General Chat

As well as summer strawberries there is a late variety = fruitts about Sept. Could plant a few of each. OH cannot remember the names of his!!! Typical!!

Fred
My choice would always be the good old conference pear.
Lesley

I will keep that variety in mind ,thank you ,lol,just my luck ,i was in my local supermarket this morning to look for another Azalia ,and fruit trees ,only to find none of either Grrrrr ,Fred.

Fred, are the fruit trees from supermarkets any good? I always wonder if they have been looked after properly.

Whilst at the garden centre today and having my lunch, I noticed that part of the Mason Plas, contained aswell as the usual greenery, some baby beetroot leaves, which I have also noticed in the packets of mixed salad leaves you get from the supermarket.
So, my question is, are these sold in seed form as a separate item to actual beetroot seeds.

Many Thanks

Julia in Derbyshire

two years ago i grew bananas
but they never fruited but looked really good
and i have apple trees in pots
i am going to buy a pear tree this year

Julia I always assumed they were from actual beetroot plants picked young but I may be wrong. It seems to be the fashion to add them to side salads these days.

Joy, what variety of apple do you have in pots and do they fruit ok?

i cant remember their names ann
ones green ones red
they were put in last year and will take 4 years before they fruit

but they said they can be pot grown

Ann, I always thought they were the young tips, but I thought I would ask the question.

Julia in Derbyshire

FRED, IVE HAD 4 FRUIT TREES OUT OF OUR COUNTRY BUMPKIN SUPERMARKET, AND THERE SHOOTING TWIGS AND LEAVES ON THEM, I DIDNT EXPECT ALL OF THEM TO TAKE AS THEY WER AT A DORMANT STAGE AND ALL CHUCKED IN A BOX, SO NOW I HAVE 6, MORE TOWARDS MY HOME MADE ORCHARD.

MY APRICOT TREE BOUGHT AT 3 YRS OLD IS GETTING BLOSSOM ON AS WELL AS MY OLDER TREES, AND A PEAR TREE IS BLOSSOMING FOR THE FIRST YEAR.

WITH MY POCKET MONEY I TREATED MYSELF TO A PEACH TREE ITS BY MY PATIO DOOR IN LIVING ROOM READY TO BE REPOTTED AND PLACED, BIT WORRIED AS ITS ALREADY BLOSSOMING AND SAYS THE FROST CAN GET THEM WITH THEM FLOWERING EARLY

SO MY BE DIFFERENT AND HAVE IT AS A HOUSE PLANT, BE NICE IF THE BIRDS CAME IN AND SAT ON THE BRANCHES, THINK IT MAY ANNOY SPECKY SOMEWHAT

HAS ANYONE HAD A GOOD RESULT WITH APRICOTS AND PEACHES PLEASE XX :-D

Both my apple & plum ,i got from aldi ,and both are belters ,fruiting the second year,the nectarine i had sent from a garden centre ,and that is throwing new leaves ,looking very healthy.
All urn planted in a mix of good loam and potting compost .Still looking for a few more names for my pear tree though .
:-D
The beetroot leaves are off baby beetroot ,and it is perfectly safe to use leaves off your own plants for salads ,Fred. :-D

do you think its to soon for asparagas, i hope ive stuck the right bit in the tub, its in my pt now but nothing showing yet x

It's okay to put Asparagus out now Puss ,but it can be weeks before the shoots show for the first time,but remember ,cut the plants in the first two years ,and you will knock them right back ,slowly slowly catchee monkey ,Fred.

thanks fred, when i see your name i get reminded to by vaseline for my fruit trees lol :-D

how did sunday go, the food sounded georgeous xx

Don't know about fruit tress but OH bought a silver birch in Lidl about 7-8 yrs ago and I can now see it from my bed! Cost all of £2.99 - lovely tree

Thanks for all the info there Fred. Might have to pay a visit to either Al** or L**l, never shop in either normally. Fancy some fruit trees in tubs.

Been a gorgeous day here, OH spent all day out in the garden which is looking good and I spent an hour and a half out there planting up my troughs with carrots, lettuce and spinach, and planting up four more hanging baskets.

Ann, though it has been nice here in the sun, it has been absolutely bitter. Had planned to do all sorts, but the only warm spot I found was standing in the greenhouse, and that was with a jumper on.
So, I vanrished my hanging baskets to 'tart them up'. These are the straw/raffia/cane type. When I do buy them new, I usually put a coat of clear Yacht Varnish on them for the first couple of seasons, but after that, I use Ronseal on them. Can't abide things to look tatty after going to the time/trouble/cost of filling baskets, if they do not look cared for themselves
Hope it is warmer tomorrow.

Julia in Derbyshire

I Have nearly choked on my cuppa here Julia,at the thought of Aunty Sherlock waving the magic wand and vanishing your hanging baskets ,the mind boggles ,he he
A good idea though ,i used to throw mine away ,but i have varnish in the shed ,so i will spruce them up this time ,anything to save a few pennies ,more so than ever after todays budget grrrrrrr.
I was back at the shops today Ann ,for that other fruit tree ,but so far ,the only ones i could find were at B & Q ,and at £18-50 for a pear tree ,they can stop there .
I did however find the last Azalia for the front patio ,and that is now in place,job done,just in time too ,because i will be starting to pack in the next half an hour ,to go down to Lyneham to open up the grandsons house for him thank the lord ,he has now safely left Afghanistan on his way to Akroteri in Cyprus ,where he will de brief before flying on ,to Brize norton ,where we will pick him up on Friday just before dinner.
I fancy staying there for a couple of days before coming back up with him to get him his new car.
I am taking my dongle ,just in case his Sky is still offline when we get down onto camp.Fred
:-)

Badger, thank you for the beetroot leaf tip. I shall have to look for some seeds for baby beets.
I need to pick your brain again. Some years ago, and it is going back abit, you used to be able to buy bags of Birds Eye Peas, that had baby onions in. And delicious they were too. I had a yen to see if I could grow baby onions, they are the ones that they pickle and call silverskins, or cocktail onions.
Have you any ideas.

Many thanks

Julia in Derbyshire

Julia in Derbyshire

Baby beets as in ordinary beetroot ,just picked earlier. i normally let mine grow normally and pick a couple of leaves from each plant whenever i fancy a salad.

The other question is a little more tricky,i can think of perpetual onions that throw little onions on top of the stems,tasty small and they grow on the stalks every year ,no need to plant new ones.,but if i remember rightly ,you will need to get them from a market garden or order on line.
The others you can buy seeds for ,but i can't for the life of me remember what they are called.looking a little like spring onions ,that you just thin out as you use them ,the main root growing on ,again ,you plant the once and they regrow each year.,these i HAVE seen in seed stores and shops ,but if you ask in shops that deal in veggie seeds ,someone will know what you are looking for.i recallthat these latter ones have a tinge of red at the bottom of the stems ,these ones are milder than the perpetual ,and are super tasty.
I do have wild garlic in the garden which i use in many dishes ,in cooking an salads ,this is a wild plant with dark green wide leaves normally found on river banks ,but i havn't seen them on sale anywhere .
Just been on to Marshalls online shop ,and have found two onions suitable for home growing ,Barletta a silverskin pickling onion & Giant Zittau ,a largish size pickling onion,That any Good? Fred. :-D