It's very rare that I harvest these when they are the size they should be, and I don't really need more than a couple of plants, last Year I grew "Summer Holiday" as it looks like a beach ball, and I liked the idea of stuffing it.
For 2026 it's back to the more traditional green courgettes and seeds still in my Seed Box, are:-
Blackstar F1 - Mr Fothergill's - 10 Seeds - £2.15 - Packaged 2022 Sow By 2025 Price as of this posting £2.99
Shows exceptional disease resistance. You can expect reliable crops of beautiful, dark and glossy fruits. Vigorous, plants have an open habit which promotes early cropping.
British Summertime F1 - Dobies - 10 Seeds - £ 2.99 (2022) - Packaged Year ending 2022 Cost RRP £3.49 (2024), sold for 89p in 2025. Today on sale at £2.99 so back to the 2022 price.
British Summertime is the British bred courgette that will yield an abundance of fruit even in cold weather conditions. British bred and perfect to grow in a British Summer (dull and wet!) One of the earliest fruiting courgettes. The plant habit is an exceptionally open bush which improves air circulation, reducing the incidence of disease and fruit rot, allowing for the rapid picking of top-quality dark green fruit. Spine-free, so no scratched hands when you harvest.
Sow April - June
Sow seeds singly (April - June) 25mm (1") deep into a 75mm (3") pots indoors or in a greenhouse at 18 - 25C (64-77F) Grow on and plant out in the garden after hardening off, when the risk of frost has passed leaving 600mm (24") each way between plants, alternatively plant in 450mm (18") containers. Can also be sown directly outdoors into warm well-drained, moist soil after the risk of frost has passed , sowing 2-3 seeds at 600mm (24") intervals and thinning out to the strongest seedling.
Plant Out June - Aug
Harvest July - Oct.
Height 610-700mm (2' - 2'7")
More Information
Water courgettes regularly - do not allow the soil to dry out as this will impair their development. Hoe between plants regularly to prevent weeds from establishing. Courgettes appreciate an application of a high potash fertiliser every two weeks during the growing season.
Hand pollinating courgettes is not usually required when they are grown outdoors. However, for indoor cultivation the female flowers can be fertilised by pressing a male flower against them.
Begin harvesting courgettes from midsummer onwards when they are 10cm (4") long. Regular harvesting will encourage more courgettes to be produced. Culinary note: Courgette flowers are edible and can be eaten cooked or added raw to salads.
Added in the Dobies catalogue for 2024 with an average of 350 Seeds in a pack for £2.49
Still selling at £2.49 at the time of this post
Excellent resistance to downy mildew makes Spinach ‘Patton’ a strong choice for winter production in a cold greenhouse, as well as for summer picking. This super-hardy, reliable variety forms sturdy, upright plants with thick, dark green, slightly wavy leaves that are resistant to bolting and perfect for use at baby leaf stage or larger.
Days to maturity: 42.
Height and spread: 30cm (12in).
Added in the Dobies catalogue for 2023 Santa Cruz F1
Packed year ending 2023
In 2023 £2.99 for 500 Seeds
In 2024 £2.99 for 500 Seeds Sale 89p
In 2025 £2.99 for 500 Seeds
In 2026 £2.99 for 500 Seeds Sale 99p
Rounded medium green leaves and tender stems
Slower growing and slow to bolt
Good resistance to downy mildew
A slow-to-bolt variety that shows great resistance to downy mildew. Highly versatile, spinach 'Santa Cruz' F1 can be harvested either as baby leaf or allowed to develop into mature leaves.
The dark green leaves are rounded in shape with short, very tender stems.
Fast growing with an upright habit for easy picking, it has one of the highest levels of resistance to downy mildew available, ideal for organic growing.
In 2019 two plot holders on our allotment site Wally and John grew water melons out on the allotment and not under glass. Looking at the RHS Web site re Melons it states that there are three groups of sweet melons. Canteloupe melons, with their orange flesh are the best ones for us to grow in the UK. You can also grow honeydew types, which have firm yellow flesh, and musk melons, which must be grown in a greenhouse.
For best results in our cooler climate grow your melons in a greenhouse or coldframe, or against a sunny sheltered wall with a cloche covering them.
Now I’m not sure how a wall can be sunny and sheltered at the same time.
in 2022 I grew these three Amarillo Oro from one plant under a glass panel up against the boundary wall. in 2026 I'm going to have a bash at growing them again up against the wall and in one of the greenhouses. I saved the seeds from these melons and will be using them.
Sow By 2021
Sugar Baby - 40 Seeds - 99p - Happy Green Shop
Sow By 2022
Amarillo Oro - I have a few seed left from the pack I bought some time ago, however they are longer available from the original supplier. A google search found 25 Seeds for £5.51 from bonanza, but I saved my own seeds from the melons I grew in 2023, so I'm good to go for 2026, and will save seeds again.
