Wallflower update

Some of the wallflowers sown on 8th June.

Primrose update

The primroses in the square, black pots are the ones I sowed on 28 April.  The ones in the round pots are from the sowing on 23 March.  Actually, I think what I have always referred to as primroses are actually polyanthus.

A capsicum can also be seen at top right.

Lettuce update

Rather a bad photo, but the lettuce has been growing well, after taking what seemed a long time to germinate.  I had to cover it with netting to keep the sparrows off it.

Green manure update

Some of the green manure seed I sowed in the old strawberry bed 7 days ago is sprouting.

Courgette update

The courgette plant is still doing ok.  I lost a couple of courgettes as something ate them, but there are a few forming now, which I hope to harvest before the end of the growing season.

More green manure sown

Yesterday I sowed some more green manure seed, this time in the bed where the tomatoes were growing.

Green manure

I sowed some green manure seed in the old strawberry bed today.  I tried growing gm last year but it didn't come up, possibly because I didn't net it off from the birds sufficiently, or I planted it too late (October).  Let's hope this sowing is more successful.

Houttuynia Cordata Chameleon

I saw this plant in the garden centre and thought it was really attractive so I bought it. It says on the label that it's good for ground cover, but having thought about it now, I don't think there's anywhere suitable for it in the garden, particularly as the label says it is vigorous. I think that's code for 'if you plant this in your garden you'll never get rid of it'. The roots protruding from the bottom of the pot certainly look sinister. I think I'll split it and grow it in pots on the patio rather than let it loose in the garden, which I'm sure I would come to regret.

Capsicum update

I took this pepper off the plant as it was going black. Searching on the internet reveals different advice about this, with some people saying the pepper goes black before it goes red. Hmm, not sure about that. The pepper above is about one third of the size of those you buy in the supermarket. There are still some peppers on the plants so I'll just leave them and see what happens.

Tomatoes pulled up

I was reluctant to pull out the tomato plants, as I'd been so looking forward to a good harvest. I found that the Gardener's Delight tomatoes were least susceptible to going bad if I picked them as soon as they showed the first sign of ripening, then allowed them to fully ripen indoors. The Marmande were badly affected and virtually all the fruit had to be thrown away, the same with Moneymaker.

But today I pulled all the plants up, after saving all the unmarked green tomatoes. I didn't put any tomato plants or fruit in the compost.

Spring onion update

The spring onions I sowed on 12 July didn't come up. I suspect that they were eaten by birds, as I didn't put netting over the seeds.