What Problems Do You Have Growing **********

[Guest]

In regards to earwigs you could try traps - straw in an up turned pot and dispose/ destroy each day or Nicos soy sauce in oil trap.

The other ones that I struggle with that haven't been mention are aubs and leeks. Where I used to live I done well with leeks but since I have moved they are a bit naff with the exception of pot leeks but then wasn't very keen on the flavour. Aubs I struggle at every stage germination, growing, fruiting

[Bren In Pots]

My problem is carrots I've tried them in my beds and in buckets but they're always tiny no matter how long I leave them. I ought to mention Aubergines I only ever get flowers from them they are pretty though but I'd like to have veg as well.
Brassicas do fine for me sown into newspaper pots then planted and firmed in well.

[Martin H]

My biggest problem is sprouts. The plants seem to grow fine until the time comes to form sprouts, then I either get tiny things smaller than a marble or blown things.

Cauliflowers usually fail too...

[Baldy]

The following is a non-exhaustive list of problem plants:

Carrots - always small
Aubergines - I've given up trying
Melons - golf ball sized last year - on their final warning
Celery - never seems to get going - my 'solution' last year was to turn to celeriac (dead easy muddled / sparrow )
Parsnips - nope - might have one last go...

I could go on... but those are the ones that spring to mind

Balders

[muddled]

We need a huge, communal plot, somewhere in the middle...Birmingham maybe? where we can all grow what we're good at but harvest what we LIKE

[Bigmallly]

Cucumbers - Why do they always sulk?

[SarrissUK]

Tomatoes - this year I started with 45 plants of different varieties and all but 8 have croaked it.

I seem to either under or over water them, re pot too soon or just don't have a tom frowing gene!

I have decided that if this year goes like the last few I am going to throw in the towel and get what I want from the garden centre (runs off to wash mouth out with soap again).

Lumpy, I used to have that problem a LOT when I was sowing into seed trays, especially when I kept them in the greenhouse that can go from cold to hot in half an hour. I often lost more than 3 quarters of seedlings, tomatoes and other veg alike. I started using deeper, bigger seed trays which increased my success, I'm guessing because they can hold more water, and take longer to drown/dry out. With tomatoes, I don't do seed trays any more - I sow two or three seeds to a 4 inch pot, then split them into pots when they get big enough. That seems to work for me

[Penellype]

Hmm, quite a varied list of things. I'll add mine:

Cauliflower - a few leaves and no central bud is the best I have managed. Given up.
Radishes - usually tough as old boots, if they swell at all. Luckily I don't like them.
Pak Choi and related veg (choy sum, mispoona etc) - I can grow these as baby leaves, but anything bigger than about an inch across never develops and they run to flower instead. Other brassicas usually grow ok, although I find broccoli rather tricky to get going.
Spring onions usually take about a year to get to the size of a chive plant. No issues with onions from sets.
Aubergines - from 3 years of trying I have managed one fruit the size of a golf ball before the plant keeled over and died. Last year there were loads of flowers, none of which set fruit.
Melons - only tried once and last year was cold, which may have been the problem. Nothing resembling a female flower ever appeared, even in the greenhouse.

[Bigmallly]

Where's Marb when you want one? It may make him feel at home.

[vixylix]

BM - I have earwig problems too, so I grow baby corn - then the earwigs can eat the silks, but they don't damage the actual cobs. Not quite as satsifying as full corn cobs though obviously

I struggle with fruit - strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries... out of 5 strawberry plants last years, 1 survived and I had 1 strawberry, raspberries have been in since autumn and still looking like dead twigs and my rhubarb crown had no buds so goodness only knows what will happen with that.

My blackberry cutting from Planetologist has just started shooting though so hopefully some of his fruit luck will rub off on me!

cucumbers were my most successful veg last year - its definitely funny how everyone is different. I suppose this is the great thing about community growing!

[Snoop Puss]

The following is a non-exhaustive list of problem plants:
Melons - golf ball sized last year - on their final warning
Celery - never seems to get going - my 'solution' last year was to turn to celeriac (dead easy muddled / sparrow )
Balders

I buy melon seeds from the UK from time to time. But have you ever read the blurb on the back, where they say things like "grow up to 4 inches in diameter"? That's not much really. And that's "up to".
I've had decent melons from Antalya seeds (Galia type) that you can get in the UK. Last place I bought them from was moreveg but you can get them elsewhere I think.

And what's your secret to growing celeriac? We really need to know. Or are you just pulling our online legs?!

[Tripmeup]

Pak Choi for me..No problems growing it per se, it just ALWAYS bolts on me....
Running out of patience with cucamelons too..a lot of faff for a few fruits...

[Bigmallly]

We need a big virtual compost bin to throw all these failures into..................

[Lumpy]

I suppose if we were all great at everything alot of this site would be defunct - I will carry on failing at many things just so I can learn from everyone else!

[Nannysally99]

It's radishes for me, first year was good and then the next two years were woody. Trying again this year - again