Sow By 2024
Little Darling F1 - 7 Seeds - RRP £2.99 - Dobies - Packed for year end 2023 - Sow by 12/2024 Mangomel F1 - 4 Seeds - £3.99 - Suttons - Packed for year end 2022 - Sow by 7/2024
Sow By 2026
Mangomel F1 - 10 Seeds - £3.75 - Mr Fothergill's - Packed for year end Jul 2023 - Sow by 12/2026 Magia Negra F1 - 10 Seeds - £4.15 - Mr Fothergill's - Packed for year end 2023 - Sow by 12/2026
MANGOMEL F1
Melon 'Mangomel' is a new type of melon that has undertones of mango when ripe! Large, creamy-yellow fruit is bursting with flavour and juice, plus they are delightfully aromatic. This is a ‘Western Shipper type’ x Early Charentais. And guess what? The fruit colour visibly changes from grey/green to a creamy yellow to tell you it's ripe and ready to enjoy! It tastes delicious eaten fresh or is an exotic addition with natural yoghurt.
Developed in the UK specifically for home gardeners, this is perhaps the first melon ever to be bred for this market. It will reliably produce 5 fruits per plant in an unheated greenhouse, 2-3 fruits in a sunny spot outdoors. If planted outdoors, the spread will be about 1.5 metres so will appreciate some trimming to encourage it. Fruit weight average 1kg.
Sow in a propagator on a windowsill or in pots or trays using a good quality, moist compost in a greenhouse at approximately 15°C (60°F). Cover seed with 1cm (½") compost.
Germination 7-14 days.
Transfer to 7.5cm (3") pots, grow on and plant on into grow bags or large pots. Train up strings and support fruits with nets. Water and feed regularly. If growing outside it is best to cover the soil with black membrane to keep the soil warm and use a cloche to cover the plant. Pollinate by inserting a male flower into female flower which has tiny fruit at the base.
WATER MELON AMARILLO ORO
Melon Amarillo Oro produces a yellow skinned cantaloupe melon with superb sweet juicy refreshing flesh. Each of these delicious fruits weighs up to 5- 6 Ib (2 - 3 kg). Open pollinated. A pre-1870 heirloom variety from Spain.
Melons require high temperatures and humidity. In all but the very warmest areas cultivation is most successful in a greenhouse, or under cover of a cold frame.
SOWING
Direct sow: February - April
Harvest: 100 days
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Temperature: 23 - 30 C
Depth: 1 inch (2.5 cm)
Plant spacing: 36 inches (90cm)
WATER MELON SUGAR BABY
Sweet tasting and smaller fruited "Ice Box" type watermelon. Early and very productive with sweet, juicy, fine-textured, medium-red flesh and thin hard rind.
The round, 8 to 12 lb, dark green skinned melons grow 8 inches across. Ideal variety if space is limited, as this can be trailed on trellises and faster to ripen in short summers.
Drought Resistant
Ready to harvest about 75 days after seeding in favourable conditions. Can be grown outside in a warm, sheltered and sunny location, but for the most reliable crops under glass is best.
Days to Germination: 5-7
Days To Harvest: 75 in warm conditions
Planting Depth:12 – 25mm 1/2 to 1 inch
Spacing: 600mm 2 feet
Light: Sunny, Warm, Sheltered Location
Prepare soil by digging and incorporating liberal amounts of well-rotted compost or farmyard manure over-winter. Watermelons thrive in a sunny, warm location
Sow April to May 1cm (½in) deep, in 7cm (3.5in) pots of free-draining seed sowing mix. Place in a (propagator, airing cupboard) and keep at a temperature of around 20-25C (68-77F) until after germination, usually 5-7 days.
When first true leaves develop, transplant into 13cm (5in) pots for a few weeks.
Plant out 24 inches apart after carefully hardening off after all risk of frost in a warm sheltered position in full sun or for a more reliable crop under glass.
Water regularly and feed with liquid fertilizer every 14 days.
Pinch out growing point at the 4 leaf stage and train the laterals (side-shoots) along the row. Hand pollinate if required.
At harvest time, tap the watermelon with your knuckles, and if it sounds hollow, it's ripe.
Outstanding in Mr Fothergills UK polytunnel trials, this 'Sugar Baby' type watermelon is quick to mature, producing 7-9kg fruit with deliciously juicy, deep red flesh.
A strong performer in the UK, Watermelon 'Little Darling' is a compact variety that matures and ripens quickly to yield delicious small oval fruits with irresistibly sweet and juicy flesh.
This space-saving variety is best grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel, producing up to 4 fruits per plant. Once you've tasted fresh homegrown watermelons, you'll never look back! Height: 45cm (18in). Spread: 120cm (4ft).
Sowing Time - February to April Indoors. Plant outside June
Sowing Instructions. Sow seed 20mm (3/4"( deep in 75mm (3in) pots of good seed compost at 21-25C (70-77F) PLace in a propagator or seal container in a polythene bag until after germination (7-10 days). After germination maintain temperature 15C (60F) and keep the compost moist but not wet.
