How Does Your Garden Grow?

[DAPPH]

After a day of grouting the new paving, its time for a relax in the garden with a low strength beer.

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The garden is enjoying this unexpected September warmth.

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Do the Indian banana plants survive UK winters . Three have appeared in one of our front south facing raised flower beds don't know how it got there unless it was an over ripe nana I chopped up with the trowel & dropped in the bed in March this year .

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Do the Indian banana plants survive UK winters . Three have appeared in one of our front south facing raised flower beds don't know how it got there unless it was an over ripe nana I chopped up with the trowel & dropped in the bed in March this year .

No, they either need to be lifted or well wrapped in fleece. Pretty much the first frost will kill off the leaves.

We are just debating what to do with our 3. I'm for lifting and bringing indoors.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Tried a butternut squash today...still not ready...not sure they have enough time left

 

[DanZac]

Tried a butternut squash today...still not ready...not sure they have enough time left

I harvested my butternut squash at the end of October last year along with the Pumpkins. As long as we don't get a hard frost they'll probably keep ripening.

It might be worth putting a tile or something under them to keep them out of the damp mud though.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

It might be worth putting a tile or something under them to keep them out of the damp mud though.

Yea I put some wood under each of them...definitely not ripe yet so think I'll leave them until Oct too and just keep an eye out for frost.

I'm in west London so should be ok...we don't really get frost here until after Nov most years.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

First crumble of the year ...using the apples I harvested, stewed and froze. So nice having proper apples in there!

 

[Onoff]

Harvest it? Eat it? Was hoping it would go darker:

The smaller one is coming on. Just given it some tights support:

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I'm leaving mine until either the plant loses it's leaves or there's a frost predicted.

I think the longer you leave it the better with butternut squash.

 

[Onoff]

I'm leaving mine until either the plant loses it's leaves or there's a frost predicted.

I think the longer you leave it the better with butternut squash.

Already had a couple of frosts here.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Already had a couple of frosts here.

I was worried 2 days ago...we had a slight frost in the morning but the squashes seem to have survived. I tried cooking one or two as a test but they had very little flavour so think I need to either wait it out....or use them as a base for my soup!

One on the right isn't ready I think as its still got green lines showing...on the left I'm hoping is good.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Decided I couldn't wait any longer...the leaves had died back so they're not going to ripen any further on the plant.

Last test sample was good...I'll stick them in the greenhouse for a couple weeks to mature and then store them.

 

[Divingdad]

Likewise here, well last Thursday as Frosts expected over that weekend here.

 

[Onoff]

What it's all about at the end of the day. The basis of tonight's dinner:

https://flic.kr/p/2qqFcnz

 

[Onoff]

Stuffed with onion, garlic, green lentils, mixed herbs, tomato, mushroom and miso. A bit miffed the kilo of mince I bought didn't find it's way into it

 

[Onoff]

My wayward plum tree:

https://flic.kr/p/2qqzLLm

The fig tree to the left, behind the green tarp:

https://flic.kr/p/2qqzkEJ

https://flic.kr/p/2qqAp8F

Had loads of figs this year but very small and never ripened:

https://flic.kr/p/2qqzM83

https://flic.kr/p/2qqAohT

 

[truckdoctor]

My neighbour used to leave them growing till the following year to grow and ripen.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

First hard frost coming tonight so time to do something about the bananas. Last year we dug them up and had them indoors, too big this year.

Leaves chopped off.

Wrapped in fleece and topped off with a whirligig cover, then a mound of compost and old leaves round the root ball. Finger crossed.

 

[droopsnoot]

I've started trying to remove the grass that's all over my borders. I haven't got much of an attention span for this sort of thing, so I'm doing a couple of fork widths at a time. All I can say is, no wonder I couldn't pull any of it up by hand. There's basically more intertwined roots under the soil than there is soil. I'm amazed that anything can work it's way up through this lot. I've been pulling it out, sorting through it to find any bulbs that I can re-plant, and then binning the rest. I hope I'm not binning any actual plants, but I didn't plant the borders and can't really remember what they looked like before the grass arrived. Disappointing that it rained yesterday because I wanted to do another few feet and fill the garden bin a bit more. Once this border is done, it seems as if all the rest will need doing. I also have a Sycamore growing that I'd like to get rid of, but it goes off under a lavender bush that I'd like to not kill, so I might leave that for a bit.

 

[Greeves246]

Personally I would have put a three inch layer of mulch over the border to kill the grass and weeds.

 

[droopsnoot]

Personally I would have put a three inch layer of mulch over the border to kill the grass and weeds.

Oh, would that do it? Although that sounds like I'd have to buy something, it might be an alternative approach for the border around the front lawn. I've seen people put stuff like bark down to stop the weeds coming there in the first place, but I hadn't realised I could do something like that when they're already established. I've also wondered whether Leylandii trimmings would work the same way as bark, as one of the borders has next door's hedge above it, and it's impossible to pick up all the little pieces when I cut it back.

The surface of the one I'm working on was about 6" higher up than it used to be, which I think was just this tangle of stuff taking up all the space. There's an ant nest in there too, I'm sort-of hoping that disturbing them in winter might persuade them to move on.