no more growing veggies for me

[bluemoon]

Actually, Lynda I think you're probably right. If you can't grow veg in the quantities you need, buy them and grow the fruit. Soft fruit is ridiculously expensive in supermarkets, if I'd had to buy the raspberries that are currently in my freezer awaiting a jam making session it would have cost an unbelievable £300 (obviously I wouldn't ever have bought them, it would have been blimming expensive jam). When we first started veg growing we didn't bother with fruit at all, but when we swapped plots to a larger, but windier, one we put a few currant bushes in to act as wind breaks, if we got fruit, the theory was, it was a bonus. Now our plot is about one third fruit, it takes a couple of hours in summer to pick it and an hour in winter to prune it. Simples! Perhaps you could just grow the veg that is difficult to get in the supermarket, or that tastes better fresh? I'm thinking of things like asparagus and various squash here, for example, as most shops seem to think that squash means butternuts and Hallowe'en pumpkins, and that asparagus has to come from Peru. Both are easy to grow and don't need much work once they're planted, but are far better homegrown.

[rustylady]

Oh Lynda, you sound as if you're on a real downer. I hope things improve for you soon.

[snuffer]

Come on girl. That's not the lynda 66 we've all come to know and love talking. One of the best things about our GYO hobby is that every year is a new start. Things we did wrong or things that just didn't work out as we expected can be improved upon next year. Don't lose heart. At the end of the season clear your beds and forget any failures. Wait untill next spring, you could be well up for another crack at producing some veg you'll be proud of. You know you want to.

[SarzWix]

I haven't contributed to this yet...

I'll just say, I know what a horrible struggle you've had with everything this year, and if you want to make it easier for yourself next year, you carry on hon. The world won't end if you grow more fruit and less veg for a year or so, or even forever. Maybe after a break from it you'll feel like having another go, or you'll get the long awaited lottie.
But, the most important thing is your health, and I don't think you can afford to lose any more of your sanity...

[Madasafish]

Lynda
I sympathise. Only 30 miles south but 300 metres higher and sluggy/clay means brassicas are eaten , even French beans are eaten .. so I grow superb raspberries (squirrels do a little damage) blueberries and fruit.

Peas? Woodpigeons and slugs.

Nice braod beans - family don't like them , nice runner beans (ditto), carrot fly and foxes and badgers make anything on the ground a pia..

Apples, pears, plums, damsons good.
Strawberries: ok but slugs and mice.

Slug remedies do not work when there are 20 acres of marshy field next door..:-(

[Snadger]

........................Slug remedies do not work when there are 20 acres of marshy field next door..:-(

Build a pond, fill it with frogspawn. The following year you'll have loads of little frogs and very litle slug damage!
Worked for me!

[tricky]

Lynda ,Lynda , Lynda ,you are an inspiration to us all and one hell of a fighter.
It makes no difference if you grow more fruit then veg .
Look what youve been succesfull with rather then not , i know thats hard , ive been their as you know .
Please dont give up,i didnt because of two special people i will never forget from the vine.
Wish you good health

[maytreefrannie]

Hey Lynda, go with the fruit if that's how you feel - as you say, it's expensive to buy and you might get a better return than from the veg.

You could do a few veg in pots/containers, see how they go, it might give you a little bit of best-of-both-worlds.

Best wishes.

[BumbleB]

Go with what grows well, is easy and that you like. Fruit and salads are very useable. I would say a basic easy plan is toms in containers, hanging basket tumblers have been great here. Lettuces in tubs and any fruit bushes that you like.

It has to be enjoyable or there isn't a point. Good luck!

[piskieinboots]

growing is - or should be, fun - do whatever you enjoy!

Give yourself some down-time from growing veg, but do remember that we all have varying degrees of success and good/bad years, tis all part of the fun.

Maybe take the autumn/winter season off and then just do salad crops in pots, it doesn't take much to give a good feeling and pots can be more easily controlled.

[Two_Sheds]

if i had a lottie, then it would be different cos i could grow enough

You could, but it's a lot more work than growing on your doorstep.
Every veg you grow has something else trying to eat it (even chard).

I tried growing strawberries, radish, carrots, salad and spuds in pots this year on my patio: total waste of time. I had to water every day, such a chore, and the yield was poor compared to my lotty. The carrot got root fly too.

next year I am growing herbs, a few chillies and tomatoes at home, everything else on the plot.

[Headfry]

Hi Lynda, try not to give up just yet. This years seems to have been another poor year with some awful weather to boot. Have a break from it. I always seem to wane come mid July, I put all my spare time (and Mr HF's) into my plot and end up getting 'burnt out' happens every year. Then come late winter I am about ready to start again! The plot was my hobby but this year it seemed to turn into a job, a job that appears on the jobs list- like the washing and ironing! NO- I need to find the fun factor again.
I wish you the very best Lynda, Maybe try growing just one or two types of veg next year, then build up again if you find you wish to carry on.

[SlugLobber]

Sounds like you need to list all the things which have done good and stick to those for the coming season and meanwhile read up on the ones which didn't work. I remember trying caulis and broccoli years ago and vowing never to bother again, but this year I grew on some seedlings and transplanted them last week. So far, so good, as I'm a little more savvy than I was all those years ago!