What I intend to do today or tomorrow number2

[Andraste]

Hi Penellype - having a catch-up on this thread today - I've missed the boat for this year but am wondering when you expect to start cropping from your Aug sowing of PSB and Kale? I'm wondering about whether to add this into my own plan for 2026. x

[Penellype]

Hi Penellype - having a catch-up on this thread today - I've missed the boat for this year but am wondering when you expect to start cropping from your Aug sowing of PSB and Kale? I'm wondering about whether to add this into my own plan for 2026. x

Good question! I'm not a great kale fan, but I do eat it for microgreens and I save some for seed for this. Basically I had sown some kale for microgreens in August which grew quite fast so I decided to pot up a couple of the seedlings to grow more seed. Unfortunately, like the calabrese I was growing at home, they got badly infested with grey cabbage aphid, and rather than try to save them and probably perpetuate the aphids, I put them in the hotbin. I've not grown kale from a sowing this late before, but by the time I noticed the aphids a couple of weeks ago the plants were about ready to plant out.

The PSB is a variety called Rioja which can be sown as late as August. I have never sown it quite this late before, but normally expect to be harvesting late winter, and the packet says Feb/Mar. The plants I sowed in May already have the buds that will produce the sideshoots, and I would expect them to be ready somewhat earlier. Last year I was eating the central heads from a May sowing in November, then growth pretty much stopped during January before starting again when it warmed up a bit.

[Penellype]

Tuesday jobs
Put away trays and wheelbarrow - done trays
Check brassicas and remove aphids - done
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Cut long grass at allotment if dry - no
Harvest tomatoes if any, romanesco, carrots, potatoes, check melons - done tomatoes and some potatoes plus baby spinach

Wednesday jobs
Clear space near woodshed and put away wheelbarrow
Check brassicas and remove any aphids
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Cut grass at allotment if dry
Check pots and water if necessary
Harvest remaining potatoes, tomatoes if any, romanesco, carrots, check melons

[Andraste]

Thanks Penellype,

We skipped Kale this year due to lack of space (resting & improving one of our 3 main beds meant we had to be ruthless) but it's definitely back in the spring plan for next year for autumn/winter harvesting - I'll be interested in seeing how your Aug sowing does there.

We tried PSB 3 years running planting out Jun/Jul but it's been hit & miss - we had 1 fabulous spring cropping but the other 2 years failed miserably so OH has become reluctant as it's in the ground for so long & it also got relegated with the lack of space this year. I did sow a 'Summer' PSB in early April but although the plants are looking good at the moment after a slow start we've not had the anticipated Sept crop yet - I've not given up on them yet but they're looking suspiciously like they should have been sown much earlier & might turn into a spring cropper after all!

[Penellype]

Thanks Penellype,

We skipped Kale this year due to lack of space (resting & improving one of our 3 main beds meant we had to be ruthless) but it's definitely back in the spring plan for next year for autumn/winter harvesting - I'll be interested in seeing how your Aug sowing does there.

We tried PSB 3 years running planting out Jun/Jul but it's been hit & miss - we had 1 fabulous spring cropping but the other 2 years failed miserably so OH has become reluctant as it's in the ground for so long & it also got relegated with the lack of space this year. I did sow a 'Summer' PSB in early April but although the plants are looking good at the moment after a slow start we've not had the anticipated Sept crop yet - I've not given up on them yet but they're looking suspiciously like they should have been sown much earlier & might turn into a spring cropper after all!

The kale has been thrown away because of the aphids, so that experiment hasn't worked.

I know what you mean about PSB taking up space for a long time. My nightmare is the aphids, which can totally destroy the whole crop, and are already appearing on the plants I have in the tunnel. Hopefully the frost will eventually kill them, until then I will have to remove as many as I can find every day. I am seriously considering giving up trying to grow summer calabrese as I have hardly eaten any of it in the last 3 years because of aphids. It used to be easy, it isn't now.

