The things I've grown are just starting to produce now and this is the small harvest I got yesterday, four cucumbers, three tomatoes and a tumbler of blueberries.
I decided I'd grow two Mini Munch cucumber plants and they started off really well. They were both looking healthy and then all of a sudden, one of the plants just keeled over and died. I've heard of a few people with a similar problem this year. So, I've only got one plant but it looks to be working hard, there's lots more fruit on the plant at various stages of growth. As you can see, two of the cucumbers are a much lighter green than the other two, I think these have been left on the plant too long.
The ripe tomatoes are from my Totem and Bloody Butcher plants, the Maskotka haven't started to turn red yet. The plants aren't looking their best this year but I should get enough tomatoes for my requirements from them and now they've started to ripen, the other fruit on the plants should follow suit.
I'm having a good year with the blueberries. I grow them in containers along the side of the conservatory, the birds don't tend to venture this far up the garden so I don't need to net them.
I'm also harvesting potatoes, two varieties, Arran Pilot and Anya.
My harvests this year may be small but growing your own is still well worth doing in my opinion for the taste alone. Nothing you buy from a supermarket quite compares to the delicious taste of fruit and vegetables picked fresh from the garden.
Every little helps and because we don't tend to use pesticides or other nasty's at home our produce is virtually organic which you'd pay top dollar for in the shop. Love the little cucumbers.
ReplyDeleteThe cucumbers are a great size for us as there's only me who eats them. Mini Munch is a great variety, very tasty and prolific too.
DeleteI'd love more time to try and grow some veg but i feel as though i spread myself too thin as it is, although i do like your idea of growing in tubs. You have a great little crop there :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I'll always grow tomatoes if nothing else, the difference in taste between home grown and supermarket bought is so great that the time and effort is definitely worth it.
DeleteI'm one of those that has had problems with cucumbers this year. And with Mini Munch I have been really unlucky as I haven't been able to bring a single fruit to maturity, for 2 years in a row! At least my Maskotkas are doing well!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the problems are with cucumbers this year, there seems to be quite a few of us who have lost plants. It's a shame you've been unlucky with Mini Munch, I think they're a great cucumber. My Maskotka plants aren't doing as well as previous years but I should still get enough tomatoes for my needs.
DeleteI'm glad you're still growing a few things. I've missed not growing a wide selection of things this year. We have a couple of tubs of potatoes left to harvest and I'm waiting for the beans to grow big enough to pick. x
ReplyDeleteI love my home grown tomatoes so much, it really would be a hardship to have to do without. I've still got lots of potatoes to harvest, we plant up quite a few containers but we also supply my mum and dad who enjoy them just as much as we do.
DeleteIt all looks and sounds good. Interesting to see the colour difference of the cucumbers. I agree with what you say in the last paragraph. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteI can only think that the lighter coloured cucumbers have been left on the plant longer than the others, I shall keep an eye on the ones growing now. I really don't think people who've never grown their own know what they're missing.
DeleteOh, I so agree. There is nothing like homegrown tomatoes, especially. I can stand in front of my cherry tomato plants and just pick and pick, shoveling them in! I especially love them when they're warm from the sun. :)
ReplyDeleteI love to eat them that way too. I keep a bowl of cherry tomatoes on the kitchen worktop so that I can just pop one in my mouth each time I pass, I can't get enough of them.
DeleteMy cucumber went yellow and died, so I have another young plant coming along, I will keep it int the green house so I get cucumbers for longer. We have so little to harvest this year, hope to be back to normal next year. Soon I will plant my Christmas potatoes.
ReplyDeleteThere's been quite a few cucumber plants affected by something this year. My lone plant is in the greenhouse, they seem to do better in there than outdoors, even though Mini Munch can be grown in either location. I'm undecided about giving Christmas potatoes a go this year, I've had mixed results with them in the past.
DeleteMmmm! Fresh tomatoes! I love the taste, but not the smell. Make sense of that if you can. And I am ashamed to see that my blog is at the bottom of your bloglist, it's been that long since I posted. Never mind, there should be a new post today. It's good to be back! And I have missed you all.
ReplyDeleteThe cucumbers look very cute. Are they sweet? I'm a sucker for gherkins, which I think are just small cucumbers but pickled, aren't they?
I know quite a few people who don't like the smell of tomato plants, I really like it. I've never grown gherkins but I do love them pickled, I think they're just a small variety of cucumber which are use for pickling. The Mini Munch cucumbers are quite sweet, thin skinned and juicy. Nice to see you blogging again, I shall pop over to read your post shortly.
