Triffids.

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Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
A few years ago I planted a hop plant in my garden. It's currently 18 ft long, 7 ft tall, and has spread into the garden by another 10 feet. I also noticed it's made a bit of a break out of the garden and by another 10ft in each direction... It's been like this every summer for years, I often joke that it's a triffid.

Well I used to...

I planted a pumpkin in my veg plot last year, Uchi Kuri, a small variety, I didn't want anything too big. It over spilled the veg bed and spread about 6'. This year I planted another in the veg bed. It had over spilled by about 5ft before I went on holiday. I came back to find that the pumpkin has spread to 18ft long, climbed up a tree and a my other hop plant to over 7ft tall, and is putting out quite a few fruit... It's kinda taken over the half of the garden the hop triffid hadn't...

I thus conclude that if anyone is to ever create real triffids, it's going to be by crossing hops with pumpkins, they're taking over everywhere!

PS, does anyone know any good preserve recipes for pumpkins?

Julia
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,451
475
46
Nr Chester
My first time planting pumpkin. The other day it had hold of the dog, I am afraid to let the boy play in the garden now :)

Guess its all a learning experience.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
I planted a giant Pumpkin on our old compost heap.

It ran 20'

It climbed a 10' hedge

and down the other side

It then went 20' out into the field.

One of the pumpkins weighed over 70 pounds.

I do not kid ;)

We learned to pick the pumpkins at football size - they make stunning soup

Pumpkin Patch by British Red, on Flickr

999 - they're coming by British Red, on Flickr

1 - Cut by British Red, on Flickr

3 - halve and hollow by British Red, on Flickr

4 - dice by British Red, on Flickr

13 - cook by British Red, on Flickr

99 - tea by British Red, on Flickr
 

Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
I never quite understood the whole "how big a pumpkin can I grow" thing. I wanted to have lots of sensible sized (about 1kg) fruit, rather than 1 big one...

Julia
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Its fun - and you get a LOT of seeds to sell which is nice. But its too much to process. The smaller ones have a nicer texture too :)
 

Miniwhisk

Forager
Apr 7, 2010
125
0
Gloucestershire
A few years ago I planted a hop plant in my garden. It's currently 18 ft long, 7 ft tall, and has spread into the garden by another 10 feet. I also noticed it's made a bit of a break out of the garden and by another 10ft in each direction... It's been like this every summer for years, I often joke that it's a triffid.

Well I used to...

I planted a pumpkin in my veg plot last year, Uchi Kuri, a small variety, I didn't want anything too big. It over spilled the veg bed and spread about 6'. This year I planted another in the veg bed. It had over spilled by about 5ft before I went on holiday. I came back to find that the pumpkin has spread to 18ft long, climbed up a tree and a my other hop plant to over 7ft tall, and is putting out quite a few fruit... It's kinda taken over the half of the garden the hop triffid hadn't...

I thus conclude that if anyone is to ever create real triffids, it's going to be by crossing hops with pumpkins, they're taking over everywhere!

PS, does anyone know any good preserve recipes for pumpkins?

Julia

You just have green fingers!

That was an extremely funny read - thanks for the much needed laugh. Good luck with those pumpkins you could send them to farmers market if your crop is bumper-?
 

boatman

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 20, 2007
2,444
4
77
Cornwall
I hope the OP has the obligatory sign on the road.

tc86.gif
 

Goatboy

Full Member
Jan 31, 2005
14,956
17
Scotland
I hope the OP has the obligatory sign on the road.

tc86.gif

Somebody's been watching the goodies!

Planted pumpkins and "burpless" cucumbers in tubs in my wee front garden the other year and they took over (and Snoop my JRT used to lie in wait amongst them!). Was lovely though and the harvest from such a small area was great. Left some and the birds had a great time as I'd periodically split one open for them to pick their way through. (I like the seeds too and munched my way through them.)

Down at the water treatment plant in the village the local kids planted sunflowers all over the screening bank in amongst the saplings.
What a show, some of them got really big and the bird life that was attracted once ripe was great to sit and watch. Brightened up an otherwise potentially drap area too.

Biggest non tree thing I ever had in my garden was a plant I saved from a clearance area on an estate I was working on, popped it in a damp patch and the Gunnera just took off. This isn't a pic of mine but a stock one to show you the size of these things. Used to kid on the local kids that it was prehistoric rhubarb!
 
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boatman

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 20, 2007
2,444
4
77
Cornwall
Somebody's been watching the goodies!

No, it was a thing in the car on journeys as with being the first to spot a tank crossing or a tin mine engine house. Favourite was a sign for a construction business

images

We wondered if they were worse than "phantom pregnancies."
 

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