Is this the worst growing year on record?

[Two_Sheds]

It is just rubbish.
I hate it.
I will persevere though. My climbing French beans are scampering up their poles, I just hope this little bit of sunshine today is enough to set some beans.
The only success this year is slugs and snails. Feckin thousands of them, as far as the eye can see.

[madderbat]

We've had some good crops, overwintered onions, garlic, broad beans, peas and runner beans; caulis did well, but have grown too quickly and we can't catch up.

I've just (this week) lost all my courgettes and b-nut squashes - drowned!
but we still have some root veg growing well, although the potatoes seem to need digging NOW before they rot completely, and the tomatoes are doing well in the greenhouse, but without any sun it looks like a bumper year for green tomato chutney!

[rustylady]

I suppose it's swings and roundabouts. At least I haven't had to lug the watering can like I did last year. The spuds and broad beans were good, the slugs ate most of the later strawberries (I did get some good pickings early, but they were a bit bland due to the excessive rain). The slugs have also eaten my entire lettuce bed!!! After the rotten weather we've had this year, I hate slugs and snails next. The climbing beans (french and runner) are looking good, apart from snail damage (you wouldn't believe how high the little bu**ers climb. Had a small picking from the runners. Onions were crap. Sweetcorn growning well, have to wait and see if I actually get a crop. WEEDS GROWING EXTREMELY WELL!!!!

[Alice]

We haven't had the torrential rain some places have had, but not much sunshine either. The worst year I can remember was 1984. It never hot above 16 degrees in the greenhouse, and the rain never went off.

[Madasafish]

The Good Things:
Had some loverrrly lettuce before the rain.
Rasps are very good: 25% up on same period last year but a bit watery.
Blueberries very good.
tomatoes in greenhouse slow but a lot of plants and started early so good crop so far..
Rhubarb grown from seed is nearly full sized.
beetroot OK
Cuttings taken autumn of black red and white currants doing well. Clematis cuttings form May doing well.
Poppies have been excellent.
Pond water lillies doing well.

The Bad Things:
Starwberries a washout 2 kg this year versus 10kg last. Worst year ever iirc
Beans being eaten by slugs.
Weeds.
Slugs and snails eaten my marigolds and trying my goji:-(
Hanging baskets battered by wind and rain.

Just a pia year... We have had rain like this twoice in past 25 years: mid 1980s and around 2001 iirc

[NOG]

Its not a bad year its an odd one.

Potatoes, globe artichoke are great.....very early

Normall I would be eating Cuecumber and Toms out of the Greenouse I have had 2 cuecumbers from the same plant on the same day. and one tom.

only one bowl of strewburrys from 150 plants.....

I have given up on one plot and burnt it all off. I am going to cover it in manure and leave it till the autumn then rotovate it in.

[skegblade]

According to the MET. Office this is the wettest summer on record. My tates have all drowned, as have the toms we planted in the next bed. We have heavy clay and the water just sits on the surface. Beans and sweetcorn seem to be loving it; so far anyway. Thinking of trying raised beds on this part of the lottie

[ian]

Look this is supposed to be a therapeutic thread, I don't want to know how well people have been doing, and how good there spuds are and wether this has been there best year. Please only post if you have had a really bad year, it will not help me or others like me but we may all feel a bit better by others saying it has been a really dire year!!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Sorry, Ian - it's the natural optimism of the GYO'er shining through!

I didn't get ONE asparagus pea to germinate, if that's any help - and the onions have had eelworm.

[Nicos]

Ian- just to cheer you up....
we have pulled 1/4 of our outdoor tomatoes today due to blight.....and still waiting for the others to produce even a slight sign of fruiting!!!

Brown onions starting to mush too although the Red Alert seem to be holding their own!

Oh ....and 2 of my 7 courgettes/squash have male flowers on them.....yippppeeeee! ( humph.)

[bramble]

Yes, it is the worst year for growing on record. For those of you who are only starting out, would say, disregard this year and start again next year.

[Alice]

Sorry the thread didn't live up to your expectations Ian. But as I said before, no it hasn't been the worst year, bad, but 1984/5 was much worse. But maybe that's history. Hope things get better for you, and the rest of us.

[Sue]

Well, I've only experienced two years as a gardener, one year was too hot, the other year too wet...
On the whole I think I'd prefer something in the middle of the two, so am hoping to try that next year!
After my disasters last year, my own beginners non-luck plus the heat, things just had to improve. They have, but different things have gone wrong, but a lot's been masked by increased planting of a wider variety of fruit and veg. Something will work, something will always go wrong, that much I've learned by now. If only we knew for sure at the beginning of the season, so could compensate and at least get lots of the stuff that works in the wet/heat/cold.
At least I've managed masses of lettuce this year instead of the bitter bolted offerings I got last year, but poor compensation for the lack of a courgette glut to which I was so looking forward.
Sue

[raine]

Hi, ian, I'm with you and would like to say it's good hearing other people are having a tough time this year.This is only our second year and I was beginning to think that last year must have been beginners luck! My onions and garli had white rot, the runner beans have been completely decimated by slugs and the cabbage whites have set up a nice hotel under the fleece I so thoughfully erected for them. Added to that, the council are trying to sell half our site so I think it is quite a tough year!
Raine

[Headfry]

Onions never grew, garlic got rust (big time) Bbeans got chocolate spot, no ripe tomatoes yet, Fbeans struggling, and I have trench foot!!
A pants year!