shall i just give up?

**horticultural_hobbit** · 07-09-2011, 04:30 PM

Don't be giving up!

I read somewhere, that all seeds want to grow. That they will, with a bit of help. You would be helping a seed actualise their potential. Sadly, at times, GYO can be alot like the FA Cup. you get your minnows, your giant killings, dubious penalties and upsets that split folks. But as with England always crashing out to the likes of Portugal or germany on quarter finals or semis, you pick yourself up and you think about next season.

This year, I killed my tomatoes. I still want some next year, as something was missing this year. Gladys did nothing for me this year, next year I'm going to be a baldrick and have a cunning plan.

Have the passion of Sir Alex, the wisdom of Mr.Wenger, and the tenacity of Mr.mourinho.

**Aberdeenplotter** · 07-09-2011, 05:10 PM

aww you poor thing. It really sucks when you put in a lot of effort and have nowt to show for it but I will ask you to consider the most important thing. There is always next year.

. Some things are long term like blueberries. I spoke to someone on the stand for the outfit that comprises the amalgamated Scottish Crop Research Institute and the Macaulay institute about blueberries at the Dundee Food and Flower event at the weekend. You will not get a realistic crop for 5 years minimum. I've just had my best ever yield after 4 years and her indoors is well pleased. Raspberries do very well up here, possibly due to the weather. They like rich soil and don't like their feet to be too wet. I mulch mine with the best I can get from the compost heap. As Rusty says, berry fruits take a while to establish so have a little patience. As for your veg, if you have provided well fertilised soil and kept them watered, they should have performed. Is there anyone local you can ask to mentor you? Much can be learned from old gardeners by those who wish to learn

**taff** · 07-09-2011, 05:45 PM

listen to yoda up there ^
this is for south london and I don't know which bit you're in, but there might be something similar in other bits...
Master Gardeners�|�Local advice and support growing food

**BroadRipple** · 07-09-2011, 08:03 PM

thank you to everyone who's been sweet - it was just one of those days. Aberdeen, you're my distant mentor now with your kind wise Yoda-y words...you're right, it's the effort with nothing to show that's such a downer. Embarrassing too! And it would be great to have a local person to ask - I'm always chatting up gardening types in their front gardens, and they usually just look bewildered/slightly frightened. Just tricky if it's just your back garden ...none of that allotment bonding. Need to investigate, Taff, good tip and thank you. Reading GYO books/mags/interweb just isn't as good (or friendly) as a real live human.

Don't know if you'll feel more camaraderie or more scorn if I tell you now that this is my fifth or sixth year of GYO...so it wasn't a case of a beginner flashing the cash and trying everything at once - I do know something about container size and soil and feeding, and varieties, though obviously not as much as old-timers/that nice Carol Klein. and yes sometimes I probably have overstuffed an area, but if you're into food and don't have much room you're just not going to grow all turnips, are you? isn't variety/diversity harder work but worth a try? I think so, and I'm going to keep trying if I can keep my spirits up.
Thanks again for kind words.

**Florence Fennel** · 07-09-2011, 08:40 PM

We are all as good as real life humans BroadRipple, just as friendly and we can keep your spirits up. Visit here often and talk to us beginners and veterans alike. You can't bewilder us and none of us will be scared off. You can see from the responses that we all have some poor harvests.

**Aberdeenplotter** · 07-09-2011, 10:07 PM

Ripple, you will find most of the folks on here will be more than willing to try to help out as will I. No need to be embarrassed. You should see my long show carrots

. The tops are about an inch high and the roots about 3" long when by now they should be over 3 feet. We all have failures from time to time. Any queries at all, shoot them into the forum. Let us know what you have done in the past with each particular crop and if there are any obvious flaws we will point the flaws out and try to get you growing something you can actually eat.

**zazen999** · 07-09-2011, 10:21 PM

Ripple - whereasbouts in London village are you?

**selfraising** · 07-09-2011, 10:44 PM

Don't give up. I have a small garden too and squeeze far too much into it. Sweetcorn only half the cob ripened so I chopped off the unripened bit and ate the rest. No fruit on the aubergines this year. All my toms are outdoors, one got chucked out with blight, the others have suffered a bit too but I have just chopped off the infected bits and am hoping it stops the spread lol. Came back from work yesterday to find the 6 tomato plants in grow bags and tied up nicely to canes had all been blown over and several unripe toms had been knocked off. The dwarf borlotti beans and french beans all got eaten by slugs so I had none. It's not going to stop me though. Gardening is always a challenge;battling the elements, aphids, slugs, snails, pigeons BUT when you are successful it's a huge reward. Put this year down to experience and look ahead to the next one

**BroadRipple** · 08-09-2011, 08:58 AM

you're right you're right. started to feel a bit 'oh well silly you you've grown too many things' but am prob just being oversensitive. thank you for being lovely about it - and for helping me to see that disasters not necessarily my fault.
Zazen, am in NW5.
Self-raising, I'll send you a handful of my pitiful beans if you get desperate!
Aberdeen, am sorry about yer carrots. Um...could you paint a cucumber orange? Go on they'll never notice. We're big on junk modelling over here, let me know if you need us...
and FloFen, thank you, that does help.
i think it was the weedy soft fruit that most got to me BUT Rusty and others are right, it's not been long since they started. have given them compost/manure, netted them - what else? should I prune e.g. the blackcurrant hard and hope for next year?
oh and the blight. which obviously can't be helped much without using bordeaux mixture or a greenhouse...just sad that may have to give up on them for a few years as it's been BUBONIC this year.
maybe if i can work out how to post a pic on this thing i will, just to show that it hasn't all been a disaster. and has been pointed out to me at home that with just a few of each plant, I'm not going to get much now am I...which I sort of knew, and sort of didn't.
thanks again lovelies, feel much better now.

**northepaul** · 08-09-2011, 09:16 AM

As the saying goes: If at first you dont succeed, pick yourself up, dust yourself off & start again.
Keep on Keeping on!!

**binley100** · 08-09-2011, 02:37 PM

I always plant with the view that they have two chances ...........this year for the first time I've managed to get toms from outdoors at the lottie , but on t'other hand my sweetcorn and BNS have been totally pathetic . Next year will be completely different .

**Piggle** · 08-09-2011, 04:05 PM

Definately a year of some succes and some epic fails .......... why am I the only person on our whole site with raspberry beetle?

**Two_Sheds** · 08-09-2011, 04:09 PM

Everyone has chivvied you up, so I'll just do my best to address individual complaints, briefly: