Fruit, Veg, Flowers and Slugs

 As mentioned in the post regard the Runner Beans I do like to try and get a jump on old Mother Nature and get things started a little earlier perhaps than many people would. The tomato seedlings are coming along very nicely in the conservatory I am happy to report and all being well there will be plenty to enjoy throughout the summer.  This year I am growing two new varieties to me Santanio that should yield red, cherry sized plum like fruits and Limoncito which will hopefully supply trusses of yellow mini sized plum tomatoes. I also have a stalwart for me Gardeners Delight , I cannot be without them, and the massive (hopefully) Gigantomo that I grew for the first time last year. They are real showstoppers growing to ridiculous sizes. Last summer I used them for BBQ's with a single slice of the fruit plenty for a burger; an individual tomato can get to 10 inches wide and 3lb in weight!! The only difficulty in growing them is the arrangement required to hold the fruit on the pla

 I am trying out a new Runner Bean (for me) this year in the shape of Benchmaster , purchased from Thompson & Morgan. The seeds were sown last weekend, Sunday 21st February, which is actually a little late for me, and currently reside in the conservatory. Described as a top quality, red flowered British-bred variety producing pods of over 40cm in length. Abundant crops of pods hang in clusters and are fleshy, but slender, smooth and straight. My fingers are crossed for a bumper harvest.  I honestly believe you cannot consider yourself a veg gardener unless you are growing Runner Beans on your plot. My Grandad grew them, my Dad grew them, and they are a standard for me, the one crop you can be sure will be in the ground every year.  Easy to freeze for storing, just last Sunday the roast pork was accompanied by runners that had been grown on the plot in 2020 and frozen for use later; stores are running a little low now, but I should have enough to see me through until this years harv

Welcome to the blog and my first post on  Fruit, Veg, Flowers and Slugs . I write sitting in a conservatory that at the moment looks more like a greenhouse with pots full of seeds and seedlings all around me. I am terrble for trying to get the jump on old Mother Nature and have tomato seedlings galore straining for the light, the heater in the conservatory doing overtime recently in the cold snap.  Right now not much is happening in the garden, there a signs here and there, and the first few spring bulbs are bursting into life with Crocus and Snowdrops popping up in the beds and that always makes me feel good, spring and summer are just around the corner.  Hopefully over the coming weeks and months I will be able to share with you my gardening triumphs, and no doubt a few disasters..............but that's all part of the fun and joy of gardening. Not everything works and sometimes things work better than you could have hoped.  For now here is a picture of a three headed tete-a tete