What will you do different next year?

[Chocolate8me]

As a first year GYO'er, I was pondering on the trials & tribulations of my fruit & veg for this year.

What have you learnt the most? And what are you going to do differently next year?


My biggest lesson to oneself is not to plant mangetout next to red onion/spring onion/leeks (they don't like each other) and not to use growbags as the slugs hide in them & they are difficult to water. Not least, to plant less tomatoes as I'm overwhelmed with the green buggers!!

[zazen999]

Try again not to micromanage things; more permaculture and remove the rest of the sides of my beds at the allotment!

[Jelliebabe]

Errrrr Move somewhere sunny!

I will overwinter a WHOLE bed of broad beans instead of just a few. I will start the regular beans earier and the squash and I will cover the pathways so we dont have to strim all the bloomin time!

[greenishfing]

Buy a bigger umbrella - preferably allotment sized!!!

[Rhona]

Be a bit more careful about how I plant celeriac - think I only got a few in at the right depth.
Put better markers in at the pumpkin patch so I can tell what I'm growing.
Start the sweetcorn later
Get the manure delivered to the other end of the allotment this year, as the beds at the top end are getting favoured a bit too much...
Get a decent greenhouse instead of just talking about it
Get a polytunnel at the allotment instead of just talking about it
Grow better garlic than we managed this year. Maybe find a few different varieties
Clear the patch of rubble that we've ignored for two years at the allotment and turn it into a useful space
Cut the lottie hedges down to waist height

That's without any thinking time. Goodness knows what else I can come up with if I actually THINK about it!

[SarzWix]

Do everything earlier - I was late with planting out most stuff this year because of building the polytunnel, and so with that and the pants weather, everything is really behind schedule. August already, and I haven't even had a single cucumber yet!

[Cue the Toms]

Buy my fruit and veg from the greengrocer

[veggiechicken]

Do more succession planting - little and often - not that I have had any gluts this year

[binley100]

Learn what is the right depth for celeriac ........

[Cue the Toms]

Do more succession planting - little and often - not that I have had any gluts this year

I've just had a glut on lettuce.. Sewn some more this week hahaha

[hamamelis]

More broad beans, more sweetcorn, more beds, more salad crops, more parsnips, more carrots, more strawberries... more of pretty much everything but runner beans, come to think of it!

Also, be better organised when it comes to sowing times, sort out the rubbish fertility of the lower beds and the currant patch, get a wider variety of minor crops in, and plant closer to the edges of my beds.

[veggiechicken]

Buy my fruit and veg from the greengrocer

I've just had a glut on lettuce.. Sewn some more this week hahaha

Did you buy too much lettuce then?

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Given the yield I should probably resist the temptation to waste allotment space on planting out surplus greenhouse tomatoes. I can't bear the thought of scrapping healthy plants, though, so I imagine that once again hope will triumph over experience. One year it will be worth doing.

Having grown them alongside bog standard beetroot I won't be buying expensive F1 seed again; I couldn't tell the difference between them.

I won't be underplanting broad beans with courgettes again. I thought the beans would be out in time for the courgettes to develop, but the beans were so late (I've only just taken them out) and therefore the courgettes haven't really had time to develop. I might interplant some winter leeks instead next time.

[Jelliebabe]

Ooooh yes - I WILL grow a sweetcorn cob!

[Bigmallly]

Think I will pass on the peas & sweetcorn next year, resist the temptation to over-sow, especially lettuce. Gonna give sweet potatoes a bash.