[mkhenry]

Its ok John its after the watershed so Noshed can discuss your doofer if he wishes

[noshed]

Well said, except I'm a she (can't you tell from my insightful postings and ability to multitask [drink and type])

[mum of 3]

parsnips are my downfall.love the things but can i grow them ,can i hell also last year my aubergines were only tiddlers,no matter how much attention  they got

[WG.]

Okay - great start oldbies but keep 'em coming; thats any food crop you've tried to grow more than once and haven't been happy with the results. But please don't leap in (yet) with replies to other oldbies.


Now ... lets have some hints/tips/suggestions from anyone else who thinks they can help the oldbies with these crops.  Notice I didn't ask for answers since there is rarely a single answer in this game.  Don't be shy and don't worry that a future posting might contradict you - that is just the nature of gardening.  If it is a personal experience then so much the better - even if you say "I just stuck them in the ground and it worked".

[jingerpot]

.


Well I had minute swedes last year but they were ok till I went away in June and the heat combined with the very (too) well draining soil here stopped them dead.  
The very oldies say you cant grow swedes here cos of the drainage but this year I am putting loads of shredded paper under them and having yet another go. perhaps 3rd time lucky?........wish me luck as I determined to grow some.
My strawberries put loads of runners out but no fruit much last year despite giving loads the year before.
The aubergines and peppers were in the greenhouse and doing nothing much again and so when I got back in August I put them in the plot and ignored them and got 3 lovely fruits  and loads of small peppers  

I cannot grow ONIONS FROM SEEDS they always die after getting to about 3" I dont know why.


.

[Aidy]

Cauli is our big downfall on our site, not just me, its down to the beach texture of our soil, strangley cabbage and sprouts I have no problem with. Most other stuff I have tried seems to be happy and got something out.

[richyrich7]

Cauliflowers, aubergine, peppers, cucumbers (some years), spring oninons,  and  :oops: courgettes  :oops:  always seem to get loads of male flowers and hardly any female  :?
Gardening's such a funny thing I've been growing stuff since I was 8 ish, I've done the RHS general course and passed with credit and I still can't get a decent crop of courgettes  :!: So if your a newbie or an old hand just smile and think maybe next year  

[milkman]

well I'm not a newbie or an oldbie, I'm in-between-ie  

Anyhow, back to the point - the crops I can't grow well are all the ones that require what I perceive to be copious amounts of effort - celery being the prime example.

And swedes are damned difficult so are borderline as to whether worth persevering with year after year.

[WG.]

Thanks milkman - I hate to tell ya but with nearly 800 posts you are an oldbie!

Haven't heard from you yet Shaun - what can't you grow (apart from legs)?

[John]

If you are not logged in then you will see a slightly different version of the board. The avatar photo's aren't sent for starters.
The reason is that we have about 5:1 guests to registered users and not sending the avatars saves about 10KB per page.  
I shall, in a dignified manner, ignore the comment about men of my age. Some ladies find our lack of speed a positive benefit.

[DD.]

.


Well I had minute swedes last year but they were ok till I went away in June and the heat combined with the very (too) well draining soil here stopped them dead.  
The very oldies say you cant grow swedes here cos of the drainage but this year I am putting loads of shredded paper under them and having yet another go. perhaps 3rd time lucky?........wish me luck as I determined to grow some.
My strawberries put loads of runners out but no fruit much last year despite giving loads the year before.
The aubergines and peppers were in the greenhouse and doing nothing much again and so when I got back in August I put them in the plot and ignored them and got 3 lovely fruits  and loads of small peppers  

I cannot grow ONIONS FROM SEEDS they always die after getting to about 3" I dont know why.


.

Ah - that's reminded me, my onions from seed were a disaster, Pathetic little things that rotted in storage in a month or so.

At least I'm not the only one who can't grow swede!

[crowndale]

I'm up for a challenge, next year anyway.  I love swede and would like to grow some next year.  With a heavy clay soil what are my chances?  I have dug in lots of sand and compost/manure etc but still come spring its very clay like again.

Last year I tried brocolli, went away for a fortnight leaving my 'babies' in the care of no. 1 son and came back to a caterpillar invasion on the scale of the biblical plagues, around 100 caterpillars per leaf.  Didn't have the time or inclination to hand remove every caterpillar so pulled the lot up.  I have enduring memories of home grown brocolli from being a child that can still induce nightmares!  :shock:   Makes me wonder why I tried growing it in the first place!

[andyh4]

Caulis and Corriander for leaf - goes to seed as soon as the plants create their first leaves.

[mkhenry]

Sorry Noshed I thought your ID was Sloshed hence you where a male :oops:

[ted_woodley]

Oh - the list is long:

Broad Beans (5 years in a row)
Peas
Kohl Rabi
Swede
Turnip
Spinach
Broccoli
Fennel

The jury is out on Salsify and Scorzonera - I grew them but then the roots were so deep I couldn't dig them out.