Thursday, 31 May 2012

The First Pepper Flower

Several buds have appeared on our Pepper plants over the last few days and this is the first one to bloom. 

Is that a tiny baby pepper we can see forming inside?

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

A Pea in a Pod

Yes, one pea in one pod appears to be the sum total of our produce from this Garden Pea plant.

Mind you, it is a lovely pod following on from the lovely flower we wrote about earlier.

Can't wait to devour it - half a pea each. How to tell when a pod is ready? Want to taste it at its best.

Thursday, 17 May 2012

Padron Pepper and Fungus Gnats

The Padron Pepper we are growing from seed is doing ok. We have planted it into a bigger pot and with a covering of sand it's looking quite tropical and is currently being visited by some tourists - ('Tourists' by Duane Hanson 1970 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2003/jan/16/art.artsfeatures )

To be honest though, the sand is not for aesthetic purposes, it is to try and combat a massive infestation of Fungus Gnats affecting most of our plants. We were spending hours every day trying to get rid of all the pesky flies. If we had an outdoor space it wouldn't be so bad, we could encourage other wildlife and let nature deal with it organically. Of course that's not an option here but a good layer of sharp horticultural sand which was a tricky and messy job appears to have made a vast improvement. 

Monday, 7 May 2012

Aubergine Plants Good - Shame About the Radishes

Sad to report that our Radish seedlings failed. You may recall they were the 20 day Nelson Radish, they did germinate well and grow into small plants but then stopped and gradually withered away. Maybe we're being a bit too ambitious attempting to grow root vegetables indoors. 

But the Aubergines (pictured here) are looking good, they have nice soft, almost furry, leaves. Its a small round variety which, hopefully, will not take up too much space.

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Pak Choi Becoming Plump

Not quite ready to eat but certainly getting there, lovely green leaves, white stems and a nice plump bottom (oo-er!).

Don't know why the three Pak Choi are such different sizes, they were all grown from seed at the same time and had the same treatment, all part of the wonders of nature.