shall i just give up?

[BroadRipple]

is anyone else feeling real gardening despair?

First some positive facts: 1)I completely and passionately love gardening - so I've had loads of joy and relaxation and interest this year, which isn't to be ignored.
2)realistic expectations about how much I can produce from my tiny plot/pots
3)terrible rainy rainy weather.
4) tromboncinos, sorrel, kale doing brilliantly

OK. BUT...here are my results to date (and don't laugh at me) (much):

1)tomatoes struck down with blight - a few handfuls edible, most probably won't ripen in time, and the rest made into chutney which am not sure I even like...pitiful I know.
2)maybe 3 handfuls of blueberries, 3 of raspberries, 3 of wild/alpine strawberries.
2a) Two INDIVIDUAL (not handfuls of) normal strawberries. 8 indiv. blackcurrants, 12 goosegogs, 5 whitecurrants. 2 wineberries. 2 sticks of rhubarb, maybe 4 blackberries - that really is yer lot.
3)not a single bloody apple
4) 2-3 tiny courgettes per plant before pulled out due to rot
5) reasonable but not huge amounts of rocket, chicory but hardly any 'normal' lettuce
6)2 individual as yet unidentified huge squashes
7) nothing from homegrown chillis and aubergines, nursery seedlings of chillis with 3 titches between them, nursery seedling of aubergine dead.
8) 4 slightly ropy cabbages.
9) about 5 handfuls of mixed beans so far.
10)0h yes and not forgetting about 7 broad bean pods.

WHAT IS THE POINT?
yes, great joy in the doing. but misery in the reaping...and b/c I have little space every tiny failure counts. Soft fruit particularly disappointing. not a cheap business, either.
Have fed soil and plants, guarded against birds (netting), searched for slugs most nights (yes), reasonably sheltered and reasonable sun I think, tended the little blighters like my own flesh and blood. Am I just a rubbish gardener?
I know most of you are super experienced and will tell me to buck up. But it's just a wash out and I'm feeling very sad.

[cardiffsteve]

No definately not.

I think everyone has problems with gyo, I know i have.
Been a very poor for me as well but thats because I've not been paying attention. I'm not saying thats your problem.

Keep going and learn from your mistakes/problems.

have a look at http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ing_60643.html

Dont be afraid to ask questions on here or anywhere else. Dont be embarrassed by what questions you ask, there are no stupid questions and i should know.

[rustylady]

I'm not laughing. I take it from your post that you haven't had your fruit bushes very long (gooseberries etc). They take quite some time to get established, so your yields should be better next year. Do you grow in containers, raised beds, or what?

[arpoet]

I'm having very mixed results this year.. Butttttttttttt... me and my mate love the fresh air of the lottie and the taste of real fresh home grown food, so we laugh off the failures and grow what we know we both like and what grows well.
We are already well advanced with planning for next year.
Roger
Ps. I have just strung up 40 lbs of onions grown from 3 quids worth of onion sets. Best year so far for onions.

[dave_norm_smith]

Its been a weird year weather wise so some of the problems will be down to that. Maybe start with a few things and do them well first before trying one from every page of the seed catalogue! lol ( I should listen to that one myself) The fruit will depend on how established the bushes are, alot of them will take a few years to establish before large yields so again don't beat yourself up. Take some pictures of how and where you grow the plants and let people throw their help into a hat for you. If your growing 10 bean plants in a tiny pot for example its just not going work.

[Florence Fennel]

No consolation I know BroadRipple, but I consider myself pretty experienced at veg growing (although there is always something to learn) and it's been a strange year for me too.
I discarded my old strawberry plants last Autumn and planted a new bed from runners. Had no strawberries from the new plants so bought some as well. Have this week had the princely sum of 5 strawberries from them.
I decided to grow half as many tomato plants as usual because we were sick of the sight of them last year. I overwatered and nearly drowned the poor things, they almost went in the compost heap. Soldiered on and may get a couple of pounds off them (though none are ripe yet).
Cauliflowers are usually my "prize" veg and they all blew at tennis ball size or below.
Changed variety of runner bean for the first time in years as the yield was poor last year and although there were masses of flowers, I've had only half a dozen beans.
After my third attempt at raising decent brassica plants from seed (thwarted every time by slugs) I've bought plants.
Oh and don't talk to me about aubergines.

Am I down in the dumps? No! A bit disappointed, but still a dedicated grower hoping the next season is better. I must be, I'm trying to grow onions (again). Just keep growing

[Shadylane]

Are your chillies and toms under cover? It's been too cold this year I think for outdoor ones. Our placcie greenhouse chillies have lots of green uns but we stopped picking ripe ones about a month ago. It's been a weird year weather wise I think.

I think your fruit bushes probably just need to get established. Our autumn rasps haven't been great this year. Not enough water I believe. Runners are also poor and don't get me started on the brassicas. I wouldn't give up yet, give it at least another growing season as every year is different. Our first two years garlic was a no brainer and we had great crops - this year they've all split- again probably due to the drought.

If after another year it's making you miserable then maybe it might be time to consider scaling down. It's not worth soldiering on if you're not enjoying it but don't give up just yet. It's got me down a bit this year and sometimes you do feel like what's the point - but you just have to try and focus on your successes and try and improve on things for next year

[Snadger]

is anyone else feeling real gardening despair?

