Tales of woe - 2016

[sparrow100]

Ok folks, I think I am guilty here of making too many doom and gloom posts. (Veggie Chicken, you are welcome to delete some of my recent posts and I can get them all off my chest here) You see I have had a pretty terrible couple of years with a lot of personal stress, loss and some health issues. My gardening (and creativity-music/photography) are my only means of trying to control/enjoy at least something so that is why I have been veering (I know a little too much) on the negative side, which sadly I tend to do naturally anyway. I start out positive in my garden (and I do expect things to go wrong) but when so many things seem to go wrong I get to a point of despair and this is my only venting place with fellow growers. I have also been guilty of being dismissive of people's help here of which I can only apologize. I get bouts of depression, especially when things go wrong as they seem far worse so perhaps when in that state of mind it isn't a good idea to come here.

Anyway, it's cold comfort to know I am not alone in these increasing problems so thanks for posting. Yes, so far it's not been a good growing year.

Awwww Marb - massive hugs from over here.

I have a waterlogging problem. My heavy clay is saturated and not draining. There is standing water everywhere again, like in January. I have 3 undug (never been dug) beds for the winter veg and the rest of my squashes. It doesn't look like I will be able to do that before mid-July if (IF) the rain stops this week. As well as that I have:
- a plague of slugs and blackfly going after the beans and squashes in particular
- rotting strawberries (though I really don't care about those)
- possible onion white rot in my garlic bed
- cucumbers that just won't grow
- 600-odd saffron corms that will start rotting soon if it doesn't stop raining/I don't dig them all up.

I AM glad that this is the year I decided to grow blight resistant tomatoes and maincrop spuds.

[maverick451]

Oh yep...a few years back...I recall seeing him showing us an established box hedge with blight.
Ended up having to rip it out the following year.
The following week I realised my small box shrub had blight too!
Wouldn't have recognised it for what it was otherwise....chopped it right back as he suggested ....and yep, it survived and now looks healthy.

I remember him telling us its not box blight and spraying it with seaweed

I like Monty, I dont want to kick the boot in but I think if folks on here had the budget and team he does they could probably do a much better veg garden.

[Marb67]

I wasn't aware he had a team as such. I would have thought he would like to do it all himself as he seems an independent type of bloke. To be honest, I get more out of Sean's Allotment etc than GW/Beachgrove (the latter which has very contrived dialogue) Sean is very likeable, honest and not afraid to show failures. He also has cats which is a bonus as I'm not a dog person.

[SusieG]

Ant yet Monty Don always turns out perfect everything on GW. Look how healthy his veg plot is. Sickening

Yeah, he's probably got a state-of-the-art electrified slug killing fence all the way around Longmeadow, with hoardes of specific nematodes to zap the other pests. Its all under a special dome creating perfect weather conditions - his very own micro-climate ......
Wouldn't it be boring though, folks....!!!!!!!

[unclefudgly]

Bah Gum I feel better now knowing it's not just me that is having a terrible start to the year! It's very easy sometimes to think everything that goes wrong is somehow your fault, but easy to see that even the best of us can often struggle against the worse Mother Nature throws our way.

For me

Strawbs came late then rotted on the rain
Peonies flowered very late then were decimated by rainstorms
Lettuces bolted
Carrots took three sowings to grow
Toms in polytunnel growing spindly and uneven
Most of my veg is still in the tunnel waiting to go out, so thankfully I have that

[Jay22]

Forgot to mention that my lettuces have gone too and they are in a netted raised bed!!

[Penellype]

Unfortunately nets won't keep out slugs and snails, and in fact are more likely to keep out their predators.

[Guest]

I just thought of another one which I am sure anyone dealing with lil ones will appreciate.

Got my girls to carry some pots to the patch. On one journey I gave them each a pumpkin plant whilst I sorted out some bits to take. On hearing en-guard noises..............yep I had 1 and 2 halfs of pumpkin plants. Bless 'em

[astraman1]

my plot is flooded form all the rain - must dig a sump
beans would not germinate
half of potatoes havent come through
my zebrune shallots were attacked by slugs - now recovering (slug pellets)
my butternut squash have not grown since put in the ground (we rely heavily on these)
got soaked while weeding for 2 hours in the rain today

[vixylix]

Right, deep breath...

* lack of space
* lack of sun
* Hayfever
* A cold in JUNE!
* Earwigs
* Ants
* Zero germination of runner beans
* patchy germination of anything and everything sown after march
* 6th lot of broad beans have flowered but are still determined to do nothing further
* lettuce seedlings decimated by something
* potato stems totally collapsed and split - due to ?
* strawberries rotting because I can't bleeding get to them
* whitefly everywhere
* tomatoes were doing great but are stuggling due to weather - same for corn, cucamelon, cucumber and borlotti beans
* courgettes are getting pot bound because I have no time or space to plant them out
* found my dream garden - then the house purchase fell through
* raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb are all doing nothing (I don't think I'm made for soft fruit)
* lettuces are bolting with only about 4 leaves
* and lets not forget... ALL the rain

I feel better now... thanks all!

[Scarlet]

Hmm.....
The pigeons ate all my plum blossom
The pigeons and blackbirds ate all my red currants - when they were still green.
My spuds are still on my kitchen windowsill waiting yo be planted - bad back
My courgettes were planted out and rats/moles/voles tunnelled underneath.
My beans were planted in with an extra bean planted at every pole which the mice/rats /voles ate.
My chillies aren't growing as fast as everyone else's
My summer raspberries were starved of water last summer and are really small.
My raised beds have rotted after being submerged in water over winter...clay soil/doesn't drain.
I made a new garlic bed due to severe problems withwhite onion rot last year...now they have rust.
Ive ground elder growing in my compost bins!!!! I don't know how it got up there...I'm really careful
My boys passed their driving test two months ago and now I have no car

But my tomatoes are ripening and they taste Delicious!

[unclefudgly]

At sometime in the past three days my 1m sq raised bed of healthy carrot seedlings have been decimated, and now I have none!
Not a happy bunny!

[1Bee]

You're all making me feel much better!

Blackleg, and having removed affected stems I now can't work out which plant it was!

Allium leaf miner. But having removed the affected tips of leaves, I can see no further damage and crop looks good???

My first ever strawberryou got slugged, but there was still enough to give me and the 2yo a bite!

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Not really a "Tale of woe" More like an executive decision!

Not really been the the best start this year all things considered! I do have a fair few things started & romping away, so my call this year although I had bright idea's over winter, is to nurture what I have! Mainly GH crops! Regroup! Relish what comes! Have a right good think through! And really start thinking about, and putting a "Sub-frame" in for next year!

Not Disheartened! I am more than happy what is!

But Yeah! Gunna admit defeat! Coz I just ain't had the time! .......

[unclefudgly]

Not really a "Tale of woe" More like an executive decision!

Not really been the the best start this year all things considered! I do have a fair few things started & romping away, so my call this year although I had bright idea's over winter, is to nurture what I have! Mainly GH crops! Regroup! Relish what comes! Have a right good think through! And really start thinking about, and putting a "Sub-frame" in for next year!

Not Disheartened! I am more than happy what is!

But Yeah! Gunna admit defeat! Coz I just ain't had the time! .......

How funny! I came away today thinking the same thing. Don't worry about what went wrong and use the rest of the year to tidy up and improve soil for next year.