Is this the worst growing year on record?

[ian]

Its only my third year of growing veg, and second year of growing stuff seriously so I am a bit of a novice, but can more experienced growers confirm that that this is there worst summer in X number of years. Okay I'll start the ball rolling I pronounce this to be the worst growing weather in three years of growing veg! Can anyone beat that and in doing so make me feel a whole lot better?

[Headfry]

It's hard for me to judge as some of the things I have never been able to grow are doing really well and some things that I normally grow well are really very poor this year!

[HeyWayne]

Well it's certainly the worstist year I've ever known. That said, it's the only year I've ever been growing stuff - almost enough to make you jack it all in! But I shan't.

[Flummery]

If there were a prize for rubbish years, it would be hefting its trophy aloft and taking a bow!

[muckdiva]

Yep, blueberries only thing looking vaguely ok.

[terrier]

This is only my second year at growing veg and I must say, most things I've planted seem to be soldiering on, but there's still time yet (Fingers crossed). The failures this year are the sweetcorn (but I made a mess of them last year as well) and raddish which whilst making a lot of leaf, does not have any raddish on the end of it! My climbing has-beans are still having a go and I think I will get some sort of a crop, albeit a small one.

[Nicos]

Worst year for veg for us so far ( got to stay focused!!!!) in the 15 years we've had a lottie.
BUT....best year for fruit! (our strawberries were ready early May after all that sunshine)....so far.....

[bubblewrap]

My runner beans are going very well as are my peas. Had fresh pea soup last night MMMM

[ian]

Worst year in Fifteen year, Nicos is winning so far, can anyone beat that? This thread isn't going to make my sunflowers taller or my squash set fruit, nor cure the blight on my tatties, or stop the weeds from taking over my plot but I'm finding this thread quite therapeutic! Come on can anyone beat the Nicos's barren summer of 1992!!

[Nicos]

Oy!! who said I was barren in 1992????
I just didn't have a lottie then!!!

My lottie neighbour said it's the worst year in the 34 years he has been growing....but he's not a Grape so he doesn't count eh????

[andrewo]

The weather, the f**king weather, it keeps providing me with lovely coughs and colds, goes between hot and gales blowing every storm front, snowstorm and pet poodle into my garden. Fruit has done well, what has stayed on the plants, my vine isn't happy, my snap dragons and marigolds just gave up the ghost, my toms are scorched from the wind and frankly I'm up for towing the whole country to Trinidad.

[Waffler]

Well I am well peeved with the whole weather thing. Having decided to go full steam ahead this year and grow more than I have in previous years, the weather has well and truly put paid to that. I've not had a bean from my plants (and they are acually bean plants, before anyone tries to be clever!) and there are very few toms on my plants (none have turned red yet). My chillis and peppers are fairly dire. We've had 3 baby courgettes this year - and they were REALLY baby - since they're now sat in flood water, that will probably be that.

However, the fruit is ok - I've picked around 25lb of gooseberries and the blackcurrant bushes are laden - I just need a dry spell to harvest them. Plums, apples and pears also look reasonable.

We've had some new potatoes this yaer, but the rest of the row is now under water, and only a few days ago I noticed that ALL the potato plants are black and wilted; it doesn't bode well for the main crops.

Anyway, I'm thoroughly fed up, and just wanted you to know that. I think I'm going to draw a line under this year and just harvest fruit and try to salvage what I can of the beans (if I ever get any) and potatoes.

[Snadger]

For me it's been the best ever year for peas, potatoes, shallots and onions!

All other veg have been crap though!

[Mrs Dobby]

Our first year growing, so we havent anything to compare it with really, but we've had a good crop of early spuds, lots of mange tout, lots of broad beans, lots of overwintering onions, radish, lettuce and spring onions are all doing fine, lots of rasps, blackcurrants and strawbs, had 11 cucumbers and 15 peppers already from the unheated greenhouse, and have lots of chillies and aubergines in there, plus we've had about 5lb of cherry toms so far and lots more green ones a growing! Cabbages are doing well (tho we did have one batch nibbled before we erected some protection, but they do seem to be recoevering), as is the cauli and broccolli, herbs are ok, and fartichokes are now at 8'! Overwintering garlic was good, as has been the rhubarb! Pumpkins and squash have set fruit and are growing well, and sweetcorn is now producing cobs, tho only 3 out of 80 plants yet (in the most sheltered space, will have to wait and see whether the rest do anything at all!) Maincrop peas are podding well, tho we've not started to harvest them yet, and the french beans are flowering, but havent yet produced anything edible! Courgettes are producing lots and lots of fruit, we harvested 8 the other night alone, and looks like we are going to have some marrows to harvest tomorrow!

Only things we've had major problems with are the maincrop spuds (blight), pickling onions and leeks (nibbled by wabbits), outdoor cucumbers (too cold perhaps?) and the carrot fly which sems to have made a mess of our carrots and some of our parsnips! Oh, and major problems with weeds, all the wet weather seems to be germinating all the weed seeds at once, lots of hand weeding needed whilst its too wet for hoeing, not good!

[sewer rat]

What a year to jack my job and grow veg for a living !!!!!
All I have at the mo is my Lady Christl first earlies and they are quite simply SUPERB. I planted 25kg of seed tubers in 5 drills. I have now used three of the five and they have so far yielded 186 kg of superb potatoes - most of my customers have come back for more and then tell their friends who try them and they tell their friends etc etc etc Definitely a star performer.
My onions are looking superb, early peas just dripping with rapidly swelling pods, broad beans the same, Bunching carrots and scallions doing well and also nearly there, lettuces holding their own against the elements, beetroot and Swiss Chard doing okay, celeriac growing well afetr a slow start, brassicas that survived the wildlife now putting on a spurt, loads of toms but probably won't turn red tilXmas unless we get some real sun, chillies just dripping off the plants, cucumbers nearly there now, radishes also good, parsley coming good after slow start.
Poor performers are all french and runner beans - didn't stand a chance against the north and east winds, celery - rabbits (!) and swedes and turnips although these last two might yet come good.
In all I'm quietly pleased but everything is 4 - 6 weeks behind and my bank manager is getting a bit twitchy. One week of sun and should be able to list 9 or 10 veg types for sale as opposed to just new tatties.
My greatest and most succesful crop so far - weeds, and in patrticular, the thug known as OSR.