Good and bad and curious

Today's harvest, white turnips, carrots, 3 tomatoes and the tiny potatoes are from our main crop of Kerr's Pinks pops. I know they should not be lifted until September but these are the ones that were sprayed for blight and as a last resort the stalks were cut down to prevent the blight from travelling down to the tubers. I could not wait until Sept, my curiosity got the better of me so I dug out one just to see if they were OK and they are! Thank you Bluestone and of course Zwena for the advice!

Teasel heads, beautiful but prickly!






I wondered what these enormous plants were, they are in an overgrown patch at the side of the communal greenhouse. I found out they are Teasels. The heads were dried and used to lift the pile on fabric and were used in the textile industry long ago,or dried and used by florists and are often seen in dried flower arrangements at Christmas sprayed silver!







This gives some idea of the damage done to the gooseberry bushes. The leaves have been stripped bare and these remaining few are curled and brown. I opened one curled leaf and a small green pest fell out, it was like a miniature caterpillar! I have been told they are actually sawfly which can decimate a bush in one weekend!They have now been dug out and consigned to the dump as I noticed some holes in the leaves of the blackcurrant bush next to it. I think we planted the fruit bushes too close together, very easy to do when they are small! When digging out the bushes I was surprised at the length of some of the roots after only 2 years. I also dug out the remaining strawberry plants so the bed is now clear apart from the raspberry canes and blueberry bushes.
We will give the whole bed a good mulch of horse manure for the winter and move these remaining bushes to give them more space next year. Great Plans!
Some, actually most of our tomato crop in the greenhouse, these are a good size and just starting to turn red. There is a smaller tomato to the side and we have already had a few from that.















The afternoon turned out sunny and warm if a bit windy so Ed and myself took ourselves down to B&Q to get some treated timber to make a frame for the asparagus bed. It is going to be a permanent bed for the next few years so I think it needs some protection. Daughter Linda and her two boys brought back the first consignment of seaweed from the beach, it is a winter mulch for the asparagus. This is Ed using the very technical method of measuring by pacing the length!

Comments

Unknown said…
Hi Peggy

Thanks for stopping by. Your crop looks fantastic. I am envious of your tomatoes - mine are are critical touch and go stage with the blight, like a serious medical condition!
Have a lovely week.
X
Peggy,

I really enjoy your blog! It's very interesting and very relaxing to read. I'm fortunate to have found you. :) Your veggies look amazing.. I can almost smell the earth from here in Canada. :) My ancestors came from Ireland and I'm terribly proud of my heritage! I'm adding you to my favorite blogs list. :) Peace!
fiftyodd said…
We had lots of teasels around where I grew up in Chelmsford, Essex. Sorry about your gooseberries!
Anonymous said…
Hi Peggy. Everything is looking great there!
My husband measures things just like Ed.
I am really impressed with the carrots because I haven't been able to grow one that big yet. I will keep trying if the weather will cooperate.
That is interesting about the Teasels.
My asparagus bed is doing well too and next year will be the 3rd year on it but I don't have seaweed for it though. I use the pine straw for mulch on it.
Have a great day!
Peggy said…
Hi, Thanks for stopping by and leaving encouraging comments!
Peggy

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