What are you growing right now?

[Weedo]

About to close up for a few months - the weather is still very hot (high 30's to low 40's) no rain and nothing forcast for the next month at least. What rainwater we have left is designated for drinking only, everything else is running on river water. No pastures so all animals are being had fed

I will back off for a while as I doubt any autumn plantings will survive if put in now and work on some infrastructure.

Last beans, onions, capsicums and tomatoes have been picked and are in storage. I have thought about planting some grapes this year so bought a few bunches of different varieties to try drying. Very sophisticated set up; I hung them up on wire coat hangers on an old curtain rail across the corner of a glassed in verandah and walked away. It worked!!!!

[ina]

Drying - at least, air drying - is one thing you wouldn't want to try in this country... Too humid. I remember when, in my childhood, our ancient pear tree had a bumper crop and for weeks our attic was hung with quartered pears, on strings like a pearl necklace. The best dried pears I've ever had! Different country, though.

I've looked out and cleaned my windowsill propagator (heated) as a first step for the season. Got to start somewhere.

[Green Aura]

Air drying? I can barely get my washing dry at this time of year.

Today, thus far, has been about washing (as, in truth is most days), making bone broth and greek yoghurt, and cooking a batch of black peas (aka gungo, pigeon and carlin peas) for portioning and freezing - curry goat later this week, methinks.

This afternoon might be reserved for making sauerkraut, or I might continue knitting OH's jumper which was on hold for a few weeks while I couldn't be bothered!

[Flo]

I'm growing impatient at the moment but it's too early for much up here except aubergines and peppers for the greenhouse on a warm window sill.

[ina]

Just looked out my seeds - and despite the fact I have masses from previous years (french beans anyone?), I still need at least three more... Purple sprouting broccoli, corn salad, and broad beans. Lidl and Aldi don't do these. Anybody recommend a good online source? I can't really get to garden centres these days. Although I am getting a bit stronger (thank goodness), garden centres are always, always miles from the nearest bus stop.

[Green Aura]

Tomatoes and chillies. Oh and apparently that squash is trying hard - no insects to pollinate it though.

[Weedo]

Air drying - not a problem this year. January temperatures min 24c - max 45c, average RH 25% (lowest 7%), rainfall 38mm (1.5 inch):

[Odsox]

no insects to pollinate it though.

Pollinate by hand.
As I grow courgettes and squash in the tunnels, and I have mesh barriers on the doors, if I didn't pollinate by hand I wouldn't get any fruit at all.
The barriers are to keep butterflies and moths out, not bees.

[Green Aura]

I know but I think it's too early for the plant to survive until proper squash growing season and not sufficient light up here to produce any decent fruits(?). We nurtured this seedling that grew all by itself inside a squash and it has lived on our living room windowsill since about October. I don't want to kill it now. It'll probably outlive me it's so well cared for!

[Odsox]

Things that I'm growing right now and harvesting.
I still have several parsnips and quite a few leeks still, plus my sprout plants are still there for harvesting "sprout tops" and then spring greens, plus a row of turnip greens (grown specifically for greens)
We've eaten nearly all the overwintering cauliflowers, but there's still one to go. I started cutting PSB last week, so that will keep us going for a couple of months, as will about 15 January King and Savoy King cabbages.
Also last week we started digging new potatoes, not many plants but enough for Sunday dinners for a few weeks until the next lot are ready about mid April.

Things I'm growing but not harvesting.
I have about a dozen Broad beans flowering like mad and a row of peas that I sowed back in the autumn, but it was old seed and TWO grew. As they are also flowering like mad and I don't need the space I'm leaving them, so might get a few pods for a stir fry. To replace them I started 80 new seed Douce Provence peas in modules which were planted out last week and are now growing away strongly.
Autumn planted onions, shallots and garlic are also growing strongly and I planted 500g of spring (Sturon) sets last weekend.
There is a short row of spring onions and 3 rows of early carrots that are just showing through, which I'm pleased about as the carrot was fairly old seed.
All 23 tomato seedlings are potted up and out of the propagator and 2 peppers (I was both clever and hard hearted this year as I only started off the exact amount of tomatoes that I have space for, so no jobbing in spare plants in strange places rather than composting them this year)
I have 6 Silver Fir Tree tomato plants growing away on my windowsill, just showing signs of a first truss and in the conservatory there are 2 troughs of strawberry plants, with 2 more troughs still outside to bring in next month.
I've also woken up the strawberries in the hydroponic pipe, they've been dry all winter but now the pump is running once a week for 6 minutes, soon to be increased to 3 times a day.

That's about it I think, I do have some Aubergine seeds chitting, but other than than I'm impatiently waiting for signs that spring really IS here to stay ... which I doubt.

[ina]

Reading all this I could get envious - but that's not a very positive emotion so I'll give it a miss!

However, I realise I do have a few things growing, unexpectedly, and unplanned.

3 brassica plants were left in their modules and survived the winter. I've done that before - forgot to plant them, or there wasn't enough space - so I planted them out now. Of course the labels got lost, and I have no idea what they are. I also have 2 perpetual spinach plants, still on the windowsill, so might try and harden them off now before planting out. And I saw that last year's onions - kind of spring onions that form bulbs - are looking great and ready to pick! So even if you think there's nothing, due to me not being able to do much last year, and anyway not being too well organised with overwintering stuff, there is something. Also hairy bittercress, which I might add to some salads - it's getting warm enough to eat salad for lunch again now. I think I saw a bit of parsley somewhere, too.

I found some tomato seeds in my box which somebody gave me some time ago. Never heard of that variety before, but it sounds as if it should do quite well here: Sub Arctic Plenty. Anybody had any experience with that?

[Odsox]

Sub Arctic Plenty. Anybody had any experience with that?

Yes I've grown them a few times
I take notes of all the tomatoes I've ever grown and my notes for S.A.Plenty are; "Later than Stupice, ripe fruit in 147 days, nice size, reasonable taste but less acid"
That 147 days is from sowing to 1st ripe fruit under cover.
Not the earliest to ripen but easy to grow and doesn't mind cooler conditions.

[ina]

Sounds good - thank you! I don't have a greenhouse/polytunnel, so I have to improvise shelter. But I don't eat a lot of tomatoes anyway, so one or two plants should find a place somewhere.

[Green Aura]

Yes, we've got some SA Plenty seedlings.

OH has just told me we've got lettuce growing under and upturned plastic crate in the garden!

[Weedo]

On the basis of recent rains and falling temperatures I have re-activated the veg patch. Pulled out the tomatoes, zuchini and regenerated garlic left over; lifted the rhubarb and broke the clump up for new plants. So far cabbage, cauli, broccoli and brown onions planted. I will redesign the berry patch (blackberry and raspberry) and shift those around into slightly shadier spots when it cools off further.
Everything is, and will remain, under wire mesh cages (recycled silo mesh) to keep the lullaboos at bay. Sorry all but the first ever pair of blackbirds has shown up here, they have a very limited life expectancy.