2014 vs 2015.........preliminary thoughts!

[WPG]

Aphids galore here, they're on just about everything.

So far it's not looking very encouraging here. In particular my courgettes and butternut squash seem to be frozen in time, they haven't grown since planting out a month ago. Broad beans and peas are at least 3 weeks behind compared to last year, also strawberries have been very slow. Leek seedlings are still like blades of grass.

The only thing which has done well for me so far is purple sprouting broccoli, and also the tomato plants are looking good (though only just flowering now).

[Potstubsdustbins]

Toms, cumbers and sweet peppers well behind.

New potatoes, early peas, courgettes, lettuce, radish, spring onions and mesclun were on time and are plentiful.

Strawberries best crop ever according to SWMBO...........she eats them for me!

Calabrese, runners, main crop onions, cauli's, main crop potatoes and blackberries all looking OK at this time.

Blueberries disaster not a one. My fault forgot to replace a bush I lost over winter so pollination just didn't happen.

[Stan79]

I intentionally planted a lot of things later this year than last to avoid the frosts which I found last year came later than anticipated. All growing away well now, bearing that in mind.

Potatoes in a bag were much better than last year as I watered them more due to a tip from potstubsdustbins on here.

Tomatoes are looking in better shape than last year and less leggy as planted them later.

Sweetcorn took a hammering from the wind so I sowed and planted some more which is looking much happier.

The new fruit cage is looking great and the raspberries from last year are coming into their own now. Last year we didn't really get any strawberries but this year look better.

All in all, very positive!

[Seagull]

I don't keep terribly good notes, but having looked back on my scrawlings from last year, it would appear I'm not as far behind with this year's plantings/crops as I thought.

I planted out my squash and courgette plants last weekend, only a week later than last year. And I plan to sow my Blue Lake French beans straight into the ground this weekend, again, only a week later than last year. I had fantastic crops of both in 2014, so hopefully, despite the cold spring and the relentless winds we've had, I might get the same this year.

Onions have been weird. About 30 of the 100 Troy onions I planted over winter bolted. The ones that didn't are HOOOOGE! Some of them are easily 5-6in in diameter. My garlic is covered in rust (again - it's endemic on our site), but I'm hopeful of getting some small bulbs. Have lost a few to white rot, too.

Tomatoes are pretty dismal. Every planting was timed perfectly to coincide with 45-mile-an-hour winds a day or two later, and they did NOT like this. I reckon I'll be lucky to get anything out of them before the inevitable blight hits.

Potatoes remain to be seen. I've grown some Charlotte in bags. The other day, I went in for the obligatory furtle, and I was two thirds of the way down the bag before I found a solitary, egg-sized spud. I'm hoping there is an abundance of the things further down, otherwise it's all been a bit of a wasted effort!

Am delighted to have successfully grown carrots for the first time - planted in a trough. Also radishes - lovely and big and incredibly hot.

So despite the grim spring, I'm optimistic for the rest of the season.

[Bacchus]

Probably worse overall here I think.

Chillis a bit of a disaster - too many cold nights late on
aphids - don't talk to me about aphids...
Strawberries - not as good a crop
runner beans - nowhere near as well on
Tomatoes - not nearly as well developed as last year

However some good sides too....
no slugs - at all - horray
Onions are huge - and very sweet
Carrots seem to be doing better
Sweetcorn is doing very well (didn't grow it last year)

[rary]

tatties not as good as last year, tomatoes just starting to form, had pulled one or two this time last year, garlic rotted in the ground, had a good crop last year, broad beans doing well but no beans yet. But the year is not over yet.
Just wait till next year when thing are going to be different

[kris1960]

Last year was my first on allotment and most of my vegetables, certainly until June, were bought in modules. This year mostly self sown and many spent a long time on hold waiting for the cold nights(and days) to pass before being planted out - consequently gourds, beans, tomatos, cucumbers and sweetcorn not so far advanced.
Have, on the other hand, been completely self-sufficient and have had an abundance of lettuce,endive, rocket, chinese greens, leeks and brassicas throughout winter and spring. Also did well with parsnips and scorzonera well into this year.
Spring planted brassicas also doing better than last year.
It has definitely been a colder May and June this year with very little soil saturating rain.
One bright spot for me- 3 carrots(so far) 2015 v 1 mishapen 2014- not sure it was anything to do with weather though!

[Bill HH]

Although we never had a frost in Torquay it has been very cold at nights right up until recently, my spuds just wouldnt grow and are a month behind last year, my tomato seedlings just sat there for a month about two inches high. The only thing to do well has been the onion related stuff, I have for the first time ever had pencil thick leeks.My cucumbers were a disaster, I bought bella F1's (not cheap) and they all passed away.Bought another lot and half of them snuffed it (one was a suicided) So I have 3 bella which dont look well although they are growing now and two piccolina which I had to buy as plants, they dont look exactly happy either. On the fish front I bought 12 new shubunkins about 2 inches long , put them in the pond and haven't seen them since. Strawberries have excelled themselves and I might get a pickfords lorry to take a load up to Wimbledon. All in all a peculiar year.

[rary]

I think this is a good thread as it shows that there are problems all over the country and not just the area that I stay in, and its not just my poor growing skills.

[Lisasbolt]

ummm my thoughts are that i never bloody learn.
I always plant too close together and thought i was doing well for spacing this year, but it is out of control, i don't have the heart to pull up things to help air flow but will know the plants will suffer for over crowding.

[Xepher]

Flicking through my notes from last year, most things seem at least a couple of weeks behind this year. It seems especially the case for Curcubits and Greenhouse crops, this time last year I had a plentiful supply of courgettes and significant amount of tomatoes, peppers and chillies that were ripening on the plants.

This year, I haven't had a single courgette yet and my tomatoes, peppers and chillies have barely begun to flower. We seem to have quite a few cold evenings this month which may have stunted their growth somewhat. Even cold tolerant crops such as Peas and Broad Beans seem behind this year. Still, I've got a good crop of new potatoes so far this year!

[Penellype]

I think this year has been extremely challenging - after a fairly mild winter and a very mild April, May and June have been significantly colder than average, with a large number of cool or cold nights. Anything that needs a bit of warmth has struggled and repeatedly been knocked back. In addition it has been very dry in some places, and this has caused some crops to bolt early. Some strong winds at times haven't exactly helped with this.

I don't think the challenging bit is over yet. We are about to move into a much warmer phase with a plume of hot air coming up from Spain next week. Looking at the forecasts this is not a pleasant sunny heatwave. It is hot but windy at times, with hot humid nights and an increasing risk of "severe" thunderstorms, which usually means the possibility of flash flooding in places. Unfortunately this combination of heat and humidity looks like an open invitation to blight.

Yuck. I hope I'm wrong.

[maverick451]

It seems to be a bad year for powdery mildew, got it quite a bit, even on the roses which has never happened before.

[Penellype]

Powdery mildew seems to like dry conditions - I get it on my courgettes, particularly when it is both dry and windy, which seems to rip the moisture out of the large leaves faster than they can suck it up.

[hamamelis]

We've had the worst year in memory (according to one of the vintage plotters) for blackfly on my allotment site. This was exceedingly annoying for me, as I was having a great year for broad beans, with my best crop yet, and lots of promising plants coming along, but I wound up just ripping them all out a few days ago. Just too much damage.

I've had a lot of stuff bolt, an OK soft fruit crop (the strawberries have been tasting great, but it's a new bed, with all new plants, and I'm not getting that many). It looks like I should get the first courgette any day now, and the runners have just started flowering.

I had a rotten year for beans and squash in 2014, so it actually looks better for me this year!