ED Gardening thread

[Sue]

I bought a small strawberry pot complete with strawberry plants in flower/starting to fruit in Homebase reduced to about six pounds recently - I assumed they probably wouldn't do anything so late in the year and I've got no idea what variety the strawberries are, but you've given me hope they might actually ripen before the Winter!

I tried one of my hanging basket tomatoes (Micro - I thought it was intended for hanging baskets and had very small fruits, but have now discovered I confused it with another variety and it's just a very small plant!) and despite being very red it didn't taste of much, which was rather disappointing - not sure when to pick tomatoes, do you have to wait till they come easily off the stem?

[The Minkey]

Hi Sue - you pick tomatoes as soon as they look good to eat. If you waited until they come easily off the stem, they may well be too soft. If you pick them a day or two early when they are still orange they soon ripen up anyway. What a shame your tomato variety isn't particularly tasty :-( I made that mistake one year, growing Alicante (I think), and although the tomatoes looked good, they tasted shop bought which totally defeated the purpose of having grown one's own.

[Sue]

Thanks Minkey, I'll go and pick them now!!

[LadyDeliah]

My tomatoes are totally green still!

I have had loads of really sweet nectarines off my nectarine tree and my apples are really good. They are both about 5 years old now and this is the first year they have produced much fruit.

I have two trellised grapvines with loads of grapes on this year too. One is a strawberry grape called Fragoli and the other is a red, which I can't remember the name of. They are about 4 years old too and although they had some grapes last year for the first time, this year there are loads. They are still green too, so I think they won't be ready until the end of September.

My brother just bought me an olive tree, which will probably take up the remaining space in my garden when it grows, but I am hoping I eventually get some olives from it.

I love the idea of permacuture, where you plant perennials so that you get food every year without any digging! I have tried to layer my plants into the tree layer, shrub layer and for ground cover strawberries and some wild flowers for bees etc.

I need to step it up on my veg patch though. It's looking a bit sparse!

[Sue]

You are so lucky having the space to grow all that, LadyDeliah!

I'm extremely jealous!

[LadyDeliah]

Not much space, the trees are still small. But I am lucky, yes. I was in a flat for years before moving here and my balcony was like a jungle! lol

Ok here are some pics:

Fragoli grapevine:

Other grapevine:

And my apple tree:

[elloriac]

Hi LadyDeliah, where did you get your cobnut bushes that are in the photos? All I can seem to find are trees - we don't have space for that, but a bush or two would be great.

Your garden looks fab - you've packed a lot in :-)

[Sue]

Great grapes!!

[LadyDeliah]

I got a few of my bushes from an online nursery but can't remember which one.

If you search Google you should be able to find them.

The ones I've got are Kent cob and another one whose name I've forgotten! I'm going to try to make it into a nut hedge so that it doesn't get too tall. I have been working on a fruit hedge on the other side of the garden and under my trees at the back.

I'll search through my old emails to see if I can find out more info.

[LadyDeliah]

Can't believe I found my old order email:

Apple Cox (Self Fertile) M26 1 Year Maiden

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 14.50

Plum Early Transparent Gage Pixy 1 Year Maiden

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 17.00

Cobnut Cosford 2 Year Bare Root

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 8.00

Cobnut Kentish Cob 2 Year Bare Root

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 8.00

Blackcurrant Ben Sarek Bare Root

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 4.00

Gooseberry Invicta Bare Root

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 5.00

Redcurrant Red Lake Bare Root

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 3.75

Rhubarb Timperley Early Bare Root

Quantity: 1

Price: GBP 2.50

from http://www.keepers-nursery.co.uk/

All but the rhubarb have done really well.

The other one I used was:

GRP-STW/G: STRAWBERRY GRAPE (Vine Age-1st year 1 8.45

vine)

HYB-T/TAY: THORNLESS TAYBERRY 1 9.25

BLU-SUN/B: BLUEBERRY - SUNSHINE BLUE 1 13.95

from http://www.deaconsnurseryfruits.co.uk/

All planted in 2008 and doing really well now.

[elloriac]

Thanks :-)

[LadyDeliah]

No probs. Hope the links are useful.

[Fly]

Our tomatoes have blight and all the ones that don't are green

[Frankito]

I got three olive trees(5ft) fromColumbia Rd market a wee while back and I just discovered they each have some little olives growing. Does anyone know when these should be picked?

Also I planted out a fig tree tge year before last and not a sausage, I mean a fig, yet. Will it ever bear fruit? There is a great one which hangs over Scutari Rd (around Mundania) and it drips with figs. Jell...!

[The Minkey]

If you're lucky enough for the olives to grow large enough to be worth the effort of pickling, they can be picked from Oct - Dec, apparantly. Exactly when depends on whether you want them green or black.

[Sue]

Frankito Wrote:

>

> Also I planted out a fig tree tge year before last

> and not a sausage, I mean a fig, yet. Will it ever

> bear fruit? There is a great one which hangs over

> Scutari Rd (around Mundania) and it drips with

> figs. Jell...!

xxxxxxx

I've got a fig planted in quite a small pot which has a few figs each year, but I hate figs - I just like the leaves!

You probably have to give it time and sun, also I have read that they like their roots restricted, hence the pot (although that was taking things to extremes ....)

[red devil]

http://www.gapphotos.com/images/WebPreview/0192/0192461.jpg

[Sue]

No offence intended, and I realise your post is intended to be useful, but this thread was supposed to be about our own ED gardens, not about general garden maintenance issues and plugs for specific garden centres.

Hope that doesn't sound rude.

ETA: Sorry, my post makes no sense now as the original post has been removed .....

[val162]

Hello!

Next time you have some spare seeds, could you pot them up and donate them to the Peckham Rye Fete plant stall maybe. That would be fantastic.

[Sue]

Monica and the East Dulwich Community Garden are also after seeds and plants which could loosely be described as medicinal, for the new Physic Garden at Dulwich Hospital :)

[womanofdulwich]

is it time to prune fruit trees?

especially figs- lots of small fruits that will not ripen- not sure, but feel i need to cut back soon. but where to? advice welcome, thanks

[maria]

Re pruning figs. If an established tree you should prune in June time. At the moment just remove any small unformed fruit. Then tidy up again in spring.

[ham12343]

I have a spare Garlic bulb: 'Wight Cristo' (Autumn Planting) if anyone has something they want to swap for it? I bought two but only have room to plant one.

[Herne Hill Guest]

Sue just found this thread. I'd love to visit Beth Chatto's garden if you are planning it. Or some of the winter gardens more suitable at the mo.

[Sue]

Herne Hill Guest Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue just found this thread. I'd love to visit

> Beth Chatto's garden if you are planning it. Or

> some of the winter gardens more suitable at the

> mo.

xxxxxx

Got no immediate plans as am up to my eyes at the moment with things like sorting my house out, but hopefully by next Spring/Summer I can get something together for interested people. Beth Chatto's garden is quite a long drive but definitely worth it :) and they have interesting plants for sale, as well.