Vegetables We will try and keep lettuce plants in stock until the autumn. Even ‘cut-and-come-again’ types will run to seed eventually and need replacing. Runner beans are reaching the tops of their canes now. Keep pinching the tops out as this will encourage new growth from the base and avoid...
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Category Archives: Salad
Vegetables at Downside – tomatoes, sticcoli, squash, kale and lovage
Tomatoes There really is nothing like the taste of home-grown tomatoes. Part of the reason for this is that, unlike other fruits, say apples or bananas, they stop producing the volatile flavour-giving molecules once they have been chilled. The reddening and softening process continues but the flavour does not develop...
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Confusing Curcubits – Cucumbers
Cucumbers can be very bitter if they are pollinated. In the old days, gardeners had to be vigilant and remove the male flowers as soon as they appeared. Nowadays, we have F₁, varieties that only have female flowers, so you do not have to worry. These are much more vigorous...
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Vegetables at Downside Nurseries
The vegetable bench is fully stocked now – the first of the kale is ready and there are still peas and sugar peas. The last sowings of these will be the end of May. It is warm enough now for sweetcorn, courgettes and marrows to go out. All the beans...
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Tomatoes
There have been several warnings in the press recently about the tomato variety “Gardeners’ Delight” having broken down. As far as we can tell, this is due to just one batch of bad seed from a generally rather unreliable supplier. So far we have had no trouble with our tomatoes....
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