when gardening slaps you in the mush

[mrgrower]

My daughter makes a lovely butternut squash and coriander soup so I decided this year to grow a load of butternut squash plants.

I had loads of plants so gave loads away to other plot holders and planted out five myself.

Anyway I had loads of flowers on but no squash so after asking on here I checked and found that all my squash have put out male flowers only.

I mentioned this to 3 other plot holders only to find that all of their plants that I gave them have all fruited and imagine my mumbles when I saw the proof..

Now that as far as I'm concerned is a smack in the mush

[Hazel at the Hill]

Oh dear, Mr G! I found out at the Hill this afternoon that Richard-three-plots-down is in the same boat as you - he gave a spare pumpkin plant to his neighbour, and whilst Richard's is a massive but fruitless plant, his neighbour is likely to win 'biggest pumpkin' this year.

[Glutton4...]

Some ya win....

[mrgrower]

Some ya win....

I'm glad I never gamble then

Typical Hazel fortune is never on the good hahahaha

[greenishfing]

I find that every year is a disaster for something on my plot. I've stopped getting upset about it. I used to take it personally !!

I find that for every failure something else does particularly well.

Also there tends to be lots of give and take on our allotments generally. If you mention that your tomato seedlings have committed harikari ( like me this year) somebody seems to turn up with spares-maybe not the variety you planned growing but maybe they'll turn out even better........

The same with produce. Plenty of gifts and swops.

I always grow extra to join in with the community, this year my baby brassicas were in demand.

[mrgrower]

It's all good fun.

[Two_Sheds]

I always plant "more than I need", and I don't have the time or the inclination to count successes or disasters. It's rare that a whole crop fails, I usually get something usable.
As others have noted, some things do well certain years and in other years something else will do well.

This year I didn't get as much sweetcorn, beans or squash as usual, but I have had more rhubarb, rasps, lettuce & cabbage than I know what to do with.