Looking through the forum there's not a lot of posts so what's keeping folk busy  are you out in the garden or at the allotment or getting ready to do some actual shopping surely there's a question to be asked or a bit of gossip to be passed on and yes after posting this I will ask a question

I have had bitter cucumber- the white variety in the greenhouse.....but bitter courgettes?

I've got 5 plants. I started just 4 off and someone asked if I had any spare, I'm not keen on them so gave 2 away. Started off another few plants. 
So I have two varieties- and I'm not sure what they are!!

Two are huge plants - maybe 4 foot long! All male flowers.
The other 3 are more compact and one has 3 courgettes on. They are dark green. I thought I would have for lunch but I accidentally picked one and took a chunk! OMG! YUK - it is disgusting. I had to come to the house and brush my teeth. I'm not even sure I want to try it again.

This has never happened to me before?

So I pulled some autumn planted garlic a couple of weeks ago and popped them in to the log store as a temporary measure to start drying as i was in a rush and thought I'd go back and move them to my usual place in the garage when i had a minute. Suffice to say I forgot. Anyway, I've just got to them and the majority are fine but something has been at some, see the picture. 
Any idea which of our little friends would eat garlic bulbs?

   

I used to dream that my garden would be full of fruit trees and bushes producing a never ending supply of delicious and exotic fruits.
Dreams don't always come true, however!

Some of the trees I've planted have not lived up to my dream and, reluctantly, I'm giving them the chop!

Its Goodbye to most of the peaches and nectarines. Two  "Avalon Pride" peaches have had a stay of execution as it seems less prone to peach leaf curl than the others.

Most of the cherry trees have also gone. I've kept 3 small ones that I should be able to net and a large one that looks great in flower and autumn colour but is always stripped of its fruit by birds.
The apricots are on probation - they haven't fruited at all yet. Neither has the persimmon and mulberry but they'll be kept for novelty value.

The Quince has its first fruit forming this year and the medlar fruited last year but I didn't eat any. Again, they'll be kept as novelties!

I'm also pulling up the yellow raspberries (they taste of sugar water - not raspberries) and the Japanese wineberries and Worcesterberries have been demoted to the edible hedge.

Is there any fruit you've planted that you wouldn't grow again?

   

If you found this in your GH or garden, how would you react?

What is it?
PS I know

Ok, so I'm having a mare, I've been attempting to make sourdough for about 6 weeks now, and on every occasion something goes wrong.

I've made it too dry, too tight, too heavy, too wet to manage, forgotten salt, broken the surface tension, not left it rise enough, forgotten to fold to create gluten structure and it's starting to drive me a bit dippy. I've watched just about every video possible, and read a lot of books including PH's Bread. I keep doing something wrong, often its something really small, today, I broke the surface tension on one ball because I forgot to flip the ball oven on the bench and ended up folding the base onto the top instead of the other way around. 

My two boule's are sat waiting for me to bake, they should be ready to go in the oven around 12. I'm not sure who else makes sourdough here but, this is, without doubt, the hardest learning curve of my life, there are so many permutations that could go wrong, and you can't follow a recipe as the weather and temperature makes the process different for every bake. 

I have my own starter, which is like looking after a baby, the OH thinks it's time for me to give up but, when you taste commercial sourdough you realise that the real thing even with the above mistakes is far superior to anything you can buy from a supermarket.

I'm not really sure what I'm after, I'm probably just venting as this is driving me up the wall. I think it's made all the worse because unlike making a standard loaf which I can do with ease, the process is an investment of 2-3 days work, and for it to fail in the final step before baking, is really frustrating. 

Yes I know I'm very critical of myself, I want one of those sourdoughs which are high round balls, with, a perfect dark brown hard crust, with a beautifully pocket holed centre. Everything else is second best, oh to get there just once.... 

I have some potatoes growing in the poly tunnel and during the week noticed a lot of greenfly on the flowers. I sprayed them with Bug Off,  but they keep coming back. I’ve never experienced green fly on potatoes before, has anyone else ?, any comments or suggestions please.

Anyone grown it?

I was listening to a Rick Stein cooking programme while making a birthday present   and he was on a trip in Mexico. I love tomatoes, fish and herbs - and the herb he used was epizote.
Epizote is a herb similar to thyme? Or so he said. I would be interested to try this. Apparently it grows like a weed in Mexico!

Hello Folks
 
Any thoughts / advice on the little fella in the middle. All plants purchased and potted on same day same compost??

   

Sorry mods wasn't sure where to post, doh!

Whilst OH in bed yesterday afternoon I watched this weeks Alan Titchmarsh prog about growing at home. 
Normally, it’s background noise while I read but.........

One of the presenters who has a smaller garden than mine (so iris possible) said about a window box to grow scrap veg in.  

Eyes glazing over, brain cell kicking it’s stroppy neuron into action and trunk quivering I watched enthralled. 

The lady presenter used leek, spring onion, celery and fennel root ends. 

Put into glasses and left to root. She did say as she planted them into her window box she didn’t know what would happen once in compost. 

This is my experiment.

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)