzy had peas at her pre school on Tuesday for a snack. [...]
'we didn't have any problems with Izzy and her peas, she told us you grew them on the allotment'. How can children not have had fresh peas or be nervous of them!

Yes PEAS - our favourite, this year we only got about a meal's worth and it was virtually all scoffed by the kids, directly from the plant. DD1 also took some unpodded in her packed lunch box at times - virtually the only fresh Veg I can get into her!

Our two courgette plants have finally started producing and that's quite enough thank you and we keep checking on the carrots, another one the kids are very interested in. Apart from that we have easy things: spring onions, red onions, sweetcorn, pumpkin / squash (put in very late so no idea if we'll have any), lettuce, rocket, radishes, tomatoes, herbs, strawberries in containers.

 

[m-mouse]

The beetroot recipe is from a really great book full of hidden veggie cake recipes.
Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache: The ultimate feel-good book of natural cakes that taste naughty: Amazon.co.uk: Harry Eastwood: Books

 

[Poppy03]

Anjuschka. My early kohl rabi are pretty woody but the ones that were planted recently, during all the wet weather, are bigger and appear to be softer. I took peas to a friends wedding and my little one sat eating them, contented as anything. When she had her MMR a couple of years back, they stabbed her, she let out a scream, I showed her peas, she immediately stopped and took them. The nurse just sat there with her mouth open, so funny.

Think you will find that the brussels sprouts will look like they are budding later in the year, fingers crossed. Mine look healthy plants but no sign of anything yet. Calabrese can be nightmarish on the bolting front, very dependent on weather and conditions. Also if they have suffered a set back before planting (or after) such as drying out in their trays, an unexpected frost, or even get a bit root bound, it can make them bolt even if they look like wonderful plants up till then. As for the squash/pumpkins, if we have a later autumn or at least a later frost you can still get a good crop, they are remarkably resillient.

Welcome French Fancy. I am very jealous that you are getting to make passata now. My plum tomatoes are coming along nicely but no sign of any of them even big enough to start turning red. You cannot beat getting your veg fresh from the garden, the taste cannot be beaten. The shops often carry a good range but they are generally grown to be transported rather than taste. I noticed the other day they were selling off the tomatoes really cheap because they were deep red instead of that insipid colour they usually sell. How do you store the things you grow?

 

[anjuschka]

Thanks Poppy - very helpful! I think I'll have to give the calabrese a miss in future then The Kohlrabi I'll just have to persevere - I bought one (Italian) from the market a while ago and it tasted horrid! Ours taste nice, just a tad, errmmm, chewy... I think I'll try to pass the next woody one through the potato ricer to eliminate the fibres.

All our tomatoes are still green and no hint of change. Just a few of the golden ones have ripenend in the last week or two and were instantly picked of by DH

 

[Maintainer]

We've already had quite a few tomatoes, including a delicious sweet green tomato variety OH was trying out. I tried last night to persuade him to try again next year with the sprouts, to no avail :-(

FF - it sounds as if you have a wonderful garden, and how lucky are you to have all that fruit and veg at your disposal. Any photos of your garden?

 

[Poppy03]

Anja. Try putting a banana skin or two near the fruits that need ripening. The chemical that they release is the same one that ripens tomatoes. My greenhouse ones are coming along nicely but my outdoor ones don't even look like they are big enough to be thinking of changing colour.

A green tomato, what is it called? My other half hates sprouts and calls them the devils vegetable. I only make them at Christmas for him and then it is fried in bacon with a little nutmeg.

The allotment was crazy yesterday, so full. Picked some lovely carrots and me and the little one sat eating them like rabbits (amazing how much your nose does wiggle when eating a raw carrot). French and runner beans were ready and some lovely cabbages, beetroot, radishes and kohl rabi. Dukan coleslaw coming up

 

[Maintainer]

I'll let you know Monday re name of green tomato...

 

[frenchfancy]

Welcome French Fancy. I am very jealous that you are getting to make passata now. My plum tomatoes are coming along nicely but no sign of any of them even big enough to start turning red. You cannot beat getting your veg fresh from the garden, the taste cannot be beaten. The shops often carry a good range but they are generally grown to be transported rather than taste. I noticed the other day they were selling off the tomatoes really cheap because they were deep red instead of that insipid colour they usually sell. How do you store the things you grow?[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the welcome. I use various methods of storing the fruit and veg. I blanche and freeze quite a lot. Make various sauces which i bottle, make chutneys, jams and the such like. I store my potatoes in hessian sacks in the dark garage; store carrots in a damp sand bed. I also swap for veg I haven't got (there's a lot of that goes on here,) I also have a dehydrator to dry foods and fruits which I then pack into sterilised jars.

