poor year

[BUFFS]

while the raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries etc have really produced, carrots (three sowings) failed, beetroot (three sowings), failed, psb (all leaf no crop), onions, only got to the size for pickling, melons dying on the vine due to the cold nights into july, purple kale, stunted at 1ft tall after 6 months, courgettes producing 5 fruit from 3 plants means that it was really a poor year.. but, right at the end the sun finally came out and the toms finally started to be worth the effort, loads and loads of them,we have soups, pasta sauces etc so now with the colder nights we have taken the last load and will pull the plants, and clear the GH ready for fumigating....and hope for better things next year...there is always next year....

[Lisasbolt]

Sorry to hear buffs, like you said there is always next year. The tomato is always the best so glad you got some of those. You will be chuffed in the mid winter and hopefully feel a little smug knowing it was all thanks to you.
I struggled with the heat with lots of things but it was a bonus for the peppers and chilli´s, i have never done so well with those.

[craftymarie]

It's been a very weird year for growing according to my Dad who's been doing it for umpteen years. He said it was a bad year that I choose to make a start.

However sounds like you've done really well with the fruit at least. Tomatoes are the most important in my eyes because we use them almost daily so sounds like that worked out very well in the end.

Next year might be different again!

[Bigmallly]

Likewise Buffs, my year was pants but you take the rough with the smooth so praying for a bit o' smooth next year..................

[Aberdeenplotter]

...there is always next year....

Course there is, and it's essential to keep that in mind if it has been a challenging (never Poor) growing season. If it all went swimmingly every year we'd get bored with it

[Potstubsdustbins]

I agree with AP yes it has been challenging year, very challenging in some respects. But all in all its been like most years for me some things do well, others don't.

Mind you I am in the midlands not north of the boarder which makes a heck of a difference.

[noviceveggrower]

I know what you mean Buffs. I have had just one picking of toms this year. Last year I was sick of looking at them and ended up supplying the street with toms for weeks.
My cauliflowers all bolted, beans were hard work to get going even then it took several attempts to get them really going and my other brassicas well don't even go there.
Think the problem has been it started cold, went warm, then cold and them warm again.
Hopefully this time next year we will all be saying what a fantastic year we have had.

[Penellype]

This year has certainly been interesting. Looking at the values for the Central England Temperature, which compares the current year to the average between 1961 and 1990 shows that the first 4 months of the year were warmer than average, April particularly so. May was quite cold, June, July and August near normal and September was cold.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/h...info_mean.html

These figures don't tell the whole story though. If you removed the extremely hot 1st July from the mix you would probably find that July came out significantly colder than average. There were also cold nights and warm days, which is not great for the more tender plants, and actually there has not been a month this year where ground frost was not mentioned in the forecast at some point, although obviously not for everywhere. There were also significant regional variations, so Scotland and parts of the west had a much cooler summer than the south and south east.

When compared with the record warmth we had last year, when only August was not warmer than average, this year has felt very cool indeed.

[Ovce domácí]

Dont like to blow my own trumpet, especially when others have not had similar results but we had a great year, best ever. Loads of toms, carrots, onions, pumpkins, courgettes, salad greens and the leeks are looking good. New novelties we havent grown before did great basil, root parsley, swedes, tomatillos. Average to poor were the broccoli and caulies, prob wont bother again with caulies when the seeds run out unless they are good next year. It was the hottest summer on record I think I read which probably had a difference on the toms and a bad effect on the caulies and broccoli maybe.

[skeggijon]

It's certainly been a mixed year. Toms, Strawberries and Raspberries did brilliantly, grew my biggest ever Pumpkin and got good Shallots.
Chillies and Peppers a bit slower than last year and Carrots not brilliant.
Most brassica have been rubbish and Peas have been dreadful for me, plus I only got about 5 Courgettes this year, while last year I was able to build a new shed out of them!
So yes it's been mixed, but aren't most years? It's still been fun trying though and after 40 odd years of gardening, I've learnt to take the rough with the smooth. Even if everything had failed I would have still had a years excercise in the open air for considerably less cost than a gym membership

[KevinM67]

You've pretty much summed it up for me skeggi.

[BUFFS]

as well as "there is always next year", I was told when I moved here that "you have to have a good sense of humour to live round here", between the two I think that it covers all you need to get on with life and your gardening (in the rain....)

[Bill HH]

Apart from salad onions that are too tough to eat,sweet corn that has been eaten by wood lice and mini snails, tomatoes that not only were not the variety i purchased but stayed green until the end of september, lettuce that were eaten undergound by aphids, cauliflower that just went to seed with no heads, carrots that are not any bigger now than they were in June, sunflowers that all point towards my neighbours garden, 3 raspberry plants that produced six raspberries, i did have half a dozen good cabbages and decent leeks, and good cucumbers. So a great year!!!!!

[bramble]

As we all say time and time again Bill, its next years possabilities that keep us trying again.

[Bill HH]

As we all say time and time again Bill, its next years possabilities that keep us trying again.

Every year I say to myself, this is a mugs game, why bother, the local shops are stuffed with perfect produce. Then sometime in March I smell spring and my resistance crumbles.