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Saturday 26 June 2010

some garden pics

Just a quick photo update from the land, just to show we're still there and things (other than weeds) are growing. Tonight is festa in our village, but more of that tomorrow.

The first flower on the pomegranate shrub.


Heaps of yellow plums off the wild plum tree. Do yours look anything like this Mr. H?


Purple beans about to flower.



First lentils ready to harvest. Report on quantity and fiddlyness to follow.



Pattypna summer squash 'Sunburst'



Butternut squash.



Stud the male kiwi is reaching for the heavens, but alas no sign of flowers or fruit on the females.



Walter the walnut tree finally has decided to grow some of 4 years of inactivity!



'Albarello di Sarzana' courgette. Really quick and productive. No wonder it was bred a few km down the road, so obviously suited to our conditions.


First corn cobs forming.



More to follow soon. We have in the meantime stayed another night in the tent without any further disasters and planning more of those in the next week or so.

11 comments:

Mr. H. said...

Nice plums, I wish those were the kind we have. Your plums look bigger and I love the yellow coloring, ours are more greenish and smaller...but good nonetheless.

On Walnuts - "The growth of the English Walnut is different from that of most fruit trees. The small trees grow about six inches the first year, tap-root the same; the second year they grow about twelve inches, tap-root the same; the third year they grow about eighteen inches, tap-root nearly as much. For the first three years the tap-root seems to gain most of the nourishment, and at the end of the third year, or about that time, the tree itself starts its real growth. After the tap-root reaches[13] the sub-soil moisture, the tree often grows as much in one year as it has in the preceding three or four."

http://walnutsweb.com/walnuts/How+to+Grow+English+Walnuts

I hope they are right as our English walnuts are growing very, very slow too.:) Your gardens look great. I am looking forward to hearing whether or not you found the lentils to be practical to grow in a small plot...I have yet to try growing them myself.

Heiko said...

That sounds exactly like our Walter. It has grown this year already more than in the previous 3 or 4. Hope it's going to get started properly otherwise I'm not going to see any nuts on it before I die.

chaiselongue said...

It's all looking great. I don't think I've seen lentils growing before. I'm looking forward to an update on how fiddly they are! Enjoy the festa!

Heiko said...

CL, if you enlarge the photo you'll see that each pod has 2 little lentils inside. So I suspect it's going to be quite fiddly for a quite a small yield...

Ayak said...

Great pics Heiko, and everything is doing nicely. I've also never seen lentils growing before...very interesting. I love the look of those yellow plums. Mine are of the dark red variety, unfortunately becuse of maggots I've had to pick early and make jam.

Stefaneener said...

I'm so glad that the tent has worked out after the storm!

I can't wait to see the lentil harvest. I suspect it's going to make me treasure my bags of the things in a whole different way.

Angela said...

No wonder you moved to Italy. Here, are zucchini are just starting to have blossoms, and the cherries and plums and apples and pears are still tiny. Only the strawberries are coming nicely. We eat masses every day! But I must admit, though your garden does look like some harvest work, I am a little envious.
Walter the walnut tree, hey? Chuckle.
Und Linsen bringen den...zum Grinsen! What loose talk.

Who are you shouting for this afternoon?

Heiko said...

Lentils seem to be of interest to everyone! ...and speccially for you Angela: "Es gibt Geruechte, dass Huelsenfruechte in Mengen genommen nicht gut bekommen. Das macht doch nichts, ich finde das fein. Ich wollte immer schon mal ein Blaehboy sein!"

I am completely neutral on the England Germany match and shall wait for the next Holland match to get excited.

Oh and did I mention Ronny, the Rennet apple tree?

Anonymous said...

Dag Heiko,

mag je ook reageren in het Nl? Ik ken je blog via Babette & Paul, vrienden en stadgenoten. Ik volg al een tijdje je postings over jullie tuin (en de katjes!), heb zelf sinds dit jaar ook een bescheiden moestuin. Wat schitterend, die gemberplant! Is het inderdaad gewoon een kwestie van een stuk gember in een pot stoppen?

Hartelijke groet uit Arles,

Eveline van Hemert

Heiko said...

Dag Eveline, Yes you may write in Dutch too, although my written Dutch isn't that good, so I shall answer in English. Yes the ginger was simly a piece of ginger root in a pot and then watered ebery now and then. I have heard a lot about you. Welcome to my blog. :)

Anonymous said...

Ok, thanks, let's see if they like it here and survive the mistral (that will stay away for a while, hopefully). Yes, heard a lot about you too, hope you two come over sometime to Arles, I love to talk about wild food too! My latest discovery in my garden is a beautiful hyoscamus niger - not edible, but witches use it to fly on their broomsticks!