Tell us your successes!

[lukens]

Red Russian kale cut-and-come-again salad leaves; keep cutting them, they keep coming again. Starting to get a bit tough, but have done very well.

Doing quite well for gherkins, and my crystal lemon cucumbers are looking like they'll catch up fast.

Have been harvesting pink Duke of York then blue kestrel for over two months, started after they'd been in the ground (well, planter bags) just 9 weeks.

Snap peas, radish, baby beets, have all done pretty good jobs, but I needed to plant more of them all to start with.


This is my first year, so I don't have anything to compare to, though.

[Snadger]

Good year for onions especially 'Troy' japanese overwintering type.
Just dug a single 'shye' of Pink Fir Apple tatties. They are far from mature yet and still have masses of green foliage, but I just HAD to have a try of them. From one tuber I have just this evening harvested about 40 small sausage sized tubers (maybe 3 kilo's) which are lovely and clean and pink. No nobbles and after rinsing they made lovely 'chips' if cut in half with the skins left on and deep fried.
The rest will be steamed for my dinner tomorrow.

[Andromeda]

Where to start?

My biggest success has to be beetroot, I've been trying to grow it for years and this is the first year I've had a harvest (does the happy dance!)

Other than that:
Cabbage - spring cabbage was okay, summer cabbages are huge and both autumn cabbages (winnigstadt) and winter cabbages (January kings) are doing very well.
Broccoli - Green sprouting has been immense, purple sprouting (autumn harvest) growing very well after a mammoth sulk earlier in the year and the psb for harvest early next year is looking better than ever before.
Calabrese - So many heads I've been freezing it and have passed on some to other people (the heads have been 10-12 inches across!).
Lettuce - this has been a fight against the snug population but I've had some beauties.
Onions - I've grown spring onions, shallots, red onions and a white onion (I can remember which it is) and have been inundated
Brussels Sprouts - the early ones (~October harvest) are over 4ft tall and full of baby sprouts, the later ones are looking good too.

Most of the other veg I've grown have been okay, but not phenomenal (although that could easily change with a spell of good weather).

The fruit had also been good - lots of fresh fruit desserts, plenty of jam made, peaches (some eaten, others preserved in syrup and a few in brandy for Christmas), apples and pears look good as well.

To think I honestly thought this year would be a wash out!


Edit: Garlic...I don't know what happened to it but I've been swamped. Every plant I lifted had 3-6 large bulbs attached - very odd indeed (never seen anything like it before!

[Samurailord]

Fantastic posts everyone - I know you could all be coaxed into posting about the good things with a little gentle prodding.

Just keep these good news stories coming - it gives all of us newbies (and the old hands) a bit of encouragement.

Andy

[Jamesy_uk]

I suppose i'd have to say Beetroots still got loads to go and Turnips although I found I wasn't very keen on them in the end and gave them all away I had some beauties.
Honourable mention to the Broad Beans as I thought they had rotted in the ground, then they popped up then stalled again for a month and finally they made a mad dash for the finish line and I ended up with several carrier bags full.

[veggiechicken]

Honourable mention to the Broad Beans as I thought they had rotted in the ground, then they popped up then stalled again for a month and finally they made a mad dash for the finish line and I ended up with several carrier bags full.

A bit like this ?

[Jamesy_uk]

If Bolt was almost dug up, composted and replaced with Potatoes which were then boiled, eaten with butter and the plate they were on was put into a dishwasher.... It might just be.

[Normans Mum]

Successes were... the onions- absolutely loads.
Blueberries- three massive shrubs which since being moved (in pots) to their new home have done very well
Strawberries- finished now, but tons right from the start of March
Raspberries- still coming
Courgettes- picking 2 or 3 every few days
Have only had our lotty for 2 years, but what we have had from it, has cheered me up and given me the incentive to do bigger and better next year. YAY !!

[flopsy]

had potatoes early in year and next lot doing well.
courgettes great picking them every couple of days.
cucumbers finally getting fruits and one about 2inches
lettucees long.tomatoes ok but still green
had a few small turnips
best been caulis had picked a few and lots more in various stages of growth

[marchogaeth]

Am I allowed to say the hay crop? We had resolved ourselves to none at all, for the first time in 18 years: fields too wet to even get machines on to for silage: a Winter fraught with difficulties and seriously crippling expenses when out popped the sun and wind and, thanks to one $#1t of a customer 400 more bales in the barn than anticipated .

So despite being completely shattered; despite the fact that today is an all fires on in the house/full waterproofs outside day; despite the fact that we daredn't open the barn doors in case it all comes tumbling out! "Yeah!!!"

Edit:- Meant to say somewhere that we estimate a 10 to 12% reduction in yield due to the season.

[Cue the Toms]

My biggest and bestest success this year was finding out about this forum site.... Great site and even greater people, and my best chance of getting a decent harvest in the future will be down to some of you! So a massive thanks to everyone. xxx

Chris

[veggiechicken]

You really are a Nutter Chris

[Cue the Toms]

Sorry my lovely

[Lisamcflisa]

Runner beans, my herbs have done well, loads frozen for the winter, tomatoes in greenhouse, got 6 melons fattening up, leeks look good for a first attempt. Got tons of peppers and chillies (fingers dissed for some red ones!), strawberries were loaded but my dog ate most before I got to them lol, and I'm picking my watercress tomorrow cos it's been perfectly happy in the wet

[justgimmeethefaxmaam]

My first year of one third of an allotment as square foot gardening. Plus some pots on garage roof.

Successes...

Mixed spicy salad leaves & assorted lettuces

Strawberries

Broad beans

Garlic

Mange Tout (2 varieties)

Curly Kale

Spinach Beet

Swiss Chard

Sweetheart Cabbages

Beetroot

Mini Cucumbers

Mini courgettes

Cherry Tomatoes

Must say I'm very pleased at these results.

Almost ready...Sweetcorn & Borlotti Beans & Squash