soapdragon Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 OOOPs, I meant 'adorned' as I'm not really very taken with them at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Lots of walnuts! Sorry about my big bottom! That's being sorted now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 2, 2018 Author Share Posted September 2, 2018 That is an enormous walnut tree, I don't think I've seen a bigger one. What are you going to do wih all the nuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 I think a kazillion banana and walnut loaves, date and walnut cakes and probably carrot cakes and buy a bigger freezer! I hope they aren't too bitter - that's the reason why I prefer pecans. I'll have to see how we collect them and get rid of the soft outer shell. I think I saw something about rubber gloves and a scrubbing brush - I believe it might dye your hands, but not sure. I don't think they look as big as the ones in the shops at Chr (sensored middle bit) mas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 They will just drop when they are ready -and the outer shells come off a bit like horse chestnuts. We had a huge walnut tree in the school grounds until earlier this year when we had to finally give in and have it removed. It's roots had broken up a 3 inch thick concrete path and were within a foot of the school building (old Victorian place) so down it came! I have some logs saved and am planning to find someone who can do some wood turning for us when they have seasoned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 2, 2018 Author Share Posted September 2, 2018 I just love date and walnut, haven't had it for years. Quite fancy some now actually You could also try pickled walnuts, and in France they make walnut oil, I wonder how that is done. Soapdragon - Walnut furniture is quite special isn't it, it must be exciting to have some wood to turn into something What will you have made by a turner? My neighbour made me a porridge spoon from something cut down in his garden (not walnut), and I also have a huge bread/cheese/chopping board from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 It depends on how much usable wood we end up with, Daphne. Someone (qualified arborisomething) came to prune back our tow silver birches and, when I asked his advice, he said that there is not a lot of really good, usable wood on walnut which s why it's so expensive! I had thought about bowls or plates which should be easy on a pole lathe - I'd like to give them back to the two previous Head Teachers (new one just started) and have some in school. I am guessing that we could take slices through some of the nicer shaped logs to use as cheeseboards/chopping boards too. Date and walnut is nums esp with coffee buttercream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 That sounds lovely it has such depth to the colour and patterns in the wood are so interesting. Pass the walnut and coffee when you've made it. Off on another tangent and sorry not veg but how have folks fuchsias done this year. I've had hardly any flowers and quite a lot of greenery from all varieties. I thought the warm weather would have them blooming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 I think my fuschias have done pretty well this year. My favourite has to be 'Prawn Cocktail' which survived being outside in all the winter weather - a very pretty plant. I think one of my others is called 'Snowcap' and that has had lots of pretty flowers too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Just me then. I've always used tomato food and my father in law told me it would just give me a lot of foliage. He was right this year. I looked yours up and they are lovely especially the first. I love the edge to the petals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Mine didn’t start to flower until late August but they’re doing ok now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 We have loads of grapes this year so in a couple of weeks we’re picking them and taking them along to the OxBucks wine cooperative. The idea is that we get back a few bottles of wine later in the year. Last year it was Rose. Not sure what it will be this year. Also, we have masses of walnuts - which we fight the pesky squirrel for! Not sure how to turn these into Xmas walnuts. We tried drying then scraping the green skin off last year, but it wasn’t very productive. Anyone done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Sounds fun. I agree - walnuts turning up in places nowhere near the tree but the squirrels have been all over the place! OH has made cider vinegar - it's still brewing in the boiler room, smells nice though. Meanwhile we've been eating apples and giving them away. OH has been cooking a fair amount and we have loads in the freezer. Still loads left. Waiting for our apple press to arrive now - it's been out of stock so October they expect them to be sent out. Harrods Horticultural (not the London place) are doing an offer at the moment for these. Meanwhile we have 235 bottles plus tops to fill with apple juice (we also have a pasturiser now) but I don't think we'll be filling all of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 We stewed down loads of tomatoes to make passatta and, having cut down the 'vines' outside lots of the green ones are now on the windowsill to ripen. Masses of fruits still too small on the fig tree which won't come to anything now- such shame! