Hello All!
A few weeks have passed since my last garden post and a lot has happened since then! Most of my plants are coming along pretty well and the weather is becoming milder too, which could be helping some plants more than others.
Take this cauliflower for example, a mere 6 days ago it looked like this:
Today, it looks like this!
I have been doing some research and it seems my cauliflower heads could be stretching for a number of reasons, from over-watering to a sudden climb in temperature. My guess is that it is probably the latter, I am positive I have not over-watered as I did that last year and suffered the consequences! Newbie errors that I strive to never commit twice. Are there any experienced gardeners reading with any tips on how to help my cauli? I don't need it to be shop floor perfect, but I have read that leaves can start growing in the head around the stretched florets which would make it hard to consume at the end, I would think. Any thoughts on the matter are welcomed!
Onto other florets, check out my surprise broccoli. This is the most prolific one so far, the other three are slower to grow but they are getting there!
Some of the "cabbages" are also growing like so... I am presuming they are a type of broccoli, or at least from the broccoli family. Does anyone know?
The purple broccoli plants are enjoying their new digs. I was reading into Companion Planting and celery was amongst the list of friendlies so I popped some baby celery in the bed with them. The purple broccoli seedlings were not looking their best when in the root trainers (due to a nasty bug infestation!) so they need all the help I can give them. I can only hope they thrive now.
My pea plants are going crazy with flowers which is all I could have asked for really - I have counted many pea pods already and I am eagerly watching them, waiting for the prime moment to pick (and immediately eat!).
Despite most things looking well I have started to get aphids coming up on many of the leaves on my plants, does anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid? I have started by spraying affected areas with washing up liquid diluted with water. Any other suggestions for removal are greatly welcomed. I don't want to have to use heavy insecticide on my garden if I can avoid it!
I hope you have enjoyed this post, leave me a comment and let me know what you think! How is your garden doing?
Gardeningchef