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Wednesday, 29 October 2014

We Need Some Cold!

My brassicas are looking so good in the garden, I'm really proud of them this year. 
But I looked a little closer and I could see that my hungry gap crop, purple sprouting broccoli, was doing a little too well! 
It had started to produce the flower buds that we eat about 5 months early! I'm gutted really, although we'll still enjoy eating it, as it's a crop that is perfect for when there is little else about. 
I put it in no early than any other year, but it's been such a good year for growing that it seems to have run away with itself! I could do with a good cold snap now to slow everything else down.
Anyone else had crops when they shouldn't this year?

13 comments:

  1. If you cut the heads it should produce more later, I have a wigela shrub in the garden that is coming into bloom, far to early its suppose to be a late spring bloomer I still have roses in bloom, I havent got many crops growing yet. It is so mild out although damp up here at the moment

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    1. I'll do that then Dawn! I was a bit gutted to see it though!

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  2. Hi Kev, going off piste slightly but a week or so ago you had a post about your squash harvest, I meant to ask at the time where you get your squash seed from and what varities you grow. I can only find the more bog standard at places like suttons, though I do like crown prince which they sell. I am looking to grow as many tasty types as I can and am wondering what people enjoy, thanks in advance. Sarah

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  3. Sarah, try Sarah Raven for some unusual ones.
    Kevin, the cold snap is on it's way!

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    1. thanks Sandie's Patch, will look into..

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    2. Kings seeds also have lots and if you have an allotment you get a discount. I also brought some off eBay this year. I don't tend to save the seeds as it cross pollinates too easily so you never know what you're going to get.
      honey bear is a good small one (an F1 so expensive seed) and festival tastes amazing, crown prince takes some beating. Turks turban was another good one. I tend to grow so many types but I never label them as the plants spread so far and wide! So when it comes to planting the next year I can never remember which was best. I must be more organised!
      Thanks for your comment

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  4. Forgot to say that I had a flowering Bramley Aplle tree a couple of months ago. This is a tree that was almost dead and recovered with a Comfrey and Seaweed feed, home made. It flowered again about a month later. I removed the flowers each time, just hope I get blossom in the Spring!

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    1. That's mad! I hope it does flower in the spring for you but if its used the flower buds I wouldn't get too hopeful.

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  5. No crops, but the acorns came off my oaks about a month early. Local lore holds that this means a bad winter.

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    1. We had such a mild winter last year the bugs and slugs have gone mad this year. We could do with a bit of cold to kill them off really.

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  6. Our purple sprouting is sprouting too and there are strawberries on the strawberries! Bees are still collecting pollen. What a year it has been. Are you ready for winter? Could be a cold one.

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    1. We're not 100% ready but I don;t think you ever can be. Put the winter tyres on the van yesterday so I must mean business!

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  7. I have Primroses in full flower and a shrub that normally flowers in March has just burst forth. We need a sharp frost soon, otherwise my Garlic will get too big and suffer for it later.

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