DeleteI don't think you can beat homegrown, fresh produce. We haven't had a very successful year this year, lots of peas, tomatoes not so good xx
ReplyDeleteThere's usually something each year which does really well and something which doesn't do quite as well, it's a good job we can start with a clean slate again each year.
DeleteYour wee harvest looks really tasty, Jo. We have a couple of teeny tiny tomatoes on our plants and we're waiting patiently for them to turn red. At the rate they're going, we might be eating them at Christmas-time! LOL
ReplyDeleteThat wouldn't be such a bad thing, fresh home grown tomatoes on Christmas day, what could be better? I'd miss them in the summer though.
DeleteEven just growing a few things is worthwhile and as you say, being able to pick something from the garden is magic. Your harvest pics look very tempting & I've just had some of my blueberries on porridge (from freezer of course). Take care.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to grow tomatoes even if I only had a balcony and no garden, I'd miss that home grown taste too much. My mum and dad enjoy blueberries on their breakfast cereal, they like to share my harvests.
DeleteYou've beaten us to ripe tomatoes. Our Mini Munches are producing well too and it is thanks to you that we started growing them.
ReplyDeleteI've only beaten you to ripe tomatoes from the plants I ended up buying, the Maskotkas which I grew from seed are still way behind. I'm so pleased you enjoy Mini Munch too, I think they're a great cucumber and there's never any waste from them as they're an ideal size.
DeleteMy cucumbers haven't really got going this year at all, but I do have a good and plentiful crop of runner beans which I can't keep up with at the moment!
ReplyDeleteI'm missing my runner beans, they're a vegetable which I never bought at all before I grew my own but I really enjoy them now.
Deletewe also have had a problem with our cucumbers, we put it down to planting in a grow bag something we have never done before ,we wont be doing it again. We now have the glut of courgettes, yet only a week ago we struggled to find three for the Ag.show.
ReplyDeleteI've never grown cucumbers in a growbag but your problems may just be the same as some of us are experiencing this year, I'm just glad that I've got one plant which is producing. That's the only trouble with courgettes, they all seem to come at once, but it's a good problem to have, better than none coming at all.
DeleteI think you have plenty of work there,Jo, with pleasing results. I grow just enough of each veggie we like, but this year I have a glut of cucumbers and I'm busy making freezer pickles. I agree that those who don't grow their own have no idea what they are missing. P. x
ReplyDeleteIt's good when you're experienced enough to judge how many plants of each vegetable you need to enable you to grow just the right amount but there's always something each year which either over or under performs. I think it's a real shame that more people don't grow their own, even if they grew one thing, I'm sure they'd be pleased with the results.
DeleteImpressive tomatoes and lots once they have ripened. Ours this year along with the cabbage have been a real disappointment.
ReplyDeleteI think this may be my worst tomato year yet, there's enough for my needs waiting to ripen but the plants aren't looking too good. I had my best ever year for tomatoes last year, it just goes to show how things can change from one year to the next.
DeleteThose are some wonderful harvests - a true taste of summer - the makings of a wonderful meal. And look at all those tomatoes! If I were to grow only one veg, that would probably be it.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same. I think the difference in taste between home grown tomatoes and those bought from a supermarket is so great that once you've grown your own, you wouldn't want to ever do without.
DeleteI do envy you those blueberries, I have eight bushes yet hardly get anything. I may get a mouthful this year...sighs...xxx
ReplyDeleteThat's such a shame, you'd think you'd have a bountiful harvest with eight bushes. I have three and they usually do really well, I don't get pounds and pounds but I get plenty to say they're only small plants.
DeleteIt is true that it doesn't matter how small your harvest it it always tastes good! My cucumbers are nearly there......
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to the taste of home grown veggies no matter how big the harvest, it's still a treat.
DeleteI used to grow veggies, but we only have a small courtyard garden here, which is frequented by the neighbours' cats, so we wouldn't want to eat anything that might had had cat mess near it. We grow herbs in pots, which the cats ignore
ReplyDeleteCats can be a bit of a problem for gardeners, the freshly dug earth can be a magnet to them and they treat it rather like cat litter. We have this problem in the front garden but we don't get any cats in the back since we got Archie, I think they know when there's a dog around.
DeleteNever mind if the harvest is small ... the taste of home grown will be superb!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Very true. The quality more than makes up for the quantity.
DeleteI've never seen these little cucumbers, love their name! I'd really like to grow some raspberries in the garden. Be good for our smoothies.
ReplyDeleteLisa x
Mini Munch cucumbers are my favourite, they're really sweet and juicy. I've only got one plant this year but it's producing loads, enough to share with my mum and dad. We had raspberries at the allotment but it's something we don't really eat much of.
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