good luck delta.

eat won and let us know if its a mushroom or a toadstool

tar

Smar Tarse - What are you growing them in? - Remember if you are using one of the new organic or non peat based compost it could have anything in it, including mushroom spores.

Delta - As I think you know, defo no difference between a mushroom and a toadstool. Most would call a chanterelle(=delicious)a toadstool and most would describe a Death Cap(=deceased)as a mushroom. I know the difference now, went on a foraging course/trip last November (4.2kg of wild mushroomsand that was just me.  One guy got 6kg, but he'd been before)

my compost last year, as above, had someones used cotton bud in it....

Two voles in my compost.

I must admit, I don't like the thought of lifting the lid and there being a rat in there.

Amazing gardening tips about vegetables on Sunday Brunch at the moment.

One being; if you spray your tomatoes with water containing an aspirin tablet once a month, it will double the sweetness and vitamin c content of them.

Catch up with it on Ch4+1 at about 10:55 am.

Brilliant stuff from the botanist.

He said that most gardening books/tips are at least 60 years out of date and scientists are very poor at passing information on.

For those interested who didn't see it, his advice was:

Rubel blueberry plants are the best ones to grow.
They contain 400% more antioxidant than in blueberries bought in supermarkets, are very hardy and will grow in any part of the country.

If you put half an aspirin in a litre of water in a spray bottle and spray your tomatoes with it once a month it will increase the sweetness and vitamin C content.
It also works with strawberries and sweetcorn.

Butternut squash tastes far better 3 months after it's been harvested as the sugars increase in it greatly. Store them in a cool dark place.

There were also tips on growing strawberries on red plastic mulching sacks as the red light produced increases the yield by 20%.

Basil planted outside is far better than that grown in pots indoors.

Plus other bits and pieces that I didn't have time to write down.

It's well worth watching, Ovalman.
As you know, I'm no gardener but I find it very interesting - especially when you come across a bloke like the botanist who tells you the science behind stuff.
The reason that the aspirin works on tomatoes (and other plants) is that it  is a chemical copy of a hormone that plants produce  for sweetness and vitamin levels.

If you like squash he also recommends one to grow that is much, much better than the Butternut variety and he also tells you about growing two seeds in one hole for something that produces a much better yield.

It was fascinating stuff.

I know how keen a grower you are, Ovalman, but also know it must be a right pest if you have to travel miles to work on your plot, especially if it's too big - which is the reason Rob gave his up too, I think.

Better luck with the new one you're going to look at.

Thanks for the tips Tommy.
I've been growing winter squash for many years and agree that Butternut squash is not one of the best for the UK climate. I've tried most of them and find the best performers on my allotment in sunny Birmingham are "Crown Prince" which is a F1 hybrid and "Marina di Chioggia", a heirloom variety from Italy. "Marina" is open pollinated so the seeds are much cheaper than the F1 variety. It's also more robust, stores well and is very sweet and tasty.

I think the squash he recommended was called 'Red...something' It was a round squash, rather than the usual shape.

Excellent Foinavan, I've never tried to grow pumpkins or squashes, are they easy to grow in Northern Climates?

Has anyone grown any dwarf fruit trees? I seen potted ?peach? trees in Homebase earlier for £15 and am tempted but do they produce a decent crop? I'm asking about all fruit trees like apple and pear here and not just peach. I'd love a few for out my back so long as they don't take up much space.

Thanks Ovalman and good luck with your quest for an allotment.

Squash need about 100 frost-free days and nights which limits how far North they can be grown outdoors without protection.
I sow seed in a heated propagator around the beginning of May and plant out early June in a sunny spot. I usually erect a windbreak made of rigid PVC sheeting on the north and east sides for the first few weeks while they become established, after that they run riot until the first night frosts at the end of October.
Many gardeners on our allotment site have tried butternut squash without much success. Probably too cold early on for it but should be alright further south.

Apples, plums, damsons and cherries grow well here. Peaches are not successful and need a south facing wall to flourish.

That's exactly the offer I've been looking at, I can find them for £19.99 but I live in NI and the postage costs a bit more. I can still get all 4 trees for £30 delivered, I'm just looking around to see if I can get it cheaper.

I read that they are sent out November to March so I've missed the offer until Autumn.

Has anyone taken up this offer? I love all 4 fruits BTW but don't apples need another tree nearby to cross pollinate?

Thanks Blackbarn,

Size is vital but so is taste. No point buying an apple tree of a variety that doesn't taste nice. I don't mind spending to get exactly what I want, after all it could be producing for many years and will pay itself back over time.

Yes I've heard about rootstocks but it's still a bit complicated. Do I need a 2nd tree for cross pollination for apples? I could always prune or espellier to cut the size down.

Again many thanks Blackbarn. As I have to wait until November for bare root stocks I'll leave it on the back burner until then and then stew your brains over the winter

I didn't visit that allotment today but I'm going to phone in the morning - each site has it's own waiting list and I was 70th on the shortest list. Be interesting where I stand now and where I am for this new site.

I'm going to grow a few things at home in the mean time. My Rhubarb (in a pot) is well in season and growing well, I've done nothing to it over the winter - not even watered it.

Haha! Cheers Delta - at least I got the gist of it right!

the squash was Crown Prince

Crown Prince is excellent. Trouble is you only get 5 or 6 seeds to a packet and as it's F1 hybrid saved seeds from your harvest don't grow true to the original. Worth growing though, I grow a few plants every year.

Yes, similar taste and sweetness, I prefer Crown Prince. The flesh is dry when cooked and can be used as a sweet alternative to potatoes in a range of dishes.

I moved house over the past week.

My tomatoes didn't get watered for most of that I watered them this morning, the pots were bone dry   They still look ok ! 

Delta - i used the cheap (small) heated propagator Aldi had on offer the other week. Its not one that is going to last years on end imo.

Sods law i have now acquired the same size heated propagator that i had pinched last year. Along with all sorts of other gardening equipment left behind by the last owner (very elderly couple).