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Australia
I ran away from teaching to the country to grow veggies. There are also some chooks and a pair of troublesome goats who were so much trouble they had to go! My simple green life isn't always as simple or as green as I'd like...but I keep trying!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fat Fruit Friday # 11 - What's worked

Now, about that cucumber.

It survived 'Drought by Cook' 
and even if some leaves are a little yellow,
it has loved being in the greenhouse.


It has an abundance of flowers but no fruit.
This is probably due to the lack
of pollinators inside the greenhouse.


Tomatoes and capsicums happily self pollinate.
I have been tapping the plants each morning to assist them with this.

So the verdict is:
Cucumbers grow really well in a greenhouse.

The other cucumbers (in a pot outside, and in the ground)
are pathetic specimens... not even worthy of a photo.

However, cucumbers do not fruit in the greenhouse.
So I will be moving this one 
outside shortly to see what happens.


This container of salad greens is a surprise.  
I didn't think they would like the heat at this time of the year.
However, I keep picking them and they keep re-growing.
I will be planting a replacement crop soon.


There are some brassicas 
(broccoli, purple sprouting broccoli, and broccolini)
ready to be transplanted into the veggie patch.

Not only did they germinate well,
but the dreaded white butterflies
have not found them in the greenhouse.

And the chilli....nice.


I am counting the days till I pick this one!
Verdict: Capsicums LOVE the greenhouse.



9 comments:

  1. It is so interesting to hear about the results in and out of the glasshouse.

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  2. do you keep your Gh open? cause i have a mass of cues from my Gh cues

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  3. The greenhouse has vents under the eaves on along the ridge line. I have only been cracking the door open...to keep the chooks (and the goats when they were here) out. Maybe I need to put something across the bottom to stop the livestock but let the bees in. Mmmm. Food for thought. Thanks Mrs Mac.

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  4. that is exactly what i do a put a piece of chicken wire in the doorway but only the bottom half of the door..you could hand pollinate with a paint brush for right now thou

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  5. I'd be interested to hear whether you like the Mizuna in that salad mix. I have found that although it looks very attractive, it doesn't seem to taste of anything.

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  6. Mark: When I was a little girl I insisted that lettuce tasted like grass. Any of that green salady stuff still tastes a bit like that...with slight variations. It is what you do with it that counts...the things you put with it and a nice dressing. Yum!

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  7. I have poor luck with cucumbers but I tried one this year that did produce fairly well. This is the description and it doesn't need pollinators.

    Tasty Jade...Early, slender Japanese cucumbers.

    Vigorous, high-yielding plants produce glossy, thin-skinned, 11-12" long fruit with crispy, fresh flavor. All-female and parthenocarpic (fruits can set without pollination). Suitable for outdoor or greenhouse culture. Trellis for straight fruit.
    ------------

    So they may be worth trying next year. And as the name said, they were very tasty.

    Really enjoyed your blog. I grow an India Mizuna...very spicy, full of texture, not like grass ;-)

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  8. You could try tickling inside your cucumber flowers with a small soft haired paintbrush... you would be doing what the bees do in passing the pollens around... I'm sure i recall my dad doing something like this...

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