[Penellype]

Wednesday jobs
Clear space near woodshed and put away wheelbarrow - done
Check brassicas and remove any aphids - done
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - no
Cut grass at allotment if dry - done some edges
Check pots and water if necessary - done
Harvest remaining potatoes, tomatoes if any, romanesco, carrots, check melons - done except potatoes

Thursday jobs
Check brassicas and remove any aphids
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Cut grass at allotment if dry
Water where necessary
Harvest potatoes, tomatoes, romanesco, carrots, spinach, check cucumbers, melons, strawberries

[Andraste]

I can second Rary's recommendation a while back for making a garlic/water infusion with few drops of washing up liquid for aphid control - it does need reapplying after rain obviously and does take a couple of weeks to get properly stinky but you could speed the process by finely chopping the garlic/putting it through a garlic press maybe?

I empathise with your frustrations as I'm a big fan of calabrese & broc in any form but they're temperamental, tricky little so-and-sos for us. Luckily no aphid issues so far but I'm not tempting fate!

The slugs had a field day in 2022. We had awesome calabrese in 2023 - did all the same things (pretty much) in 2024 but they all came ready for picking at once & on the only weekend we didn't make it to the plot - ended up with 1 awesome head from 8 plants & a pile of bolted ones for the compost (my fault for not succession sowing really). Brocolletti bolts on me every time I've tried so I gave up What with that & the hit/miss spring PSB it's certainly enough to make us think twice too - but then we remember how tasty it is when it works

[Penellype]

I can second Rary's recommendation a while back for making a garlic/water infusion with few drops of washing up liquid for aphid control - it does need reapplying after rain obviously and does take a couple of weeks to get properly stinky but you could speed the process by finely chopping the garlic/putting it through a garlic press maybe?

I will try the garlic, thank you - I have some powdered garlic which I could use (I don't use enough of it to warrant growing my own).

[Penellype]

Thursday jobs
Check brassicas and remove any aphids - done for now
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Cut grass at allotment if dry - no, too wet
Water where necessary - done
Harvest potatoes, tomatoes, romanesco, carrots, spinach, check cucumbers, melons, strawberries - done except potatoes

No gardening time today

[Penellype]

Somewhat busy at the moment but yesterday I cleaned up the debris from the allotment hedge which the council cut on Friday and cut the allotment grass. Also harvested the watermelons (1 reasonable size, 1 small) which fell off in my hand when I touched them.

Sunday jobs
Collect rain water
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Pot up lettuce seedlings
Harvest tomatoes, potatoes, check melons, cucumbers

[Penellype]

Sunday jobs
Collect rain water - done
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Pot up lettuce seedlings - done
Harvest tomatoes, potatoes, check melons, cucumbers - done except potatoes, also a couple of small courgettes

Also made up a garlic solution and sprayed the PSB to hopefully deter aphids

Monday jobs
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Check PSB for aphids
Check tomatoes for blight
Feed citrus
Harvest lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot, melon

[Penellype]

Monday jobs
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Check PSB for aphids - done
Check tomatoes for blight - done
Feed citrus - done
Harvest lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot, melon - just tomatoes, but did harvest the last of the potatoes.

Also trimmed back nettles, brambles and long bit of allotment hedge

Tuesday Jobs
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Check for aphids and blight
Check pots and greenhouse plants and water if required
Harvest cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, check melons

[Penellype]

Tuesday Jobs
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Check for aphids and blight - done
Check pots and greenhouse plants and water if required - done
Harvest cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, check melons - done

Also rearranged the greenhouse a bit to give the citrus more light.

Wednesday jobs (weather permitting)
Garden photos (1st of month)
Check for aphids and blight
Harvest tomatoes, possibly melon

[Penellype]

Wednesday jobs
Garden photos (1st of month) - done
Check for aphids and blight - done
Harvest tomatoes, possibly melon - done


Not much gardening time today (collected water and harvested more tomatoes) and none at all tomorrow.

[Jungle Jane]

I’m planting my garlic this weekend. Soon I’m going to take out the two Cyril’s choice tomato plants in the soil & direct sow peas in that area. Plant the onion sets,some in the ground,some in a large tub & plant the daffodil,crocus & allium bulbs I bought today.