paull2

Tasty and unusual fruit

Like LilyL, I grow Cape Gooseberry plants in containers every year. They grow (too)rapidly in a GH, so I just have a couple outside in a sunny sheltered spot. Leave until just before first frosts in Oct or so for harvesting the sweet spicey fruits.

Also I have three small Dragon Fruit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_fruit) plants on the go (from seed) indoors and will be delighted just to get a flower.

Current challenge is Karela (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karela) which I can't yet get to germinate but will try this year. Have also failed to date with Persimon despite chilling the seeds for a few months. Any ideas?

Strawberries

Many thanks Bob.

Strawberries

I grew a hanging variety from seed last summer, and the plants grew and fruited quite well considering. I'm not sure how best to look after them in Spring. Do I break them up from the baskets and 'repot' in fresh compost or perhaps leave them in peace and ( liquid) feed them well when they flower?

James Grieve apple

I have had a similar problem with a Greensleeves variety which seems barely to have stayed alive this year since planting about 12 months ago. I think it's a drainage issue in my case... clay soil, wet Spring, slow drainage. I dug its hole well on a slight slope and added plenty of compost and bonemeal. I'm now considering digging it up, redigging the hole extensively with broken bricks etc too.

Something has taken all my apples !

Boule, yes squirrels are a damn nuisance and , officially, a pest. It is illegal to catch and release elsewhere so they should be destroyed humanely. But for pity's sake, try not to tell the world how you would dispose of them. One chap a few months ago was prosecuted for doing what you advocate. You are supposed to release the beast into a sack then club it on the head, officially. So be more careful or you will attract a passionate reaction from some posters here.

Greengages

Flo, I always understood that the best pollinator for Comice is in fact Concorde. I have both but the Comice still remains a bit of a failure each year with only a couple of pears. I think it doesn't like my sticky clay soil and would much rather have a chalky or sandy bed for its roots.

Regarding gages, yes they are a great fruit with rich spicy aroma. Better than the best of plums, so it surprises me that I've never planted one or two of my own. My mother-in-law's Old English variety is lovely but I can't say which is the frontrunner for flavour, hardiness, reliability etc.

Fig crop drop

His is planted out, large and, annoyingly, he does nothing with it but prune back every few years. The hard winter before last nearly did for it, but it sprang back to life by May/June although didn't fruit of course. The puzzling thing about mine is that, seemingly, nothing out of the ordinary has happened to them which means I have no lessons to learn for next time. Just when you think you're in some control, nature has its way of biting you back in the nethers!

Fig crop drop

I usually have a modest but pleasing crop of figs ... brown and white... from my two containered trees but this year is especially disappointing. Just when the fruit should begin to swell and ripen, nearly all have dropped off over the space of three days or so. Some I expect from non-pollination during the season but why such a sudden disaster? I understand that temperature drops can cause this (it did go cooler earlier this week) but my father-in-law's tree no more than a few hundred yards down the road has been unaffected. The trees are in a sheltered position and are reasonably well watered and fed.Anyone else suffering?

Damson Crop for 2012

I made 10 gals of damson wine with my crop last year. This year, I will be lucky to find 10 damsons! Lord knows what to expect for 2013.

Beetroot

Planted mine ( for the first time) outside in early May after growing from seed. Good soil, plenty of chicken pellets dug in. Watered (by the rain) almost daily. Some have hardly grown. The best, after 15-16 weeks, not much bigger than an egg. Looks like another few weeks or so to harvest these, but some in danger of bolting. What's to be done?! (and I don't even like beetroot)

Fig crop drop

Sweet potato

Dragon fruit

Tomatoes not setting fruit

Split stem courgettes

Cherry picking problem