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 One of my tomato plants is finally producing ripe toms, but I hate them! It’s a Roma tomato, but they are dry and grainy and just not nice... I like my toms more juicy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 How annoying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 So disappointing - you've grown them, looked after them and then they have the cheek to not be tasty for you! OH has made a big compost bin out of the wood we found in the garage (plus a few posts we bought the other day for stability) and we've already started using it. Did a fair bit of shredding to mix with the lawn mowings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 Regarding walnuts....don't they just dry out by themselves? I've gathered fallen nuts from the tree at school before it's sad demise and they've sort of got lost in the car! Then I realised I'd got a load of walnuts rattling around under the seats. They we like the ones that you buy in nets from the supermarkets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 Walnuts are great, and they do die your skin, so glove up! We have a few walnut trees outside my office and I am keeping a close eye on them. Tomatoes did really well after a slow start, probably because I was aya with my dad at the end of June, and the lovely neighbour didn't water them quite as much as I would've. I now have loads of green ones, so will see if these few days of sunshine produce any more red/orange ones, or make green tomato and apple chutney. My fuschia in the front garden was also slow to start, but has done very well again this year. It seems to like the heat there and gets a dollop of compost every winter, and cut right down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 My tomatoes have been fab all summer. I was surprised that I couldn't actually pull them up, mostly because of my shoulder, but mostly because of the roots on them. They were huge and had a lot of spreading roots that you don't seem to get in a pot. I'm going to grow tomatoes as bedding plants in the garden again next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I didn't know walnuts grew on trees. I don't know where I expected to find them other than a Christmas nut selection. I grew up in the countryside but most of my life has been urban. Valkyrie, you have a lovely bottomly bottom. If you were referring to the tree then I apologise for being so personal! I went to Covent Garden today to see the biggest pumpkin in Europe. It was pretty impressive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 That is one large pumpkin! I love the colours of the display. Did you know that China, followed by India, are the world’s largest pumpkin suppliers? I got that gem from the Ashmolean Museum which celebrated Pumpkin Day earlier this week. We took 3 grandchildren to pick their own pumpkins this week. Very impressive to see hundreds of them lying in the field. Shame they’d removed all the foliage as it didn’t give the little ones much of an impression of how they are actually grown, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 There was a farmer on TV here yesterday taking one of his pumpkins somewhere to show. He said it was 485kg and that the world record was four times as big! Regarding walnuts. The green case juice certainly does stain your skin. You are supposed to dry them out at which time the case has turned black, dried and split and can be pulled off. Down here this happens on the tree if the birds and squirrels don't get to them first. We had a bumper crop a week ago and managed to pick the remaining just a few dozen yesterday; they are turning up all over the place, presumably because the birds have dropped them. Perhaps they can be dried inside somewhere near the boiler or in the airing cupboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 That's strange - thought I'd responded to those lovely photos. That's a huge pumpkin display! No walnuts at all - the little furry tree hopping rats nicked the lot. I was kicking round the grass underneath yesterday and the only thing I saw was an open but empty half shell. The little stinkers. Ah well on the brighter side we have 6 good sized sweet chestnuts to roast on the fire at some stage. Meanwhile we have harvested lots of leaves for compost! Not bothering with field bits - most of those have been blown way down the road anyway, but in the garden where things stay where they land have been sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Well we have all been away from harvesting for a while, I don't recall seeing the last few posts on here, not sure where I have been for the past few months! That is an amazing pumpkin display, what a lovely picture, but all that autumnal goodness seems a long way away, already. On our return to Portugal we have found the clementine tree still full of fruit and we are trying to eat it/juice it before it goes dry or rotten. I reckon we have another month or so, which makes the tree productive for 3 months, which isn't bad. The 2 orange trees are less mature, but one has giant sized navels (not so sweet) and the other a reasonable number of sweet, late, oranges. The tangerine always fruits a bit later, like April, but it is quite poor this year. More positively, my November sowed broad beans (all 80 or so of them, I have gone a bit mad) are already starting to have flower buds, and the peach tree opened its first flower today. Nothing else is stirring, although the 2 new almonds have some fattish buds which are a good sign. Potatoes are chitting, Charlotte, Lady Christl and Maris Peer are what I have gone for. We have dug the beds and put in some wood ash, and will be hoping for the best. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
