Edible Gardening

Back again Just been trying the Chilli jelly and Garlic jam out on the members of the local gardening club. Yes, Pete, the mix is boiled and therein lies my dispute with the sainted Nigella! She says boil for 10 minutes, the jam sugar instructions say 5 minutes for high-pectin fruits or 7...

Hmm, these bits don't quite add upReminded me of when my mate walked into my shed and asked me what I was making, I replied "Antique."

Don't get too hung up on the branches being in sunlight as much as possible. I have a apple (Spartan) tree in the front garden which is mostly shade and always get a good crop

thanks dave & loofah, haven't decided yet. regards nijinski

Jenny and I are already vice -presidents of Shineys grumpy club..

If it's plum fruit moths they fly up into the tree and lay their eggs on the plums (by-passing grease bands) And the best time to spray when you start catching moths in traps which will be the time of year when the fruits have formed. So is it codling or plum moth? Plum moth Codling...

I've never had a problem with them not surviving....i've even had them frozen solid in the ground but were fine.....

I could be wrong, I assumed it was as my greenhouse had regular visits but it could have been a moth I suppose. I haven't used any pesticides this year, hoping nature's balance will control the levels of each nibbly creature but my peppers, toms and rhubarb have all been hammered :-(

These are my aforementioned squash I planted them out early may were they sulked for what seemed like ages but plenty of bfb and nettle tea followed by plenty of tomorite they produced hundreds of flowers followed by plenty of fruit which all but 1 or 2 are now fully ripened

thank you Zigs i wouldn't be brave enough to strip the whole plant like that but i'll sure thin them out...tops, leaves & flowers beware! im off out to get snipping!thanks again

Thank you. Do I just buy some seeds and plant as per instructions?

It would be OK if you trained it upwards on a (very tall) pillar.

I'm waiting for blight now its turned damper. Up to now though things have been good for toms after a slow start.

Cheers Clueless. I will make sure I look into it when buying.

I just didn't have any blossom. Plenty of bees though. Maybe our gardens should get together lol

Congratulations! Aubergines can be fussy but have certainly enjoyed this hot(ish) summer. Ours have also avoided being covered in red spider mite which have caused us problems in previous years. Don't know why, we haven't taken any special precautions.The round stripy ones are outside...

The devil can though.

I've got that (try and find one I haven't got) and her 'Vegetables From Small Gardens' (both from charity shops), but there's more detail in 'Grow Your Own Vegetables'. No colour pics, just packed with loads of information.

Well, I don’t know the variety – I got the seed at a Seed-Swap – just in a plain envelope marked ‘Mixed Squash Seed’ – they were probably ‘saved’ seed and as the cucurbits are notoriously promiscuous it could have a very mixed ancestry. I’ll keep the squash and try its seed next year and see...

That's how it is round here, you have to get to know the very early bramble patches and work your way to the late ones, finishing with those that produce to end of October, giving three months of pickings. Will sort out my wine recipe.