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cedarblue
Aug 13th, 2006, 04:23 PM
you shouldn't harvest in their first year.


*sighs & makes a note on next years calendar to enjoy around my birthday time :( )

paulvegan
Aug 13th, 2006, 04:25 PM
ive seen them 6/7 feet.:eek:

how tall are you.?:eek::D

veganbikerboy
Aug 13th, 2006, 04:25 PM
i had an accident with mine this year, forgot they were there, thought they were weeds and strimmed them in about june:o so rather than being head height they are only 2-3ft tall.

not sure whether i should harvest them or not, it is only their second year and i've disrupted that a bit:o

might dig up some and see what they're like

cedarblue
Aug 13th, 2006, 04:26 PM
5'5"

veganblue
Aug 14th, 2006, 01:58 AM
I just harvested my Jerusalem artichokes and planted some more. It's rather hard to get all of them out of then ground so wherever you plant them, it's likely that they will always keep coming up.

I eat them raw in salads, roast them or use them in stirfry, bakes, etc - anywhere you would use a root vegetable.

When fresh they are as crisp and crunchy as water chestnuts.
From left to right is artichokes, blue potatoes and white potatoes.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/Tubers2.jpg

veganblue
Aug 14th, 2006, 03:01 PM
I put the thermometer into the compost heap today and it was 45°C / 113°F!!!
:D:D:D It's barely reaching 20°C / 68°F for the daily temperature here so I am confident it is cooking up some wonderful humus very quickly.

my3labs
Aug 15th, 2006, 12:01 AM
Are they to be eaten fresh or for dry storage? There is a good range of opinions here (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg0711584829087.html?7) Which hopefully will help.

The bit about harvesting them when leathery is good because it contributes to getting the bean plant to keep fruiting.

I only had enough to keep for sowing again this year! I will try picking more this time. :)
I'm thinking dry storage. That link helped a lot.
Your compost bin looks great!

cedarblue
Aug 26th, 2006, 04:07 PM
my compost is looking a bit slimy and lots of teeny flies come bursting out when i open the lid:eek: . it doesn't smell though and there are plenty of composty worms in there, perhaps i need to add some shredded waste paper or something to bulk it out. any ideas??

veganblue
Aug 28th, 2006, 12:16 AM
my compost is looking a bit slimy and lots of teeny flies come bursting out when i open the lid:eek: . it doesn't smell though and there are plenty of composty worms in there, perhaps i need to add some shredded waste paper or something to bulk it out. any ideas??

The teeny flies are probably vinegar flies - while you can't smell it now - it will probably get a stronger sour vinegar smell that is attracting the flies.

What is happening is the compost has shifted from aerobic decomposition to anareobic decomposition - it has run out of oxygen.

If you have an enclosed bin, there is less chance for it to get air so you can add lime - which is what a lot of people do. Compost is acid anyhow - which is great for the soil if you have a clay / limestone alkaline soil. Too much is not so great though.

Remedies:

Turn your compost: Aerate the whole pile by lifting off your bin and refilling it by forking the old compost into the bin again. This will get all the tiny microorganisms going again with a fresh lot of oxygen and you will break it up a bit and the whole lot will go faster.

If that's too much trouble: Drive a long stake into the heap and wriggle it before pulling it out again - this will make aeration chimneys and the air can get down into the heap.

No good? Then a sprinkle of lime is required and that will help - but the other techniques are more effective - and worth the effort.

If it's really really sour - a little lime while turning it can help.

I hope that that is some assistance. :) I will show how much mine has dropped in the last few weeks when I get home. The mountain is now a molehill!

cedarblue
Sep 5th, 2006, 01:41 PM
thanks!

PygmyGoat
Sep 5th, 2006, 03:55 PM
I have a Tomato problem. The Tomatoes in my (unheated) plastic greenhouse are either small and perfect (tiny! :D ) or large but with big black circular areas on the underside :mad: . Are they staying too damp do you think?.

veganblue
Sep 6th, 2006, 12:31 AM
Sounds like humidity, Pygmy goat - but I come from a dry place and it's not something that we have a great deal of trouble with. Have a look at Question 14. (http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/vegetables/tomato.html)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/Froggy.jpg
I was picking Silverbeet in the garden last night in the dark and the rain (yay rain!) and something moved in a very unvegetable way.... That's him above. He's so fat! No wonder I haven't a lot of troubles with bugs in the vegie patch! :)

veganblue
Sep 7th, 2006, 12:35 PM
The sky over the backyard this evening was a treat - the rainbow had gone by the time I got the camera sadly.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/sunset.jpg

cedarblue
Sep 7th, 2006, 04:06 PM
great photos alasdair (sp?)

dug up the last of the maris pipers yesterday and am going to bake them in skins tomorrow night to go with mushroom pot pies.
(thats pot as in cooking pot not pot as in the drug :o )

tomatoes seem to have come to an end on my plants.

been buying tulip bulbs to plant in autumn for next spring.

