Garden full of surprises (From Blackpool Citizen)

Garden full of surprises

10:23am Thursday 20th September 2007

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MY little urban garden constantly surprises me.

I had thought the runner-bean plant was exhausted, with only a few beans left growing.

However, my wife discovered loads of beans which had grown to quite a large size in the middle of the bush.

Within a couple of minutes she had gathered more than enough for several meals.

The beans are hard to find at the best of times, as they are perfectly camouflaged against the bushy foliage which is exactly the same shade of green as the beans.

I had also discovered some celeriac bulbs that I had forgotten I had planted, but which became obvious once we got rid of the bolted broccoli.

I still cannot work out when to pick the remaining corn on the cob - the last one I took was not quite ready and I do not want to waste what is left.

They should be about ready to pick now, but they do not seem to have grown much in the last couple of weeks. I also have a small green windowbox, which actually is not on a window - it sits on the gravel next to the boxes.

But in there is a broccoli plant which, even this late in the year, has produced a small perfectly formed head and shows no sign of bolting like the rest.

A small tomato plant I rescued from the grow bags has also produced about 10 tiny tomatoes, but I think they are too late to fruit properly. I am move it indoors.

I still have some swedes growing and when they are ready, hopefully around the same time as its root cousin the celeriac, I will make my famed swede and celeriac mash - takes ages to do, but is well worth it.

The bamboo that a friend gave me this year has really taken off. If it carries on, I will soon be able to supply my own canes for use in the garden.

The strawberries are still fruiting, but much more slowly now. I have picked the rest of the beetroot, which are not very big but will be OK I think.

I discovered a small mangled pepper on one of the pepper plants. I thought nothing had grown at all and was surprised to see this misshapen green pepper hiding away under what is left of the leaves.

I also took the rest of the spring onions, some of which had grown to a good size with firm white bulbs and good green stalks.

The larger onions I planted fared less well, some growing to a reasonable size while others hardly grew at all.

• If you have a vergetable plot you are proud of or have any gardening tips contact Wes Wright at 01204 537352 or send an email to wwright@theboltonnews.co.uk

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