poor year

[jacob]

Definitely a below average year. Soft fruit good and toms, potatoes, broadies and cucs OK if very late. Alliums very poor (lots of garlic rotted when supposed to be drying out). Cabbages didn't get going chillies worst ever, got some aubergines and peppers, but late and not a great crop. Carrots, parsnips and french beans weren't playing, small beetroot.

[BUFFS]

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.

well done,but can you nip down "THE DOG AND FERRET" for a cool pint of bitter/boddingtons or maybe a guinness, so maybe its not so bad here after all,if I were to get tipsy I wouldn't notice the weather...

[BUFFS]

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.

if us blokes are "mugs" doing all this in the garden, does that make OH a china teacup?....

[Penellype]

If I ever start to wonder if its worth it I just remember what I have eaten today and how much less nice it would have tasted if I had bought it instead.

Today for example, I had 2 sorts of lettuce, cucumber, Sungold tomatoes, snackbite orange pepper, mizuna, namenia, komatsuna and chinese celery for lunch, and there will be Charlotte potatoes, carrots and runner beans for tea, and I'm about to nip out and pick some of the last of the blueberries and autumn raspberries. All of it on my doorstep ready for me to pick and eat. I wonder how long it would take me and how much it would cost to find all of that in the shops.

[Potstubsdustbins]

^^^^^^^If you could find it at all.

[Penellype]

^^^^^^^If you could find it at all.

Exactly, and certainly not in my preferred quantities of 2 leaves of this and 3 of that rather than enough for 4 people and some inevitably wasted.

[Potstubsdustbins]

My mesclun is still going well and should over winter in the GH, it is great for nipping out and picking enough fresh leaves for a sandwich.

[vixylix]

Definitely a poor weather summer all round - from my pasty white skin to the comments on here and on beechwood. Having said that... for my first year's growing especially with the poor weather - I'm still pleased I had things to eat.

My OH didnt believe that I could grow tomatoes in the north of england, without a greenhouse - so feeling rather smug that I did - even with very little sunshine!! That shows him...

[Kirk]

This year has been really bad, most have grown a bit then sort of stood there looking at me wondering what they ae supposed to do.

Onions were characteristically bad and have convinced me not to try onion again.
Shallots made a half hearted attempt, I supose. Lots of green just not much shallot.
Some tomato's have finally given me some red tomato's, but one I like are still green and show no sign at all of changing colour. They are more a novality so not a great loss.
Peppers were a 100% waste and eventually went to the great compost pile in the sky.
One carrot germinated then decided to follow it collegues, 2 rows of, and keeled over dead.
Turnips and swede's - well not sure what happened to them. They produced so little that I lost track of where they were sown.
Leeks started off with an apparent to intent to grow but have stopped it would seem.

The potato's (in containers) at least did as normal and made a reasonable crop.

Terrible thought - how many worms are needed for worm pie ?
I seem to have an abundance of those.

[skeggijon]

Definitely a poor weather summer all round - from my pasty white skin to the comments on here and on beechwood. Having said that... for my first year's growing especially with the poor weather - I'm still pleased I had things to eat.

My OH didnt believe that I could grow tomatoes in the north of england, without a greenhouse - so feeling rather smug that I did - even with very little sunshine!! That shows him...

Doesn't matter what the weather is like - I spend so much time on the lotty these days that I seem to have a perma tan. People at work keep commenting that I must be jetting off to Spain on my days off.

[Greenleaves]

I wouldn't say I have had a bad year but I also wouldn't say it was my best. My Cauliflowers were the best I have ever grown, onions likewise.

Like everyone else I have had disappointments but that's what I love about gardening.....every autumn I start thing about next year and what I might do different but in reality I change nothing.

[Bill HH]

Doesn't matter what the weather is like - I spend so much time on the lotty these days that I seem to have a perma tan. People at work keep commenting that I must be jetting off to Spain on my days off.

Have you been tested for liver disease?

[hamamelis]

Well, I managed a few months where I only brought stuff I couldn't possibly grow (bananas and such, though my Mum actually grew them once in the heated greenhouse). That's pretty much my target. Maybe not quite good value taken simply as food produced/money spent, ignoring the fact that I'd have a lot of trouble finding some of the plants to buy.

Mostly though, the plot's kept me roughly sane through a summer of night shifts, and I can't even begin to estimate the value of that.

[skeggijon]

Have you been tested for liver disease?

Not specifically, but had a well man medical recently. Was told I've got the lungs and heart of a 30 year old - whoever he is, he must be livid!
I'm only tanned down to the neck

[rary]

Like you Buffs I have had a difficult year, onions, beetroot and cabbage poor, moolie radish***** french beans not so good but potatoes, were ok the broad beans and runner beans were slow but had and still have a good crop.( The French and runner beans are in the same bed and trench, one good one poor)I still have some broad beans to pick so a lot latter than usual Was at morrisons earlyer and noted the price for about a doz. runner beans was 89p. when pointed this out to my wife I was totaly ignored, but that aside its the pleasure of the trying to grow different crops that make it worthwhile, so roll on next year, and skeggijon, up here the tanned look its known as being weather beaten