Checked in on the Ducksfoot girls as I was in the area. I wanted to see if some of the Auto Ducks were ready to chop, and also how the Frisian Duck mum was getting on.
The Auto Ducks are all 98 days old. The two by the apple tree were pretty much ready. The smaller, spiky one was finished, so I took the whole plant. The larger, smooth leaved girl had a lot of faded, yellow, dying fan leaves. I removed these, then inspected the buds. Still a few white pistils at the tops of the uppers, but given the heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, and wet week ahead, I decided to harvest the uppers as they were pretty much cooked. I left the lowers to ripen up a bit as they were not ready.
The two hidden Auto Ducks were a pair of contrasts. The smaller of the two was lying on her side, the cage having been knocked over. Reckon it was foxes as I hear their calls and see them a lot round there. I righted her, replaced her cage and checked for damage. One lower branch had snapped at the stem joint, so I removed it. Some leaves on the side closest to the ground had been munched by slugs, indeed I removed a couple of tiny ones. Decided to leave her for at least another week as she's nowhere near ready. The larger Auto Duck was fine. Steadily getting taller, the main cola getting quite large, but again a long way to go until she's ready to harvest. Some lower branches were trying to push through the cage too. This one looks promising, and I think the plot where she is has some stealth grow potential for next season - autos only because it is shaded from September onwards.
The Frisian Duck mum has grown quite a lot recently. She's really thriving now, so the cable tie did the trick. She'll definitely need training, so outdoor ScrOG it will be. Just as soon as the lowers on the big Auto Duck have been taken... In the meantime I gave her a top dress of chicken manure as she looked a bit pale.
Some of the buds from the larger Auto Duck were quite impressively large. While inspecting them in the evening sunshine, I picked a bright green caterpillar out of one... No mould anywhere on either girl. It's a real outdoor strain this, much better outside than in a polytunnel I think.
Three Ducks
Frisian Duck mum
Auto Ducks by the apple tree
Hidden Auto Ducks (but not from foxes)