Chilli Up North Blog » tomatoes http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk Spicing Up Your Life Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:56:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Garden and harvest update 23rd August 2009 http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/chilli-growing/garden-and-harvest-update-23rd-august-2009/ http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/chilli-growing/garden-and-harvest-update-23rd-august-2009/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:22:39 +0000 Andy http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/?p=587 This month has been really busy in the garden, there has been lots to harvest, the first chillis have been ripening nicely, the sweet peppers have been growing like crazy and i now seem to have a glut of tomatoes.

I have mainly been using the tomatoes in salads and sauces as well as giving a lot of them away as i just haven’t had the time to make as much sauce as i would like.

Our shopping bill has gone down a fair bit because we have been using the potatoes from the garden, carrots from the tubs, cucumbers (along with the tomatoes,peppers and chillis) from the greenhouse and most excitingly of all my first cabbages.

I’d never grown cabbages before as i didn’t have room until we bought the house, then last year i didn’t have space in the veg plots as i went OTT on other veg. This year i am so glad i grew them, they aren’t very big  but they are very very tasty and just the perfect size to have as part of a meal for the two of us.

The next month or two should see the chilli harvest keep ripening which will lead to me making some Chilli Up North Sauce and definately some chutney, so keep your eyes peeled for that. In the mean time take a look at the pics

]]> http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/chilli-growing/garden-and-harvest-update-23rd-august-2009/feed/ 0 Garden and Site Update 25th July 09 http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/chilli-diary/garden-and-site-update-25th-july-09/ http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/chilli-diary/garden-and-site-update-25th-july-09/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:07:35 +0000 Andy http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/?p=494 It’s been a bit of a strange month this month, we have had some scorching weather followed by floods and torrential rain so one minute the plants in the greenhouse are cooked and crispy the next they are under water.  Last week i spent an hour removing water from the greenhouse in buckets after a really heavy downpour, still it could have been worse…just look at the pics of next doors garden below.

The wind and rain have messed up some parts of the garden, especially the spuds, they are looking worse for wear, slugs also seem to have gotten a taste for the tops of my onions so that’s not great, on the plus side everything seems to have shot up and started ripening and we have had bucket loads of peas, spuds, lettuce,raspberries and beans.

Ive also had a few problems with white fly but some organic spray seems to have done the job and my too rather poorly looking dorset naga plants have recovered well since i moved them so I’m still hoping for some fruit on them.

The biggest revelation so far is the hawaiian currant tomatoes, the seeds were given to me by a friend, they are about the size of…well you have guessed it a currant, The plants are nice and compact and you get lovely little bunches of tiny fruit. The fruit themselves are lovely, very sweet and have a great texture, they are perfect for scattering on salads or eating like grapes!

Fingers crossed the weather will sort it’s self out soon and i can start harvesting my chillis and other tomatoes along with my main crop spuds and the rest of my new spuds.

As far as Chilli Up North and the website goes, i am getting close to finishing the proper website so it shouldn’t be long now. I have lots of reviews to post of chilli products that i have been testing lately, if anyone has any chilli products they would like to see reviewed or has any products they want to send me to review then please let me know.

anyway here are a few pics:

]]> http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/chilli-diary/garden-and-site-update-25th-july-09/feed/ 0 Growing update http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/bottom-of-the-garden/growing-update/ http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/bottom-of-the-garden/growing-update/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:39:37 +0000 Andy http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/?p=360 It’s been another hectic week here at Chilli  Up North.

The weather has meant ive had to water the garden and veg plants lots over the past week, not that i mind as its nice being out in the sun. It also seems to have given everything a boost and really brought the garden to life.

The spuds are now poking through so it will nearly be time to earth them up, the onions are well on their way, the toms have shot up, the green house bucket o peas has started flowering, the peas and beans outside have all grown a bit too and the parsnips have definately grown.

The most important crop of all the chillis are doing well, all the plants are nice and healthy, some of them are still a bit on the small side but it wont be long before they are fully grown, of that im sure.

I also got a new toy this week, a nice shiny panasonic lumix lx3 digital camera, ive not taken many pics of the garden yet…just a few of the marigolds in the greenhouse, i have however taken a bucket load of pics when we nipped across to the lion inn at blakey ridge for a spot of walking followed by a few real ales and a lovely old perculiar casserole.

if you want to check out my photos from days out and about they are availble here

I will try and get some pics of the newly emerging veg along with adding a bit more info to my blog, if anyone has any requests for stuff they would like to see here please let me know

]]> http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/bottom-of-the-garden/growing-update/feed/ 0 2009 Growlist update http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/bottom-of-the-garden/2009-growlist-update/ http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/bottom-of-the-garden/2009-growlist-update/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:34:06 +0000 Andy http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/?p=327 Thought some of you may be interested to know what im actually growing this year, i know i posted a list earlier in the year but its changed quite a bit during the planning and germinating stage so here is the latest list:

Chillis and peppers:

  • Peter Pecker
  • Violet cayenne
  • golden cayenne
  • Mystery chilli
  • chilil fuego
  • Bell pepper
  • Dorset Naga
  • Hidalgo
  • Hot portugal
  • Sweet Pepper

Tomato:

 

  • Hawian Currant
  • Black Tomato
  • Choc Cherry 
  • Beams Yellow Pear
  • Eva Purple Ball

 

Other Veg:

  • Peas Early and meteor
  • Sweetcorn
  • Potato – Nicola,charlotte, kestrel and maris piper
  • red onion 
  • leek
  • parsnip – gladiator and white gem
  • golden cabbage
  • romanesco broccoli
  • mangetout
  • sugarsnap peas
  • purple climbing beans
  • french beans
  • Cucumber – telegraph, telapathy and crystal lemon
  • courgette – taxi f1
  • melon
  • butternut squash

Everything is still quite small due to the poor weather but they will hopefully shoot up soon.

]]> http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/bottom-of-the-garden/2009-growlist-update/feed/ 0