First some positive facts: 1)I completely and passionately love gardening - so I've had loads of joy and relaxation and interest this year, which isn't to be ignored.
2)realistic expectations about how much I can produce from my tiny plot/pots
3)terrible rainy rainy weather.
4) tromboncinos, sorrel, kale doing brilliantly

OK. BUT...here are my results to date (and don't laugh at me) (much):

1)tomatoes struck down with blight - a few handfuls edible, most probably won't ripen in time, and the rest made into chutney which am not sure I even like...pitiful I know.
2)maybe 3 handfuls of blueberries, 3 of raspberries, 3 of wild/alpine strawberries.
2a) Two INDIVIDUAL (not handfuls of) normal strawberries. 8 indiv. blackcurrants, 12 goosegogs, 5 whitecurrants. 2 wineberries. 2 sticks of rhubarb, maybe 4 blackberries - that really is yer lot.
3)not a single bloody apple
4) 2-3 tiny courgettes per plant before pulled out due to rot
5) reasonable but not huge amounts of rocket, chicory but hardly any 'normal' lettuce
6)2 individual as yet unidentified huge squashes
7) nothing from homegrown chillis and aubergines, nursery seedlings of chillis with 3 titches between them, nursery seedling of aubergine dead.
8) 4 slightly ropy cabbages.
9) about 5 handfuls of mixed beans so far.
10)0h yes and not forgetting about 7 broad bean pods.

WHAT IS THE POINT?
yes, great joy in the doing. but misery in the reaping...and b/c I have little space every tiny failure counts. Soft fruit particularly disappointing. not a cheap business, either.
Have fed soil and plants, guarded against birds (netting), searched for slugs most nights (yes), reasonably sheltered and reasonable sun I think, tended the little blighters like my own flesh and blood. Am I just a rubbish gardener?
I know most of you are super experienced and will tell me to buck up. But it's just a wash out and I'm feeling very sad.

You forgot about the partridge in the pear tree...................

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Some years are better than others and this year has been not fab (well in certain respects). Blueberries are good (finally) but my bushes are a good few years old. Yes, tomatoes, mmmm. Got a few ripe at last and have plenty of green toms so will be making green tomato chutney. I don't like chutney but Mr Frosty does, so he will be having cheese and chutney sarnies for a very, very long time Lost my strawbs to a fungi yuck yuck (am I being to technical) Went to Glasgow on a Friday, came back Monday. Strawbs almost ready on the Friday to be picked, on the Monday they were fungi yuck yuck. Had a hairy fit that any toddler would have been proud of and ripped every plant out. Will stick to alpine strawbs from now on. Peas have been good (no shortage of water here) Last of my French beans are lying horizontal as the winds have caught them. Tatties good. My only piece of advice is have a good hairy fit when you get fed up.

[BroadRipple]

thanks for support/empathy...rusty, knew you'd be encouraging! thank you. Yes am sure you're right...they're about 3 years old and quite small, but one blackcurrant produced none, having been ok last year. They're in a shadyish bed, but most other things are in either one small sunnyish bed or reasonable-sized containers.
othewise...to be fair to, er, myself, I haven't been on a beginner's buying spree. lots of the one-offs were presents/cheap/swaps. oddly no one has offered me a partridge. just trying to learn as I go.

[Mikey]

This year has been bad for me aswell, I've had so much going on, getting chickens building a pizza oven that my allotment has definitely suffered. I'm only just starting picking runner beans, 3 months after my father (yes he's gloating!!), my potatoes suffered blight, my peas mould, my carrots and parsnips no showed, and the slugs enjoyed my beetroot more than me.

I totally understand where you are coming from, to gee myself up I've started my winter digging earlier, deciding that this year is lost but that I can be better prepared for next year by making an early start. Feed the earth now and reap the rewards next year. You are not alone BroadRipple, but you are among the best group of rotavators there are.

Keep at it.

[taff]

I really wouldn't worry about the aubergines, it's really hard to get a decent crop from them, I've only managed it once and that was beginners luck or stupidity or both. They need really really high temps or a polytunnel so strike that one off your list of failures.
Blight you can only spray against to guarantee [alomst] not getting it, I sprayed mine last year because I lost every single one the year before. This year I haven't and I do beleieve the signs are starting on my massive unripe outside toms, and I discovered I'm not that fond of green chutney, although green tomato and vanilla is quite nice.
Not many rasps at all, but I only plonked them in the ground this year, and rhubarb is only just getting going now after 2 years in the ground [it's pretty poor in a pot]
I'd read up on everything you grew to find out what the optimum growing conditions are for each one and see if you provided them with it. It's easy to just plonk things in, which I did for at least the first couple of years of growing assuming everything liked it the same. I found out different of course
It's quite unusual for courgettes to rot after they start producing, sounds either like overwatering on the main stem, or something took a chunk out and it rotted from there.
It sounds like you have mice and ninja slugs too.
chin up, there's always next year, and if you can give something some protection, some winter lettuce, pak choi and chard

[Potstubsdustbins]

Crikey what a year you've had. I hate to tell you this but we all get one now and then so your not alone. My failure this year is/was spring onions, sowed bladdy hundreds in succession of two different varieties so far I have eaten 3, yes that is 3.

If I may make a suggestion next year try growing fewer varieties and try to concentrate your efforts on what you really enjoy. And above all don't give up, it will come right for you.

Colin

[zazen999]

WHAT IS THE POINT?

You learnt lots, no?

One of my schools had everything eaten the first year by the deer. But they didn't give up, they just made deer proof frames for the next year's growing. They also had rubbish soil, so spent hours barrowing and making raised beds up.

The first year is always the one in which you learn most. Now you can put your local knowledge into action for next year.

[Bren In Pots]

Last couple of years I've not managed to get any fruits to grow on my aubergines then this year I've had fair few off. My failure this time round has been courgettes 3 out of my 4 plants have died and so have both pumpkins but there's always next year to look forward to.