Wednesday 29 March 2017

Purple haze carrot days to maturity

I bought and planted some Purple Haze carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) seeds.  I didn't have great germination rates, probably only about 10% which was rather unimpressive but not really surprising as I bought the seeds from Bunnings.

Purple Haze carrots had dark purple skin and an orange interior.  They didn't really taste like a purple carrot, instead they tasted much like an orange carrot which was rather disappointing.

I am not terribly fond of carrots and don't think they are worth growing at home as the yield is small for the space and time that they take.

The following were the days to maturity for Purple Haze carrots.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       23/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           03/11/2016       Day 11
Harvest start         04/03/2017       Day 132

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Wednesday 22 March 2017

Regina Strawberry Days to Maturity

I grew several different alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) from seed this past summer.  I looked on ebay for seeds, but the vast majority of strawberry seeds on ebay do not exist.   Due to this I had to get seeds from more expensive, but more reliable places.

Being in Australia the dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Days to maturity Regina Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

Planted                        08/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 19/10/2016                   Day 11
Flowered                    13/02/2017                   Day 125
First fruit ripe              13/03.2017                   Day 153 (about 5 months)

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.
Strawberry seedlings

Thursday 16 March 2017

Jade Bean Days to Maturity

Jade Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were grown this year, they are a nice variety of heirloom bean that is both rather tasty and pretty.  I planted 3 Jade bean seeds that were 5 years old and was surprised that they all grew and cropped well. Even though I find it difficult to find green beans among green foliage it is still a good variety of bean.

The following were the days to maturity for Jade beans.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       03/12/2016       Day 0
Germinated           11/12/2016       Day 8
Flowered              14/01/2017       Day 42
Harvest start         05/02/2017       Day 64

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Monday 13 March 2017

Snake Bean days to maturity

Snake beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) are also called yard long beans or asparagus beans. 

I was always told that snake beans took too long to mature and may not crop in cooler regions.  I am glad to say that this is not quite the truth.  They are quite an impressive looking plant, which grows an impressively long bean, that tends to crop well even in short seasons.  So this year I recorded the dates. 

The following were the days to maturity for Snake beans.  This year I grew a mix of red and green snake beans (as well as crosses).  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       03/12/2016       Day 0
Germinated           07/12/2016       Day 4
Flowered              ??/??/2016        Day??
Harvest start         03/02/2017       Day 62

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Snake Bean flowers
Snake Beans starting to ripen

Wednesday 8 March 2017

Days to Maturity Pumpkin Kaempw Melon Rilon

This year I planted seeds of a pumpkin named Kaempw Melon Rilon.  I was told it was Cucurbita pepo but I am almost certain it is actually Cucurbita maxima.

Below are the days to maturity for this pumpkin in my garden this year.  I possibly could have harvested the pumpkins a lot earlier (perhaps Christmas time) or a bit later, I don't really know how to tell when pumpkins are ripe.  I don't usually pay them much attention and normally just wait for the plant to die back somewhat and then harvest.

This year I picked an arbitrary day to harvest when the pumpkins had each set a large pumpkin that was no longer growing or changing colour and started to set a second round of fruit.  The pumpkins weighed roughly 8 kg or 9 kg each.

Being in Australia the dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Kaempw Melon Rilon Pumpkin days to maturity (most likely Cucurbita maxima)

Planted                       16/10/2016                 Day 0
Germinated                 26/10/2016                 Day 10
Started flowering         01/12/2016                 Day 46
Harvest                       05/03/2017                 Day 180 (possibly Day 70 if picked at Christmas)

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Pumpkin - Kaempw Melon Rilon

Sunday 5 March 2017

Immali Corn Days to Maturity

This year I planted Immali corn (Zea mays).  I am very biased because I created this variety, but I think that this is a great variety of sweet corn.  Being high in anthocyanin and other antioxidants that are not usually present in sweet corn it is also very healthy.

A while ago someone complained because I did not tell them how many days until harvest.  To be more accurate, they complained because they looked up a random variety of sweet corn days to maturity on the internet and assumed that Immali corn would be exactly the same, but it wasn't, and somehow I am to blame.  I think I have mentioned in other posts how 'days to maturity' mean different things to different people and is often a pointless number.  For this reason I record all the important dates.

Unfortunately until this year I had never accurately recorded the days to maturity for Immali corn.  Now I have.  Please note that this is simply what happened in my garden this year.  The days to maturity would be longer or shorter if conditions were different.  It is indicative only and I plan to use it as a guide to when to plant seeds next year.

The following were the days to maturity for Immali corn.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       16/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           24/10/2016       Day 8
Flowered              21/12/2016       Day 66
Harvest ready       30/01/2017       Day 106
Cobs dry ready to save seed 05/03/2017   Day  140

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Immali corn cobs