Feeling lost

[A Life Less Simple]

Everything has taken sooo long to grow this year, and I'm only in the south west so god only knows up is happening further up north... Is it just me?

What seeds should I be planting now? I have completely lost track and can't seem to focus long enough to work it out... So far I have some courgettes, winter squashes, french beans, purple sprouting, kale, cauli. I seem to keep sowing things and either don't get a very good result or the tray falls over (that has happened twice now ) or they just don't come up at all.

None of my sweetcord has come up at all, my first lot of courgettes and squashes didn't come up for about a month so plants some more only to have the first lot come up... Only half my potatoes have come through even though the tubes haven't rotted and still have nice shoots on them, I have dug one or two back out to check and all of my runner beans are just lerking just under the surface at that stage where they should bust through at any moment but have been like that for a few weeks.

I am watering and checking daily, not letting anything dry out but not letting anything become water lodge... I am just lost

[Snadger]

Just calm down and stop worrying. Allotmenteering is not a life or death thing (unless you are trying to be TOTALLY self sufficient.)

If you get a few veg for the pot, thats good.......if you don't, it's not the end of the world.
Be philosophical about it. You're getting fresh air, excercise, comaraderie and now and again.................sometimes you may get something edible for the pot that the miriad of pests haven't got before you!

My runners aren't up yet, I've JUST sown my carrots and beetroot. Will be sowing Spring cabbage before long and some more winter radish. Also, more peas to sow and a load of plants to plant out.

[Bigmallly]

The only things I'm picking at the mo is Salad leaves, Spinach Beet & a handful of Mangetout. Everything else is still growing slowly, like Snadge says, stay calm & pray for a warm summer......

[FionaH]

I sowed some radishes and salad today if that helps? Like the others said if it doesn't grow its not the end of the world, no one died Everything here is way behind last year too

[Nicos]

I keep sowing peas and French beans- I've more gaps than plants this year

[solway cropper]

Well, after eating spuds, carrots, broad beans, lettuce, radish and spring onions from the garden this weekend I can't see what all the fuss is about.

[kingkano]

Loads of things can still go in now IMHO. Peas, mangetout maybe, radish, lettuce, rocket, chard, basil and other herbs, late brassices (psb or kale), carrots, beetroot, all the beans, sweetcorn can still try again, oriental stuff, etc. With the warmer temps things will germinate quite quickly now (and the rain has finally finished for a bit).

You could sow most of this stuff direct to avoid the problem with trays falling over

[taff]

you're not lost, you're impatient, and we all suffer from that
checking dailydoes make it look like nothing is happening, check every couple of days,or take a photo on the first day of the week, then take a photo on the last day of the week, and see the difference.Checking every day means you can't see the big difference

[Two_Sheds]

You don't need to be watering every day either.

My lotty has only just last week "popped" (that moment in June when everything suddenly starts growing like mad). The poppies are putting on an inch a day, but the sweetcorn & beans are still only 6" high. The peas are now podding and the early lettuce is about to go to seed.

You're a bit further north than me, so ... any day now

[Jardiniere]

hey i'm in south west France and my beans are tiny, my beetroot miniscule, only the volunteer courgettes are flowering whereas the proper ones are small, i have got decent potatoes (which we arent eating much of cos OH is on a sort of Atkins regime) and broad beans and lettuce but thats about it (oh blackcurrant - enough to make a wonderful coulis for the pannacotta - sugar? on Atkins? just a little)

[Zenithtb]

ALL of my peas got roasted by the sun - forgot to protect them from the morning sun :-( Sometimes too much light can be a bad thing...

Other things killed
Grapevines x2, red currant and blackberry = leaves stripped by birds
Raspberry and gooseberry = sun-roasted, but surviving
Melons (plus many others) = killed by this damn mini fly-larvae (they eat tender roots if you miss the parent flies wandering around the compost - big problem here)
Peach, big grape vine, and cherry tree - failed to come out of hibernation

Sob!

Zenithtb

[Adrastea]

What seeds should I be planting now? I have completely lost track and can't seem to focus long enough to work it out... So far I have some courgettes, winter squashes, french beans, purple sprouting, kale, cauli. I seem to keep sowing things and either don't get a very good result or the tray falls over (that has happened twice now ) or they just don't come up at all.

I was just thinking the same thing myself today....you are not alone I had a rat problem and pulled up a lot of my veg as I was worried about any contamination. I probably overreacted and now I've got to start all over again!!! I thought what can I possibly sow now - that I can harvest before the cold weather? This year has been such a late start that sometimes it feels as though autumn is just around the corner! Sometimes gardening can be very fustrating, but as Snadger says, as long as you are enjoying the outdoors and get a bit of harvest it's still well worthwhile.

I harvested some lettuce, spring onions and radishes (before the rat incident) and they were so tasty.... I'm going to sow some French beans, spring onions, radishes, carrots and beetroot. I might even try some more peas...

[A Life Less Simple]

Big thanks everyone!

I think I was having 'one of those days' yesterday and started looking at photos of last years plot and it looks so sorted. I have sort of started all over again with the plots as my allotment site was ploughed on April 2nd last year and they have had to change the layout again this year meaning I have lost some of my 'started beds' from last year.

Off to check the plots before it rains, and have ordered some more sweetcorn seeds that should arrive in the morning!

[Snadger]

Well, after eating spuds, carrots, broad beans, lettuce, radish and spring onions from the garden this weekend I can't see what all the fuss is about.

I had a Tesco's ready meal at the allotment as well this weekend!