 

[Poppy03]

I don't get on very well with my dehydrator and currently it is sat looking at me willing me to get going! Good job hubby doesn't know how much it cost. Made some courgette crisps with it which were good. What do you use yours for? I did sun dried tomatoes last year but I don't think I dried them enough as they went mouldy :-(

 

[Poppy03]

Where have all the veggie growers gone?

I have just managed to process 12lbs of french beans and get them in the freezer. That should keep me going for a week or two!

 

[Maintainer]

oooh poppy... I did that one year and really didn't like the result. Can you explain your freezing process to a newbie please? We now store our French beans in jars (boiling up etc), because I couldn't bear the frozen ones.

We've been busy with a bumper crop of runner beans (first time we've tried them over here, and we're delighted). The French people we've given them to (all cut up ready to cook, else they'd probably simply take the beans out) were mystified initially, and they kept going on about the red flowers on the plants, but said they liked the taste! I must have eaten a tonne myself this weekend, and spent ages preparing for canning (is that the term?). Beetroots doing well, French beans. I thought our tomato plants (in pots) hadn't done as well this year but then I discovered that our little guests at the moment had been eating them straight off the plant, so no wonder there weren't any to pick for dinner!

I love this time of year... I enjoy the work and it makes such a change from my day job! Even the drizzle didn't bother me Saturday while I picked

 

[Poppy03]

Morning. With the French beans I just cut them into the lengths we want as an end result, quickly blanche them for 3 mins in boiling water, cool quickly, dry them off then pack into freezer bags. We finished eating last years crop about a month ago and although I definately prefer the taste of fresh ones they do the job. When you then cook the frozen ones treat as frozen peas and only cook briefly to retain the taste.

I have never tried to can beans, do you cook them first and then can or like tomatoes in that you cover them with liquid and then boil to seal the lids?

Our allotment is very full at the moment, very beautiful to just stand in the middle and take it all in. We had our first ever brocolli. Normally mine bolt or are eaten or covered in something horrid but this one was totally delicious, not a fly on it and perfectly formed. I was very proud - lol. Hoping to get down there today for a couple of hours, I need the peace.

 

[Maintainer]

Hi there fellow gardener... the step in your bean freezing process which I didn't know about was to dry them... hmm...

We took advice for canning the beans from neighbours in the country and we sterilise the jars, fill with cut raw beans, put a little salt in, and boil. Getting the timing right isn't easy though. We stupidly didn't note down how long we did them last year, and neighbours said 3 hours but theirs were pure slop, so we've gone for 1H once at 100°C. Time will tell! We did this for runners too.

My OH doesn't like broccoli so I can't grow that! Are they ready exceptionally early?

 

[Poppy03]

The drying them part should stop ice crystals forming and getting freezer burn and sticking all together in lumps. You can dry them and then put them on trays in the freezer and then pack them into bags (I do that with red currants and gooseberries). All you do is put them on a tea towel and pat them dry, nothing too major.

Never been a fan of canned veggies, except corn, do they keep their texture? Can you taste the salt on them or do you rinse them before using? Just been to the allotment and I can see my tomotoes have blight! So angry as we covered them as well and blight forecast people say we have not had the right blight conditions yet. Well my tomatoes think differently.

I have never been able to grow decent brocolli so can't say whether they are early or not, just that I finally managed to get a decent head on one

 

[Maintainer]

I'll definitely have another go at freezing some this weekend using your method, as we really do have a glut (and OH says no more canning of French beans, preferring the runners).

I do rinse beans before using, and they need just a quick heat up (I either steam or microwave briefly). They're not al dente, that's for sure, but they weren't slop either as industrially produced tins are (here's hoping 1H is ok for the timing though!)

Oh no re tomatoes... this morning, my little tomato thief visitors leave to return to the UK so I'm hoping I'll be able to eat some of my own tomatoes this weekend!

Enjoy your broccoli!

 

[Poppy03]

Its good that your little visitors like vegetables I guess. I am 50/50 on runners or French beans. I like French beans in the beginning but think they can quickly turn bland later in the season. Whereas Runners are slow to get going but taste good once the runners are not so. I was determined to freeze a whole bunch of the early French beans so I could keep the taste. We grow purple ones too and they are prolific and I think taste better. Turn green on boiling or steaming.

My sweetcorn is just a week or so away from being ready, I am drooling at the thought of it. Little one been eating the baby corn as it comes ready but I only plant it for her to have a snack on the allotment to be honest. Our Damson plum tree to totally ladened with fruit, I am surprised it hasn't fallen over. I am looking forward to doing things with those and perhaps freezing some too. I made a lot of the fruit into compotes and froze them in the baby food cubes. Just the right size to add to plain yoghurt or icecream. Rhubarb, ginger and honey was one and a favourite with the family. Trying to keep our diet healthy and pesticide/spray free and as seasonal as I can.

 

[Red Heart]

Sorry to shamelessly bump an old thread, but I finally got an allotment! Well it's a half plot. I'm a complete novice so any tips would be very welcome!
Thanks.