I have to agree with my wife. My home grown sprouts taste dreadful compared
with Tesco's. Sprouts are my favourite veg, but not these. Where can I have
gone wrong?

Sprouts are the only veg I ever grow non organically. I find I have to give
the caterpillars a blast in July otherwise when we get back from hols
there'll be none left.

"Trevor" wrote ...
I have to agree with my wife. My home grown sprouts taste dreadful compared
with Tesco's. Sprouts are my favourite veg, but not these. Where can I have
gone wrong?

Sprouts are the only veg I ever grow non organically. I find I have to
give the caterpillars a blast in July otherwise when we get back from hols
there'll be none left.
Probably just a difference in variety, what varieties did you grow?
We usually grow Trafalgar and Icarus (both from T & M)
Were yours bitter to the taste? (old fashioned varieties were)

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

"Trevor" wrote in message
om...
I have to agree with my wife. My home grown sprouts taste dreadful compared
with Tesco's. Sprouts are my favourite veg, but not these. Where can I have
gone wrong?

Sprouts are the only veg I ever grow non organically. I find I have to
give the caterpillars a blast in July otherwise when we get back from hols
there'll be none left.
Veg gardening is not my forte-but this year I grew tomatoes, onions and
cucumbers in the garden.
It was *not* my idea.
My partner , the same one that will pick big bunches of flowers from the
garden although they have taken years to bloom,bought one of those packets
of various seeds and insisted that I plant them.
Results: -- Not bad really. Cucumber about the size of a sausage but tasted
just like cucumber.

Tomatoes --excellent yield and tasted of buga all.

Onions---Well, they made something the size of marbles (you lot call them
sets) and it was decided that these were worth noshing. Disgusting .

I will stick to flowers and other things and gladly buy veggie stuff
elsewhere.
I really admire the veggie growers who put their skill on the line.
No one ever knows that the bloom on my delphiniums is not really that good.

Bob Hobden wrote:
"Trevor" wrote ...

I have to agree with my wife. My home grown sprouts taste dreadful compared
with Tesco's. Sprouts are my favourite veg, but not these. Where can I have
gone wrong?

Sprouts are the only veg I ever grow non organically. I find I have to
give the caterpillars a blast in July otherwise when we get back from hols
there'll be none left.

Probably just a difference in variety, what varieties did you grow?
We usually grow Trafalgar and Icarus (both from T & M)
Were yours bitter to the taste? (old fashioned varieties were)

or is it just that they actually taste of something?
....also do you wait for a frost?

The message
from "Rupert" contains these words:

Results: -- Not bad really. Cucumber about the size of a sausage but tasted
just like cucumber.

OK - try growing them under polythene cloches at the very least. IME
last season was *NOT* good for cucumbers, even under glass.

Tomatoes --excellent yield and tasted of buga all.

Most commercial varieties (especially Moneymaker) do taste of SFA.

Try Ailsa Craig, Shirley or Alicante, in that order of (my) preference.

Some of the so-called 'vine tomatoes' also have good flavour, but I
couldn't specify a variety.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Rusty Hinge 2 wrote:

The message
from "Rupert" contains these words:
Results: -- Not bad really. Cucumber about the size of a sausage but tasted
just like cucumber.

OK - try growing them under polythene cloches at the very least. IME
last season was *NOT* good for cucumbers, even under glass.

How strange, I grew fine cucumbers this year outside in a vase a friend
gave me. The vase was made of rubber. I grew 4 huge cucumbers. They
tasted really really fresh too. I'm trying to find some more rubber
containers now because it's worth it really.

In message , Rupert
writes
Veg gardening is not my forte-but this year I grew tomatoes, onions and
cucumbers in the garden.
It was *not* my idea.
My partner , the same one that will pick big bunches of flowers from the
garden although they have taken years to bloom,bought one of those packets
of various seeds and insisted that I plant them.
Results: -- Not bad really. Cucumber about the size of a sausage but tasted
just like cucumber.

Tomatoes --excellent yield and tasted of buga all.

Onions---Well, they made something the size of marbles (you lot call them
sets) and it was decided that these were worth noshing. Disgusting .

I will stick to flowers and other things and gladly buy veggie stuff
elsewhere.
I really admire the veggie growers who put their skill on the line.
No one ever knows that the bloom on my delphiniums is not really that good.

Try fruit. Perennials are easier and a lot more forgiving ;-)

Most things need an annual prune. But you're not growing at such an
intensive pace, so if your garden soil is reasonably fertile, you don't
need to worry about fertiliser, it's easier to avoid pesticides, and you
can grow varieties and flavours that you can't get in the shops.

And whereas it is now possible to buy good quality vegetables not too
expensively, that's not quite so true of fruit.
--
Kay Easton

Kay Easton wrote:
Try fruit. Perennials are easier and a lot more forgiving ;-)
Most things need an annual prune. But you're not growing at such an
intensive pace, so if your garden soil is reasonably fertile, you don't
need to worry about fertiliser, it's easier to avoid pesticides, and you
can grow varieties and flavours that you can't get in the shops.
And whereas it is now possible to buy good quality vegetables not too
expensively, that's not quite so true of fruit.

