Hows everyones growing year been?

[gunner1980 10]

Early potatoes - lost a couple of plants, rotted in all the water

Main crop - lost majority, got about 5 plants left again due to rotting in the sodden ground

Leeks - doing very well! Might be the GrowOrganic in the water but doing this

Beetroot - bumper crop, took some doing though as all the first planted seeds didnt grow due to the cold

Parsnips - doing quite well, were a few free exhibition seeds so will see what they turn out like

Garlic - poor, only 2 turned into proper cloves out of about 20 plants. Holding out for my Elephant Garlic though!

Dwarf French Beans - slow starter, first sowings decimated by slugs but now producing a nice crop of beans

Sweetcorn - all the plants have produced, not ripe yet so not sure how they will turn out

Red onions - disappointing, some rotted

White onions - looking pretty healthy at the mo

Broccolli - seem to be doing ok, had a couple already

Sprouts - still growing

Savoy - still growing

Cauliflower - still growing

Strawberries - lots and lots of strawberries! Slugs had a few but still had around 10lb off I think

Fruit trees - first year for them so no fruit, cherry tree might have died

Rhubarb - Moved from a weedy spot under the hedge to a new home and split into 3 plants last year, now its taking over!

 

Think thats about it for me.

[Ickle Ed 10]

I'm into my fifth year of veg growing. I put this years crop failure down to my relative inexperience. It has made me feel so much better reading through this post that it is not just my harvest that has been rubbish this year.

 

My rhubarb has done brilliantly, and the strawberries, when they came, were huge and sweet. All the veg that I planted apart from beetroot and carrots, have failed.

[Glennis 15]

And me. Its was never going to be a good year anyway, as I moved house, but reading this lot I am glad I didn't plant very much.

[Yog Sothoth 10]

It's been a terrible year even for the farmers, with all their chemical controls, so what hope us? Holding out for a better summer next year.

[Bonjon 10]

It's been a terrible year even for the farmers, with all their chemical controls, so what hope us? Holding out for a better summer next year.

 

We need one, I have been growing about 4-5 yrs and haven't had a 'real' good growing year weather wise.

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

I was in Skiathos the other month, the soil looks awful, but the sunflowers were like trees! Massive outdoor tomatoes, Courgette and cucumber jungles, everything was thriving. Makes me wonder why I bother.

 

[iansheff 88]

I can see my tomatoes going to a colleague who will make chutney. There is no sign of any ripening, might put some in a drawer wrapped in a tea towel see if they will ripen can at least use them for cooking.

[craigmason 10]

not my best year for growing things could have been better

[Eckolad 10]

Very good year for sweetcorn, had loads!

 

Also just done squash harvest today and picked a lot of different types

[re-crafts 10]

I feel bad saying I'm glad to read about all your mishaps, but it does put my failings of my first year of allotmenting into perspective! I thought it was just my inexperience, but it is good to know that it will be that combined with the weather and insane slug population this year. Is enough to put anyone off, but I will endeavour to do better next year.

 

Having said that, I had some lovely early potatoes, lots of broad beans, a good few courgettes and my tomatoes are producing well in the polytunnel :-) As for everything else....

[JayG 10]

Too cold and dry, followed by too cold and much too wet, followed by only the odd warm spell was always going to make life very difficult, but some crops have done remarkably well:

 

Early potatoes - late, and fewer but bigger potatoes, so not bad overall.

Runner beans - late but a good yield so far.

Sweet corn - big surprise as they looked so pale, stunted and sickly even well into July but many have 2 or more cobs on, although it's touch and go as to whether they all ripen or not.

Garlic - very good, only showed signs of rust when nearly ready to harvest.

Shallots - better crop than usual, although some bolted and won't keep.

Parsnips - looking good but won't know what's underneath until they are dug after the first frosts.

Leeks - Not show-stoppers but healthy and a reasonable size.

 

Some not so well though:

 

Courgettes - no glut this year (so neighbours not avoiding me!) although the plants are still managing to produce a few even now.

Winter squash - let's just say we won't be roasting any on Christmas day!

Cucumbers - none lived long enough to even flower, both inside and out.

Melon - Sweetheart melon which did so well last year in the greenhouse decided to follow the example set by the cucumbers...........

Tomatoes - a big battle still on-going to harvest and ripen them before blight completely kills the outdoor plants. Noticed signs of blight on one of the greenhouse plants yesterday, so not great but not a disaster either.

 

All in all nowhere near as bad as it looked like being at one time, although it would make life so much easier if next year has something even vaguely resembling "normal" season's weather!

[wooler123 10]

My first year just completed on my allotment, had to juggle between growing and clearing but quite pleased with harvest even though there has been some big failures.

 

First early potatoes - Good crop

Second early and main crop - reasonable harvest but blight hit so dug up early.

Broad beans - real glut, will be eating well into next year

Onions & Shallots - small with a bolt rate of around 25%

Cabbage - Lovely crop

Cauliflower - bolted

Garlic - total failure

Sweetcorn - plenty of cobs but can't see them ripening, we will wait and see.

Greenhouse grown tomatoes - real glut and ripening well, having a south facing allotment has helped I think.

Leeks - looking well but not huge.

 

Fruit bushes only produced couple of fruits but it is their 1st year, I have been foraging and struggled to fill my basket sometimes.

 

Blackberries - small and tart..larger ones have little flavour.

Billberries - few and far between

Rasberries - large but with little flavour

Rosehips - loads and loads

Elderberries - not found a decent harvest yet but still time