Peas

Sugar snap climbers - supposedly a summer crop?

Mangetout Kennedy and Greenfeast.

Red currant

Never seen one for sale until yesterday, Let's see how it does.

Needs a layer of acid compost - later today.

F1 Ferrari Shallots

Should be planted by Michael Schumacher?

Seemingly these are a thing:

I have another two pots - need to find a diverse sort of place for them. More sun? Wetter? Drier?

Update 2017/02/20:

These all died off ages ago.

Update 2017/03/25:

No they didn't. All the tyres that contained shallots are showing signs of renewed life... and I nearly replanted.

Update 2017/04/30:

Doing well enough to transplant some into new tyres -- now got 2 with local type shallots, and 4 with the Cape Town version.

Strawberries

The end result.

Last season I tried growing strawberries in vertical columns made out of pvc milk bottles, but this wasn't very successful. Not enough soil or space.

This season is more traditional - a few runners planted into tyres along the base of the grape trellis have been doing very well. We've collected a bowl full similar to the above every couple of days for a week or two. The competition is from the thrush.

There's enough space for another row of about 8 to 10 tyres here, but not enough compost.

Update 2016/11/03:

Watsonia

Doing OK in a tyre...

Parsnips

Planted two seasons ago, and haven't done much. Haven;t died,either.

Raspberries

What can I say?

After struggling for years trying to grow them, they're coming up all over the place.

Update 2016/11/03:

Update 2016/11/16:

Update 2016/12/01:

Come up all by itself in exactly the right place....

Ixia and rhe Ixias

One of our cats and her namesake:

Posing isn't her strong suit.

Update 2017/05/16:

Hales Best sweet melon

\
Never been successful with this sort of thing before, but after good results with squash in a tyre last season I'm giving them a go.

Planted 9 seeds, let's see if they come up in 10 to 15 days.

Update 2016/10/29

Update 2016/11/03:

Update 2016/11/29:

Update 2016/12/02:

Salad greens

A few lettuce type things planted in between the tyres:

Red oak lettuce. It's done well in the past and this is about the 4th time I've planted it.

Mazuna. Claims to be a lettuce substiture. Not very well known to Google, unless I'm missing something?

Tastes OK.

 Actually in the tyres are the Contender bush beans that came up. The gaps have been filled.

Update 2016/11/03:

Mainly chard and spinach. And a cat.

Update 2017/01/10:

Hybrid Zucchini - Green Tiger

35 days to harvest is the claim....

I grew "normal" courgette/baby marrow last season, and they were really prolific. They tend to sprawl, though, so not that suited to container cultivation.

Update 2016/10/12:

The seeds failed to come up, to the extent I replanted with baby marrow a few weeks later. A few days ago it looks like everything germinated at once, so presumably germination depends on temperature. Now not sure which is which!

Update 2016/10/22:

Update 2016/11/03:

Update 2016/11/29:

Update 2016/12/02:

Assorted patty pan squash

These were very successful last season - most of them were the yellow ones. Fifty days to harvest is the claim.

Update 2016/10/12:

Same story as Zucchini - about a month to germinate, but there they all are.

Update 2016/10/22:

Update 2016/10/29

Update 2016/11/03:

Update 2016/11/29:

Update 2016/12/02:

Globe Artichoke

Previous entry on globe artichokes here.

In its second year:

The crown is well established, so this year should see good growth.

I moved the plant in the other tyre to a different location. It took a bit of a knock, but is growing. Much smaller than the one above, but will have much more room to expand..

Update 2016/10/01:

Two extra artichokes in tyres. The spacing between them is probably better.

Update 2016/10/29

An extra two plants added, making six in all, each in their own tyre.

Update 2016/11/30:

First bud from established plant. Still small. so will have to play it by ear when to pick it...

Update 2017/01/23:

Update 2017/05/11: