I had some pepper plants still going on the patio, hoping the little green fruits would get larger, but now one or two have started to show frost damage so I've finished off all those remaining.
Meanwhile, the chilli plant we brought indoors has decided to make up for its pathetic summer crop by flowering again. We will have Christmas chillies!
The plant seems to have a problem though, with several leaves turning yellow and dropping off, and traces of cobweb around the leaves. Looks like spidermite, methinks. (If anyone knows better, do tell...)
I'm reluctant to spray the plant while it's fruiting, but misting daily with water is supposed to help so I must get myself a new spray bottle (my old one doesn't work anymore) and start this a.s.a.p!
Half of the summer's chilli harvest...
The outdoor sowings I made in early autumn have had mixed results - the spinach has all died, the perpetual spinach has mildew and is being eaten by snails, the Nero di Toscana has been munched, the winter gem lettuce never came up... But the spring onions, radishes and claytonia are doing marvellously, and I've tucked them up in the plastic greenhouse for winter. In fact, the claytonia has self-seeded prolifically and is coming up everywhere...
I'm not sure exactly what happens from here; will my salad crops keep growing slowly and steadily throughout winter, or do they stop completely and give me an early crop in the spring? I'll soon find out, I suppose... It would have been ideal to start them a month or two earlier so I could pick some during the winter - must try harder next year!
The purple sprouting brocolli and kale are still battling on and, barring any disasters over winter, should be ready to give me a great crop as soon as the weather warms up for spring. Not every plant has put on satisfactory pre-winter growth, but as long as I get them through the winter I'm sure they'll catch up.
Next task, now we've had a few decent frosts, is to get back to the plot and dig the parsnips up to store in a box of soil in a sheltered spot at home, safe from frozen ground, snails and flooding!
2 comments:
Webbing certainly sounds like spider mite but you should be able to see the little insects. Could it have something to do with changing the conditions suddenly by bringing the plant in?
It's been indoors for a couple of months now but this has only started in the last couple of weeks, so it doesn't seem like it could be the change in conditions, but I can't spot any insects either! Still, something must be creating the webs. Mysterious...
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