Success, failure and lessons you have learned

[skeggijon]

I started late this year, after taking on a new plot at the end of April, but its amazing how plants can catch up.
April 2014

August 2014


Successes this year: Courgettes, Dwarf and Climbing French Beans, Carrots have been brilliant. Cucumber, Chilli and Pepper crops unbelievable.

Not so successful: Tomatoes - bought the plants in from Big & Quick, which I knew was a mistake lol. The plants hadn't been well looked after and as expected got blossom end rot on fruit from most of the plants.

Failures: Aubergines just didn't do much at all, other than that I can't really complain at all.

Biggest lesson this year is to take what other plotholders tell you with a pinch of salt.
Just because they can't grow something on their plot doesn't mean it can't be a raging success on yours.

[Greenleaves]

I don't really measure my gardening year by success and failure but more by enjoyment and I have had plenty of that....

As regards what I have learnt...simple really, you cant beat nature but you can work with it, I have never really been a believer in companion planting but it work for me this year and a lovely display of nasturtiums to boot.

[Aberdeenplotter]

My biggest disappointment this year has been my large exhibition onions. I made the mistake of growing them in my polytunnel which was newly erected on my new plot. I should have had the foresight to treat the soil to prevent problems with fungal diseases and of course the inevitable happened and I didn't manage to get a single onion on to the show bench. On the positive side, it was only botrytis and not white onion rot which would have been an absolute disaster. There's always next year

[Bigmallly]

Failure : Buying debris net because it's cheaper but then having no good plan to easily and cheaply do away with the holes for fixing that occur every meter or so.

I don't bother but a lot of growers sew the holes up with fishing line or the likes.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

I don't bother but a lot of growers sew the holes up with fishing line or the likes.

Or a 20p bag of miniture "Zip Strips" from B+M



Picture probably a little hazy as I had to home in a tad!

[Bigmallly]

Or a 20p bag of miniture "Zip Strips" from B+M

That'll be cable ties to us non-americans................

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Them's the one's! ........

[Snow]

Or a 20p bag of miniture "Zip Strips" from B+M

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50993[/ATTACH]

Picture probably a little hazy as I had to home in a tad!

Brilliant. thats the sort of idea I need. I had heard of sowing them with fishing line but that's way too much work. I already have some cable ties too, though perhaps not enough, but they're cheap so, perfect. The only other thing that is perhaps even quicker, is to use a sowing machine, but I don't have one.
Thanks for the photo, mine is blue too, cause it was cheaper to buy than the other colors, dont know why. I feel like I have a plan for next year now which is great! Thanks.

[Penellype]

I started with cable ties on my fruit cage, but found them tricky to get undone when I needed to and graduated to freezer bag twizzlers which are even cheaper

[bussinspain]

Hi all,

As this season is coming to a close, we were just wondering what have been your best successes, what didn't work out, and what is the most important thing you have learned to take forward into next season?


Answers may be edited and published in the January 2015 issue of Grow Your Own magazine.

Laura

My main learning curve is to have more patience! Feed the soil before asking the soil to feed my plants. I have been trying to grow veggies the "English" way here in blisteringly hot, sunny and dry Spain for nearly 5 years - it just doesn't happen. So - I have had to make "amendments" to growing some English favourites. For example - sprouting broccoli (according to Spanish gardening books) can be grown all year round here - but not in my garden unless I erect some decent shading material over it. This year I redesigned my veggie garden, super-fed it with home made compost and horse manure - now my veggies are looking and feeling better. Fingers crossed for the rest of the year.

[Green Gerkin]

I have learnt to sow my seeds earlier next year as I was behind everyone else with rippening and harvesting, though its now November and I still have peppers and tomatoes in the garden!!
This years successes were beetroot, chillies, tomatoes and gerkins. Also autumn rasberries were amazing and produced fruit for months.
I will not even attempt to grow radishes next year!

[the beadle]

Squashes a go go.

Hi all,

As this season is coming to a close, we were just wondering what have been your best successes, what didn't work out, and what is the most important thing you have learned to take forward into next season?


Answers may be edited and published in the January 2015 issue of Grow Your Own magazine.

Laura

Biggest success was with Autumn Crown squashes, we'll be eating them until April at least (if they keep that long) the only failure was Parsnips, I sowed two rows and got none! Never mind there's always next year

[Bigmallly]

the only failure was Parsnips, I sowed two rows and got none! Never mind there's always next year

I think the trick with Parsnip is to use new seed. That's what I've found anyway. Last years home made tape with new seed was brilliant.

[susieq100]

Lessons learned - I will not need 6 cucumber plants - cucumbers are incredibly prolific! Having said that I have made loads of cucumber relish and it is yummy.

San Marzano tomatoes were a disappointment - probably won't bother again.

Sweetcorn - a complete waste of time, plus I only ever really grew it for MrQ, so shan't bother again. More beans instead - my favourite.

If a cauliflower is tennis ball size one day, you probably need to pick it the next day as if left for 3 days it bolts! How can I prevent them bolting?

Celeriac is a nuisance - grow beetroot and buy celeriac!

Invest in a big 'reminder' calendar for the kitchen wall and write in advance every two weeks, "plant salad leaves" - I kept forgetting.

Make a note of varieties of everything that was successful - I am now a grandmother - and I won't remember!

I don't actually like pumpkin so there is absolutely no point in growing them!

[muddled]

I have learnt two very important lessons this year.

1. It won't grow if you don't sow it.
All the time spent faffing around, waiting for the right weather, the perfect soil conditions; all the times I put in only a pinch of seed with intentions of successionally sowing the rest (and then forgot)....all the mucking about with individual cells and pots....
JUST SOW THE BLIMMIN' SEED! It'll grow, that's what it was designed for

2. A little allotment is more fun
Allotments are a lot of work; yeah, yeah, we all know that. I'm not scared of a bit of hard work but it's more than the graft that gets you. The stress of maintaining a plot to the standards held by the council/plot sec or (worst of all) your plot neighbours can take all the joy out of the thing. When you have a little dinky plot people think of you as a newbie. They are kinder, they offer advice (and sometimes seedlings ) The whole process becomes more of fun, relaxation and gentle pottering. And d'you know what the best thing is?
You can still grow almost as much food in the same amount of time!
Who knew?