Beans and Cucumbers

Three cheers for Bob Flowerdew! or "Saint Bob" as he is known... on Gardeners Question Time, his tip for the week was to extend the productive life of cucumbers by cutting down the main stem to about the 2nd leaf joint, and the plant would grow like new again. It did ! The tired old stem was up to the roof of the greenhouse and had just about exhausted itself. Within a few days of cutting right back to about 18" from the pot, new green growth has sprung forth and a new crop of cucumbers is already developing - the longest is already a healty 5".

I had also planted a 2nd crop of cucumber seeds at the beginning of July, and these replacement plants are also thriving - except for some nasty case of white mould. Apparently "Bob says" cucumbers do not mind the shortening day length at all, they do however appreciate the warmth, so as long as I can keep them warm they should carry on producing cucumbers.

I am also picking my second crop of dwarf French beans. These were also sown at the beginning of July when I got back from holiday - I am picking handfuls every day. Yum!