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Acquiring banana plants may be difficult, but possible, other factors are more complex. I enjoy discussions with my co allotment holders and receive much country wisdom and advice to add to my shallow knowledge of allotmenting.
I fear that growing bananas might be viewed as a step too far, unease would be generated, could this invoke tempests, or visitations from goblins, I couldn't risk their anxieties.
I shall push the boundaries with some brightly coloured chard and see how we go.

Yep, OM can see the problem there. They would probably blame you for any crop failure due to some foreign plant invasion.

om15 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:21 pm

Acquiring banana plants may be difficult, but possible, other factors are more complex.

I was reading in the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette this past week, that someone on Teesside had a banana plant produce fruit this year for the 1st time.

It was many years old.

Pleased to report that my chilli plants are in full production.
Have this week removed final tomatoes from first plants, whih are now deceased. Scond bath of plants flourishing and should fruit in Septmber.

Sitrep, Rape has been raped, total disaster, my chap recons it is ants I think something else. His mother not pleased it was planted at her request. Bananas doing well four more plants given away. Three bunches ripening. Tomatoes (2 types) from Amorgos flowering well but their peppers not so good. Squash plants growing like crazy but hardly any flowers. Francolins keep digging up our sweet and ordinary spuds. Working hard on the sweet potato beds but not cropping well this year, dunno why. Runner beans not good. Thousands of lemons but the great news is our 5 year old orange trees have blossom on them this year for the first time. Also the clementines. Our housekeeper asked for squash leaves last week, new to us, cook like spinach I guess.

OM15 report in please. Ye 'aven't come off ye bike 'av ye.

Falling off my bike is about the only thing that hasn't happened (yet), domestics seem to have taken over, my friend Jaffa had a brain tumour and passed away two weeks ago in rather distressing circumstances which was pretty dreadful. We are house improving which means that carpenters, plasters, electricians and plumbers fail to turn up when planned and all materials ordered don't turn up on time and/or are not what I ordered, the whole house is covered in dust and I am sleeping on the floor, the carpet people are coming next week and it is vital to ensure that floors are back in place, it must end one day.

The allotment has been very successful, both as a source of food and helping to banish the effects of half a century of aviation induced stress, also I have met some delightful people with many alternative views on life. I had planned to ask for an additional plot, but as missus om has gently remarked we are groaning under the volume of produce and can't eat what we produce on that small plot as it is.
Success with raspberries, six canes have produced a daily supply of vit C, spuds have been great and we have enough for the winter, cabbages fine, onions, shallots all good, kale was ok, bags of brussels nearly ready. I planted some unknown peppers (80p a packet) which have produced hundreds of small yellow peppers of nuclear strength, ordinary peppers and capsicum picked and stored, (I am not sure if I should dry these or freeze them, under a pile of paint brushes in the shed at the moment).

Failures, possibly due to weather, are the winter broccoli bolted and flowered, I trimmed off the flowers and will see what they do next, celaric bolted and was binned, sweet corn munched by badgers, the celery doesn't seem to have grown as it should but is still there for the time being.

I have a row of sturdy leaks coming on well, and also a row of parsnips that had impressive plumage, don't know what's below ground.

I will try and find which unmarked packing case my camera is in and try to provide illustrations.

Had 2 nights of what local farmers have called a killing frost a couple of days back. I am on a hill, so not as bad as some. Seems to have killed off the top layer of leaves on all the squashes on the first night, but I got covers on the second (worse) night and didn't get any more damage. It was forecast only for "low lying areas", but I think they got that wrong. On the plus side, I'd just been advised to cut back the foliage anyway to promote ripening, so with luck I've just had the work done for me. The pumpkins still seem to be yellower today than they were yesterday, so fingers crossed.
Everything else is growing like mad. Parsnips and leeks look great, I'm still getting lettuce, tomatoes (not shown, they're on the deck by the house), and zucchini. Peppers ripening nicely and taste good as is (green).
I got about 3 million apples, but haven't the time or space to harvest any of them. Should be able to do them properly next year.

Am doing my own house renos, tenth year of it now (fifth house of mine, plus four houses of relatives). Everyone turns up on time (i.e. me ) and the materials are what I ordered, but it's a slow process. It does however have the benefits of being (extremely) cheap, exactly what I want, and of known quality.
My favourite incident was in a plumbers' merchant in Devon, bringing back a 22mm fitting that didn't fit my 22mm pipe. The guy behind me in the queue was a professional. He leaned forward, asked the age of my water tank, which I did my best to describe, and he said I wanted the 22mm adaptor, and reeled off a part number. The lad (who hadn't heard of such a thing) went and got it, a 22mm-22mm adaptor. Fractionally different outside diameter, same inside diameter. Apparently they changed the specs of the 22mm system not many years after decimalization, so the modern "22mm" don't match the legacy "22mm" (but only on some parts, and only when there's an 'r' in the month, and only if Leicester City hold the FA Cup). I offered my prayers to the Old Gods and the New, just to be safe.

