2019 growing season, a report

[burnie]

North East Scotland is not an area normally associated with warm and dry weather, but this season saw me gardening in short sleeve shirts rather than water proofs. We had rain as I did not have to top up the water butts at all, but the raised beds needed watering often.
Most things grew, the raised beds were again a success, carrots in particular were good, along with the leeks and onions. I grew pot leeks for a change and we still have a couple left to harvest. The trench celery was also a hit, not grown that before either, both will be grown again next year.
I have a smaller area that I still grow in the ground, tatties were good again, even if I did lose a label and not sure what some of them were. The parsnips were perhaps my only disappointing crop, tasty, but small, we still have some left to harvest.
Fruit wise was my real disaster, the apple trees were removed last month, scab and some canker meant no fruit at all. I might try again at the other end of the garden in the spring with new trees. The gooseberries were also hit with problems, so they were cut down to the ground and the new growth looks promising for next season. Not a total wipe out, the black currents were very good and so were the strawberries and we got a few raspberries from the new plants too.
In the greenhouse, everything grew well, my tomatoes all did well, the "breakfast" ones were an interesting new variety to me, I will grow those again too next year. Most rewarding were the Hungarian hot wax chillies in pots, bumper crop from those this year and I have had a go at saving seed for next year too. I grow sweetcorn under glass as in a normal summer up here, the crop won't ripen, that again was a success as were the butternut squashes.
Now making plans for next year and will again be looking for something new to grow for the first time, possibly try some beans for drying, just hope we get some sun.
How was your year?

[muck lover]

My year was mixed as always but overall very satisfying.
I grew nice potatoes but have realised my family doesn’t really eat many! I’ll grow some next year but concentrate on new potatoes. Raspberries were really prolific. It’s their third year. First year understandably not so many. Last year not so many due to drought but this year I could hardly keep up picking them. Blackcurrant bushes mostly all very new but I’m hopeful for next year. Bramley apple tree gave a total of 13 lovely fruit converted into a tart and a crumble and now residing on my butt. Plums not good. Don’t know why. Plenty of blossom which fell off. Maybe next year.
In polytunnel strawberries good but I neglected some and could have done better. Tomatoes awesome especially principe borghese which I’m def growing next year.
Disasters included cucumbers and sweet peppers still green and few and far between. Cauliflowers terrible. Broccoli sprouting good. Had so much had to make soup. Courgettes prolific. Really too many. Pumpkins good. Blueberries in pots fair.
Kale good but being fed to chickens because the Young Muck Lovers fad for organic kale and fruit smoothies has passed and I’m not a big fan. Although I like the flowering shoots they produce.
Best thing this year was getting chickens.