Aftercare Instructions. When melon plants are well grown. transplant them at a spacing of 2 plants per growbag or 1m (3ft) apart under frost free glass.
harvest August to October
Addition added 11th February 2024
Budgie F1
D.T.Brown sent me a pack of Budgie F1 melon seeds that have been added to their catalogue for 2024. Originally sold at 10 seeds for £3.59 No longer on their web site.
Packed year ending July/23 and Sow By date recommend on the pack of Dec/26 Melon seeds actually last between 5 - 8 years if stored correctly.
Again another very short description for these seeds on the D.T.Browns web site that says:-
"An unusual Asian variety with a fresh tangy-sweet flavour. The bushy plants show good resistance to downy and powdery mildew."
If you click on the Growing Tips field you get this information
"SOW INDOORS January-April, singly into pots, 0.5cm/quarter inch deep. Keep at 20-25C/68-75F. Harden off late May. Plant out at 4-5 leaf stage to growing bags in the greenhouse, or a warm, sheltered area in the garden, spaced 45cm/18in. apart.
Train main stems up vertical wires and remove the growing points at approx. 7th leaf stage."
Information missing from the web page but on the pack below:-
"Feed regularly when fruit sets.
Harvest July - October. Outdoor crops from late August."
This year it appears that web authors for seed companies are being very lazy on not putting all the information on the pack on the web site pages.
Suttons and Dobies, web pages for their new vegetables have also been lacking with them also getting the graphics incorrect for sowing transplanting and harvesting. I do give feedback to all companies when I find errors and short comings on their web pages.
I'm really looking forward to trying these in the greenhouse and outside against my wall under a glass panel this year.
It's been a couple of days since I have been able to do anything on the back garden allotment as we have had some real rain and I'm currently restricted in footwear to a medical Velcro sandal.
My plan for Saturday is to get as much done in terms of removing grass from withing the footprint of beds 7 to 9 and collect the leaves on the front drive and put them in bed 6 with the aim of filling bed 6 to a level that Farmyard compost, compost, vermiculite and mulch can fill bed 6.
The weather for Sunday is not looking favourable for any progress in the back garden.
In the past I have grown a number of different cucumbers but the ones I keep coming back to and grow each year are Burpless Tasty Green and Marketmore. In 2018 I was introduced to Esmarald from Mr Fothergills as John had started off a load of cucumbers and was looking to distribute the love, by giving his babies to anyone on the plot that was happy to give them room rather than compost them. I have to say Esmarald out grew Burpless Tasty Greens but I was not able to get hold of the seeds again from Mr Fothergills, so I was very happy that I saved seeds and have continued to do sow annually.
Burpless Tasty Green were grown in 2021 along with Swing F1 which was a cucumber with a nice girth only four slices needed per sandwich one in each quadrant of the bread, and quite a nice taste and texture .
Lots of Cucumber varieties grown in 2024 Party Time F1, Party Time F1, Burpless Tasty Green, Esmarald, Emilie F1 & Suprina F1 The plan was to fill the climbing frame greenhouse with cucumbers only for the slugs and snails to wipe them all out, bar one plant.
In 2025, Esmarald and Burpless Tasty Green grown but again only two plants survived, and four cucumbers harvested. 2026 No Cucumbers grown due to being in hospital with DVT and then leg ulcers
Cucumber seeds if kept in ideal conditions should last between 10 - 15 years, so there is no rush to plant too many varieties, however now having the Climbing Frame Greenhouse on the plot (shown above) I have been looking to maximise its use and grow more varieties of cucumbers, hopefully 2027 will see this happen.
Cucumbers were originally found in India around 4000 years ago, and they have since become the fourth most widely cultivated vegetable in the world. Cucumbers found their way to England during the 14th century, but were not at all popular, they did become more widely eaten from the 17th century.
The species grown for food are Cucumis sativus (cucumber) and Cucumis anguria (West Indian gherkin). In the UK, cucumbers are generally grown to maturity in a greenhouse or polytunnel, although ridge cucumbers and some varieties of gherkin are a little hardier and can be planted outside when danger of frost has passed. All of my cucumbers have been grown out on the allotment plot, as space in the greenhouses is valuable.
Sow By 2024
Passandra F1 - 4 Seeds - £3.99 - Organic Gardening - Sow by 2024
These will be sown in 2027 in a Greenhouse
Sow By 2025
Hopeline F1 - 5 Seeds - £3.99 - Dobies - Sow by 7/2025
These will be sown in 2027
Peticue - 3 Seeds - Which Gardening ?
Sow By 2026
Burpless Tasty Green F1 - 10 Seeds - £1.50^ - wilko - Sow by 7/2026
Lunch Box F1 - 10 Seeds - £4.89 - Mr Fothergill's - Sow By 2026
Burpless Tasty Green F1 - Numerous - Free - Self Saved in 2023 - Sow By 2026
^Bought in the 50% sale for 75p
Sow By 2027
Lunch Box F1 - 10 Seeds - £4.99 - D.T.Brown - Packed Year Ending Sep/2024
Party Time F1 - 6 Seeds - £3.99 - Dobies - Packed Year Ending Sep/2024