Fox, that looks very good for year 1, still lots of produce growing, plus ample space around to expand when you become hooked on it, are you able to over winter anything or is it just too cold?
I carried out all jobs on my last house, as it was around 350 years old my imperfections went unremarked, however this house is 1980 ish, time for a D check and complete overhaul, I am doing the planning, gutting, cleaning, preparation and decorating, subbing out the replacement of plaster board ceilings and plastering, also got a proper tiler in with his laser equipment and impressive grouts, local carpenter with a machine shop has built superb quality fitted wardrobes. The idea is to get the house to showroom condition to achieve highest sale price and then buy another 350 year old ramshackle place, but that's the future.

Back to allotmenteering, here are a few snaps,
These peppers all came from one plant, it is still producing in this warm weather.

These small yellow peppers are absolute dynamite, no idea of the make, part number or description but bought a small pack of seeds for 80p in a diy shop and have produced high strength blow you head off fruit.

Brussels are nearly ready, leeks and parsnips coming on for winter veg, once all house jobs are complete I will get cracking digging, manuring, winter onions and shallots in, paint shed with preservative and maybe get another plot just for fruit bushes, exciting times ahead.

Overwinter? Coldest last year was -37 celsius. Two years before we had twenty foot of snow lying.
However, I do have a book on cold-framing by a local gardener, which means the growing season can be extended at both ends, and some crops can be left in the ground as a kind of living cold store. I shall be building a greenhouse and cold frames on the sides of the barn next year, reusing all the windows I am replacing. The double glazing has condensation in the old windows, but I shall separate them into single panes for the greenhouse. Should be able to pick up some more glass for nowt during the reno season next year.

I made cold frames from old windows in my last garden ( a small 0.5 acre plot of field that I bought and attached to the house), I was amazed at how effective they were in keeping seedlings and established plants going, but not in your temperatures of course.
I would really like a house with a proper conservatory, (not plastic Anglian windows junk) but well built, with lemons and possibly an indoor grape vine. Two of the vines that I planted from cuttings have established at the allotment, one has produced modest grapes. I had a dozen or so vines that occasionally produced a good crop in Devon, it is claimed that if you draw a line from Cardiff to Norwich grapes vines south of that will produce in the open, and above that they will not.

Sounds like a good move. I am hoping to have lemons in future years from a lemon tree or two. I'll keep them in the sunroom overwinter. Our winters are quite sunny - twice the sunshine hours of UK - and the snow reflection helps provide even more light.
Currently whipping up homemade pizza using my own tomatoes, oregano, and basil. Smells good so far!
Your peppers look good. Any recommended peppers for chillis, cayenne pepper, and paprika?

I have carried out some research on this, the correct horticultural name for yellow peppers is "yellow peppers", however I know that you appreciate technical specifications so I can advise that these peppers are rated at 30 000 to 50 000 Scoville heat units (comparable to tabasco and cayenne).
I am having a medium handful in a chilli this evening, I will let you know how I fair with this.

Situation report on a nice minced beef chilli meal with 3 yellow peppers added, served with rice and bread accompaniment.

Very tasty, but recommend not to be served as meal with one who is not an intimate acquaintance, a new girl friend for example.

You will need 8 imperial pints (4.546 litres) of strong lager, an absorbent towel the size of a bedspread, and ideally a galvanised bucket.
You will find that your sinus and nose will stream, and occasionally you will exhale your meal through both nostrils at intervals, I will report on internal effects in due course.

I can guess the rest, thanks.
Handstands under a cold shower.
I'm looking for something milder.

Sounds like a cold pebble is needed

I can now see why they were only 80p a packet.

Save now!

Pay later

Just tasted my first homegrown parsnip - roasted; delish!
Much better texture than anything shop-bought, probably because it was picked 3 minutes for hitting the oven.
The rest should be sweeter as we get more frosty nights. Toms almost gone, peppers still green. Have 3 pumpkins picked and another 13 turning orange.
Much activity every third night or so laying 1" polystyrene sheets over top to prevent the squashes freezing.