Proud Gardeners announce their new arrivals

[Michael Palaeologus]

My toms are looking lovely and the runner beans have gone mad, flowers and growth everywhere. The late planted broad beans are doing well and the very late planted french climbing beans have just appeared. The courgettes and mini-squashes are a disappointment, only 2 have appeared.

Not bad for small, first floor balcony.

How are we all doing?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Four superb strawberries - the rest have been eaten by aliens or stray cactii.

Peas (planted rather lately) about six inches high.

Brussels about three inches high.

One tomato plant hanging on, one got by slugs.

No sign of rocket.

Dandelions flourishing (not intentional).

[Guest]

Found some raspberries but think they got in from next door. Delicious.

[Huguenot]

Peas go mental don't they?

[Michael Palaeologus]

"Peas go mental don't they?" - What kind of Huguenot post is that? In the old days this would have been a 1500 word thesis on the pea genus and its fecundity with photos, diagrams and supporting statistics.

Are you feeling pea-ky?

[zephyr]

havested potatoes from the allotment for the last couple of weeks. Tomtoes are not doing well. Beans rae growing well along with the courgettes.

Brussels have been got at but should be OK and hopefully will be taking some onions up soon. Only had the allotment since October so not too bad.

[muffintop]

I have a fig tree and pear tree, the latter not being ready until around september/October but growing nicely due to all the rain we have currently been having!(lovely conference pears, but they very much take care of themselves so unfortunately I can't really take the credit for fruition of the same!

[will dex]

Strawberries have come (orig from dulwich GC) and if rated at 100% tasteness then supermarket ones are 2%

are there any allotments round here?

[will dex]

Thanks all, ive found some contacts now

*runs off with spade aloft*

[Huguenot]

Last year we used Slug pellets. Sweet Bumbalina thought we were feeding them so they wouldn't be hungry enough to eat the plants.

You should have seen her face when she walked out the kitchen door to slug armageddon the next morning. Corpses everywhere and one tearful little minx wracked with guilt at the genocide she'd perpetrated.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Bless! What are the slugs etc like in Singers? Huge and voracious buggers probably.

Another French bean has popped up and 2 more courgettes - I buried the latter too deeply and had to go excavating to bring them nearer to the surface.

I am becoming my Dad.

Should we think about a cooperative EDF allotment? or does somebody have an unused back garden that they would be willing to share?

[Pickle]

Our pear and apple trees are both flourishing this year - last year we didn't get any apples and only 1 pear (which looked lovely, but when the momentous day came to pick it it transpired some kind of beast had burrowed it's way into the reverse side, so it was basically a hollow shell!).

Also have raspberries waging war on the bottom of my garden, no idea where they've come from, but lovely all the same.

However my attempt to grow chives in a pot (from seeds) failed miserably... how can that be?!?!

[jumpinjackflash]

Big orange roses that are growing out of control!

[Michael Palaeologus]

Pickle - did you take a photo of your pear?

[PeckhamRose]

I have a third floor flat on a hill, balconies front and back. The back balcony faces Peckham Rye Park and gets sun in the afternoon and the front door balcony faces the views of London and gets its sun till about 11.00 when the sun then swings round to the back balcony.

Large flower troughs and pots line both balconies and everything is going crazy. The two new honeysuckle plants bought only a month ago are now knocking on the doors upstairs having grown over the top of the balcony and the wisteria similarly is growing up the walls over the roof above the top/4th floor and back down to join its mates on the back balcony.

Didn't plant toms this year but the sunflower's doing well. But I may need to split the papyrus plant soon and will offer people here a split of it. The cat uses the leaves at the end as dental floss.

Edited to add: and yes I have a rose bush! But it's a miniature one and I've never been that successful with roses.

[Brendan]

The lupins and the fox gloves are on their way out but are being replaced by the yellow lilies that I didn?t plant but always come up this time of year (the name of which I don?t know) and the yellow rose bush is bristling with buds about to bloom. One of the thistles has grown unnaturally tall this year and fallen over onto the path where the postman trod on it this morning. (6)

The strawberries which gave me some nice fruit about a month ago have stopped but the chilli and pepper plants are blossoming so fingers crossed they will produce something.

Potatoes out back are about ready for digging up and I have managed to cure the fuchsia of last year?s black spot.

The lawn is in dire need of a mow however. Anyone got a sheep that needs some grazing?

[Pickle]

Michael - alas no... wish I had though as it was an absolute classic! Oh the plans we had for that pear...

[Michael Palaeologus]

I feel your pain.

I am going to take a photo of the first runner bean that appears - it will be my first home grown bean.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Brendan, you have to be a freeman of London to let sheep loose around here. Honestly, those incomers lack form.

[Brendan]

Surely that?s only in a park. Not in my garden.

If someone has a sheep I will ordain them a freeman of Brendan?s gaff which grants them grazing rights on my back lawn.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

The only other way is to become ordained and set up your own parish. You then have carte blanche among the tombstones.

[KalamityKel]

I'm popping round to me sister's this evening to inspect her toms, onions and herbs... so far she has 21 ripening toms with many other plants flowering positively. Have not had the opportunity to checks these out for myself sho shall report back in due course :)

[PeckhamRose]

I'm enjoying this thread! Does any of us keep bees?

Can they be trained to harrass squirrels who climb up 3 flights and massacre my troughs?

My cat is too scared... embarrassing truly.

[Ingenuity]

Hmmm... garden update...

Tomatoes, green and abundant...

Chili's flowered and starting to fruit

Peppers....P***poor so far

Mixed lettuce, cut once and coming again

Rocket...looks like tiny ickle weeds!

Radishes...nearly there for first pick

Spring onions, signs of life but away off yet

Herbs all going mental 2nd year round

Other than that, lillies (fed up picking off sh**ging lilly beetles!)are close to coming into flower, about a week i reckon. Honeysuckle blooming, clematis finished first bloom, zantedecshia leaves getting abit on the big side, summer jasmine flowering.... erm think thats about it for now.

[Michael Palaeologus]

I have just got back from Ikea with 3 more big pots. Hope the lady with the garden sale on Sunday has got some interesting stuff.

Otherwse where can I get some veg seedlings? The ones in ED Garden Centre looked a bit minging last time I looked.