PygmyGoat
Sep 7th, 2006, 08:00 PM
Today in my garden I dug up some of the second crop of Potatoes and boiled some with a bit of Mint which I also picked in the garden :) .

I also had to shore up a piece of fence along my back wall which has (yet again :rolleyes: ) been disturbed by the wild winds we get here.

Oh, and I saw my first Robin in the garden this Autumn, sitting by my back door. A very chubby little Robin :D .

veganblue
Sep 8th, 2006, 09:32 AM
great photos alasdair (sp?)

dug up the last of the maris pipers yesterday and am going to bake them in skins tomorrow night to go with mushroom pot pies.
(thats pot as in cooking pot not pot as in the drug :o )

tomatoes seem to have come to an end on my plants.

been buying tulip bulbs to plant in autumn for next spring.

I was all excited about a plant that I didn't know - before realising that it was a variety of spud! They look like nice ones tho'.

Baked fresh spuds - with olive oil and rosemary and a wee bit of garlic if you like it. :D Not tried them with mint! Pumpkin is nice with mint infused vinegar as a dressing....!

:) Alistair.
[There are over 400 phoentic spellings for my name so I answer to most of them. Allaesdyr is one of the weirder versions though. :p]
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/suttonelms/potato%20tubers/maris%20piper.jpg

Risker
Oct 17th, 2006, 01:52 AM
Would anyone be interested in trading seeds? They're expensive to buy and I have more than I need and would like to try growing some more varieties next year, especially chilli's :)

veganbikerboy
Oct 22nd, 2006, 12:35 AM
yes, i might be interested, not sure what i have left at the moment, i have enlisted the help of a hippy type women to help me this year, we are going to do a seed order soon, so once we've done that i'll let you know:D

Risker
Dec 11th, 2006, 11:34 PM
Need some help;

I've got 2 chilli plants and an avocado plant indoors for the winter that are totally crawling with aphids. I've tried spraying them off with the shower and I've also tried putting a garlic solution over the plants to deter them.

Every day I get a wet cotton bud and remove as many as I can find but it's no use.

They breed so quickly and since they're indoors they get no natural predators like ladybirds.

So what do I do? Any suggestions?

PainterLady
Dec 11th, 2006, 11:47 PM
Yummmy! How old is your avacado plant?
The Vegan Society says this: Aphids & White Fly


Indoor plants - outside, dew and breezes discourage nesting. Try to recreate these conditions by regular spritzing of plants with water or, for infestations, 1 litre water, 1/2 tsp dish detergent and 1/4 cup vinegar. You could also try a fan for a few hours a day.

Risker
Dec 11th, 2006, 11:59 PM
This ones only about 1-2 years old so no fruit for a long while yet.

I'll try that, I have a pretty powerful fan here fortunately. I don't hold up much hope of it working though to be honest.

PainterLady
Dec 12th, 2006, 12:03 AM
I know what you mean Risker, aphids are really hard to get rid of. The only way that I know of that works is pretty unvegan. Those yellow sticky cards work really well. Just stick a lot of them all over around and in the plants and they'll get filled up quickly.
I hope it works! Avocados are heavenly! How old do that have to be before they bear fruit? Have you thought about growing kale or lettuce year round?

Risker
Dec 12th, 2006, 12:36 AM
I think they take about 7 years before they bear fruit but apparently it's unlikely to happen when grown as an indoor plant in the uk. I have a 2-3 year old plant that stands about 5ft tall that I have high hopes for though.

I grow lettuce during the summer but the only plants I keep growing indoors during the winter are ones that aren't meant to be grown in this climate.

I suppose I'll just have to protect the plants from the aphids as best as I can until spring and then hope that when they've been put outside nature will take care of them. It's a pity though since now I have to find somewhere else to start my new plants for next year away from the infested plants.

cedarblue
Dec 12th, 2006, 04:45 PM
we actually dug over over our veg plot BEFORE the spring this time :)

the only stuff we have in now are a few carrots, leeks and some parsley in a pot. must try to plan to have some winter veg growing.

we are going to 'reclaim' even more garden next year for a fruit area.

auntierozzi
Dec 12th, 2006, 06:33 PM
Hi Risker,
A couple of years ago I bought a box of ladybird larvae who wiped out a big load of green fly. Is it possible to get some from a local garden centre? Is this vegan? Maybe not. The ladybirds flourished :-)