Do i care too much? part 2!!!!

[George.m]

i'm starting to think maybe trying to grow so many things in such a small space is a bad idea, anyone who read my last thread with know that i have so far, rust on my garlic (and probably leeks too soon), leafminers making a mess out of my beetroot, the usual aphids attacking everything thats green, and now ghost spot on one of my outdoor tomatoes (see pic), all i need now is the blight to kill the rest of my toms and the cabbage white to show up and i'm about done :s.

i've realised the main problem with doing all this in a small space is in order to fit everything you have to have small amounts of everything, which in turn means you dont have to loose a lot of them to be left with nothing, the whole "doesnt matter if pests take a few, there'll be more than enough to go round" doesnt apply here, maybe i should just go back to growing only runner beans

so... time for me to give up yet? *sniff*

[Nicos]

Nope...don't give up.
This has been a very damp year so far...different plants do well in different situations and conditions.
The secret is to grow all sorts of things for a few years and see what does best for you.

In the ideal situation we'd all like to grow a bit of everything...but you can't fight Nature!

[Raybon]

I've been looking at stuff about vertical gardening, particularly like the idea of growing courgettes/ squash/ pumpkins up a T-post. This would keep everything nice and airy, less prone to mildew etc., and provide shade for lettuces and spinach, leave you more space down below?

[George.m]

I've been looking at stuff about vertical gardening, particularly like the idea of growing courgettes/ squash/ pumpkins up a T-post. This would keep everything nice and airy, less prone to mildew etc., and provide shade for lettuces and spinach, leave you more space down below?

its a fair point, but even though my garden is tiny the only thing i've overcrouded are the tomatoes in my gh, but i know about that, the tom that caused me the problem outside was stood all on its own, in a airy part in the garden, i think its the weather thats causing me the most problems, its so warm and damp, and very annoying

[Potstubsdustbins]

Not seen Ghost Spot for some time. It can be caused by splashing the fruit whilst watering. The good news is you can eat the fruit.

[Penellype]

Don't give up, remember that some things will always fall by the wayside. I've got botrytis on my strawberries because its been so wet, and its also been too warm for the spinach, which is bolting. On the plus side, the lettuces and cabbages are the best I have ever grown, the potatoes seem to be loving it and the onions look much better than last year's crop, which got far too dry. I seem to be getting a 2nd flush of PSB on the 2 plants I left in the ground when they started producing lots of fresh greenery - never seen that before.

[AllInContainers]

Been a challenge here too. Another small overcrowded garden, and my saviour has been planting in pots so I can keep reshuffling them to suit growth and failures. Thankfully my crops are for titbits, treats and novelties rather than to "feed" me. Failures so far are melons, apples, dwarf pomegranate, filbert and cherries. Modest offerings from Jostaberry, blackcurrant, blueberry. Thankfully strawbs and raspberries are looking very sucessful (though nothing ripe yet), and there's plenty of chance for many of the others to succeed yet

[Shadylane]

Every year round about now you get this frustrated feeling as the slugs move in, rabbits eat stuff that they didn't last year, onions start to bolt, some things just don't seem to grow and you think, bladdy hell, this year is crap. Then in a month or sow everything sorts itself and you realise that it's not as disastrous as you originally thought. Don't give up. Things will improve and you'll soon get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

[Noosner]

I agree with Shadylane, George M. Nil desperandum! Every year at about this time I feel like giving up forever because it does seem that problems have a habit of surfacing in late May/early June.

This year: spinach that flowered before it properly leafed; tomato, pepper and cucumber plants on a go slow; something ate all the leaves off my strawberries and snipped all the unripe fruit off without eating it; same thing ate all my peas and beans; slugs ate all my beetroot and kale seedlings.

On the plus side: lettuces and carrots doing well as usual; garlic looking amazing; onions and potatoes looking healthy; golden chard surviving well; sweet peas looking excellent; raspberries fruiting properly for first time; one of my apple trees fruiting well.

Who was it who said that gardeners always see what's gone wrong, where non-gardeners just enjoy the garden? Somebody on here, I bet!

[Martin H]

Every year is the same for me.

I start full of optimism, the setbacks in March and April don't worry me because there's time to re-sow or re-plant.

Then in May and June the setbacks start to hurt a bit because I have to face the fact that this particular crop isn't going to be any good this year. This is when we need to call on our reserves of mental strength and determination.

Through the summer and to harvest time the disappointments continue and can sometimes seem to outweigh the successes. Non-gardeners just don't realise how hard it is to grow something fit for the table, even stuff that the supermarkets would discard as substandard! So it's important to savour every success, every tasty dish that we create from our own produce is actually a major victory.

I don't know if others feel the same, but clearing a bed at the end of the season always feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders: nothing else bad can happen this year! The disappointments dull over the winter while I reflect on the successes and I can start the new season with a clean slate and renewed optimism.

Fun isn't it?