Perhaps but you also need more space, more insect traps, you attract
nasty biting insects, you get more shade and your soil becomes
eventually no good for anything else. I inherited an orchard/lotty
once, belonging to an old head mistress since the war and it was indeed
marvelous, lots and lots of fruits I had but couldn't grow anything
else.

You can grow veggies in any sort of containers with very little effort.
You can grow vegs on the ground without having to dig either. I've
never used pesticides in anything I've grown.

"Mikey" wrote in message
...
Bob Hobden wrote:
"Trevor" wrote ...

I have to agree with my wife. My home grown sprouts taste dreadful
compared with Tesco's. Sprouts are my favourite veg, but not these. Where
can I have gone wrong?

Sprouts are the only veg I ever grow non organically. I find I have to
give the caterpillars a blast in July otherwise when we get back from
hols there'll be none left.

Probably just a difference in variety, what varieties did you grow?
We usually grow Trafalgar and Icarus (both from T & M)
Were yours bitter to the taste? (old fashioned varieties were)

or is it just that they actually taste of something?
...also do you wait for a frost?


It's not bitterness, and I did start using them in early Nov when we were
getting daytime temps regularly above 15 C.

I thought they might be better after frost, but we have had many many frosts
and it hasn't changed things.

The taste hints to me of some kind of insect activity rather than a chemical
or taste in the plant itself.

As for variety, well I'm no saint at record keeping. I choose two varieties
each year from the Organic Gardening Catalogue. One for Nov-Dec and one
late.

I definitely grow Peer gynt, because I read this was the last year it would
be available.

Just looking at their website, it looks like it'll be the Peer Gynt were
using now.

I've noticed a slight area of what looks like rot in the point where each
leaf comes together at the base of the bud, and I suspect this is the
problem.

"Trevor" wrote in message
. com...

"Mikey" wrote in message
...
Bob Hobden wrote:
"Trevor" wrote ...

I have to agree with my wife. My home grown sprouts taste dreadful
compared with Tesco's. Sprouts are my favourite veg, but not these.
Where can I have gone wrong?

Sprouts are the only veg I ever grow non organically. I find I have to
give the caterpillars a blast in July otherwise when we get back from
hols there'll be none left.

Probably just a difference in variety, what varieties did you grow?
We usually grow Trafalgar and Icarus (both from T & M)
Were yours bitter to the taste? (old fashioned varieties were)

or is it just that they actually taste of something?
...also do you wait for a frost?


It's not bitterness, and I did start using them in early Nov when we were
getting daytime temps regularly above 15 C.

I thought they might be better after frost, but we have had many many
frosts and it hasn't changed things.

The taste hints to me of some kind of insect activity rather than a
chemical or taste in the plant itself.

As for variety, well I'm no saint at record keeping. I choose two
varieties each year from the Organic Gardening Catalogue. One for Nov-Dec
and one late.

I definitely grow Peer gynt, because I read this was the last year it
would be available.

Just looking at their website, it looks like it'll be the Peer Gynt were
using now.

I've noticed a slight area of what looks like rot in the point where each
leaf comes together at the base of the bud, and I suspect this is the
problem.

Can the cabbage white caterpillars leave a taste in the plant?

BTW how do farmers grow acres of the blooming things? How do THEY keep the
caterpillars off? Sprays presumably?

Just off to have some Tesco sprouts, first in many weeks, so an interesting
test.

In article ,
(Rusty Hinge 2) wrote:

Tomatoes --excellent yield and tasted of buga all.

Most commercial varieties (especially Moneymaker) do taste of SFA.

Try Ailsa Craig, Shirley or Alicante, in that order of (my)
preference.


Or Gardeners Delight

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 12:01 +0000 (GMT), (Steve
Harris) wrote this (or the missive included this):

In article ,
(Rusty Hinge 2) wrote:

Tomatoes --excellent yield and tasted of buga all.

Most commercial varieties (especially Moneymaker) do taste of SFA.

Try Ailsa Craig, Shirley or Alicante, in that order of (my)
preference.


Or Gardeners Delight

Or Pineapple, Cristal, Dombito, Stupice or Santa.

Aviro is very good if you can find it.


--
®óñ© © ² * ¹°°³ -¹

The message
from Rusty Hinge 2 contains these words:

The message
from "Rupert" contains these words:

Results: -- Not bad really. Cucumber about the size of a sausage but
tasted
just like cucumber.

OK - try growing them under polythene cloches at the very least. IME
last season was *NOT* good for cucumbers, even under glass.

Tomatoes --excellent yield and tasted of buga all.

Most commercial varieties (especially Moneymaker) do taste of SFA.

Try Ailsa Craig, Shirley or Alicante, in that order of (my) preference.

Some of the so-called 'vine tomatoes' also have good flavour, but I
couldn't specify a variety.

--
Rusty

My cucs were fantastic Rusty. Burpless tasty green and I had 10 plants
(first time I`ve grown em) and I lost count of the number we got off em.
Once they got going they were as prolific as the courgettes.

Tomatos were a dead loss though.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

No answer to my sprout dilemma then? Had to tuck into them Tesco beauties
tonite!

"Trevor" wrote in message
. com...
No answer to my sprout dilemma then? Had to tuck into them Tesco beauties
tonite!


So did we :-)) Bloomin' good aint they?

Mike