Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: New shoot on July 10, 2021, 12:37
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I thought the plot was pretty much full, but the weather is scuppering some plans ::)
Some things are doing fine : beans, squash, sweetcorn, onions, spuds, cabbages, leeks.
Some have bolted and I have only managed to salvage a partial crop : celery, beetroot, fennel, leafy greens.
Some have just not thrived and I have pulled them out : swede, cauliflower, shallots from seed.
The garlic is about ready and is going to make a space, as are the early spuds which are almost all out now. With that and the bolters and malingerers, I now have quite a bit of room.
I’m heading back to the seed box for beetroot, greens and a few other bits, plus have green manure seeds I can sow, but it is certainly a mixed bag of a year.
How is everyone else doing ?
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Beans are the veg I'm really struggling with this year, what with patchy germination, dodgy weather and slugs/snails mean few have even started to climb, let alone get near the tops of the canes - so hoping for a warmer, late summer. Fingers crossed.
To try to hedge my bets I'm sowing a couple of rows of Dwarf Frenchies, hoping they may do better - plus a couple of late, mildew resistant (according to the blub!) short peas.
The only thing that seems to be doing really, really well for me this year - is the blinking bindweed :mad:
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I'll say snap with the bindweed, my olive tree is being smothered! Also the brambles that come in from next door. Weeds at the moment are ruling the garden . The dwarf beans are doing okay, plenty of flowers so hopefully plenty of beans. The runners are slowly creeping up their canes but the lower leaves are going yellow. The tomatoes which are in a trough just don't seem to want to grow. We wondered whether all the rain has washed the nutrients from out of the compost so have given them a boost of BFB, hopefully this will give them a hand.
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Much the same as you guys, everything is slow to get going apart from the brassicas. That said, sprog and I picked the last of the broad beans today and we had a pretty decent haul of those until the blackfly/ chocolate spot combo did for them.
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I think this year the weather has been so variable that success or failure has depended on what sudden change happened when a particular veg was planted or sown. My onions are usually huge - this year I just caught the very hot days that were followed by the very cold nights. They didn't like the sudden changes up and down, and couldn't win a prize in a spring onion competition this time! I've already harvested some early caulis, the peas, planted fairly early from modules have been great and not one pea moth grub to be seen. Carrots struggled and parsnips are almost non-existent. Broccoli has been prolific. Sweet corn is looking very well, but best of all ....................this year I actually have swedes that look like swedes. They are showing a nicely rounded top instead of just a stalk emerging from the ground. This might be the year that after thirteen years of trying, I actually grow a proper Swede!!!! Strawberries have been very generous. Every year we have successes and failures and often there's no good reason for them. I'm sure that a lot of the time it's just luck.
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its been a funny season this time and many set backs from getting seeds to planting at the rite time we have been later planting this season but not to many problems both our winter cauliflowers and spring cabbage have suffered from some slug damage but we still have managed to freeze a few our autumn sown bulb onions and spring onions also where fine so sweet corn beetroot squashes celeriac all growing quite well as are the runner beans had a fair crop of runner beans and peas
brassicas well there growing but I'm watching out for those dam slugs :mad: spraying and using slug pellets quite often fingers crossed on that one trying swede in pots this time prior to planting and we have parsnips for the first time in years and some turnips there quite tasty young picking very good year for strawberries so things are looking fair at present but there's still some time to go before the season ends things could go down hill as well as up so fingers crossed still have some mid season planting of our green manures
i think we can put some of this years results down to spending more time down the allotments keeping out of harms way and enjoying the fresh air and tranquillity the allotments has to offer
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I have just come in from the garden and looked at a few photos I had taken last year about this time and there were ripe tomatoes on the plants... we are a long way off that, I thought two weeks but it may actually be more we shall see. On the other hand some things have done really well peas, beets, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions and brassicas have beans on the other hand :nowink:
I have been growing gherkins for the first time this year and today we will be having some half sours I fermented over the last few days. I am about to go on a fermentation frenzy beets, cabbage, Khol rabbi /carrot and some watermelon rind ... they are saying naturally fermented vegs are a super food I am going to be the healthiest man in France. I have been making Kim chi for a while but am about to take the next step... place is going to be like a NY Kosher deli :lol:
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Brassicas and broad beans have done well, sweetcorn doing well - as are courgettes.
This was about the time last year that my entire crop of (non blight resistant) outdoor tomatoes got hit with very nasty late blight and all succumbed. My current blight resistant ones (Mountain Magic, Lizzano, Cocktail Crush) are all doing well (and tomatillos too) - though no ripe fruit yet.
Beetroot, winter squash and carrots are doing so-so. Hopeful I will get a decent crop but pretty behind progress from this point last year.
I have noticed a real lack of insect pests this year. Last year the aphids and cabbage whites were endemic. This year I have hardly noticed any. Plenty of slugs though.
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Gooseberries (Xenia), and black currants seem to be racing away with all this rain, raas are not far behind too!
Sweet peas struggled at first, but seem to be picking up now. I put a lot of this down to any nutrients in the soil having been washed away, so a splosh of Miraclegro appears to do the trick - for now anyway! It certainly helped the tomatoes outside!
And I agree about aphids and other pests too! This time last year, we were also swamped with caterpillars on the PSB, and this year - not a sign!
I'm just zapping slugs and snails every day, as they tortured the runners to near extinction, but the now-divided plants are recovering at last!
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I'm losing a battle with squash vine borers (plants still look good from a distance but beneath the leaves the stems are starting to break down). Probably the last time I try squash unless it's Tromboncino.
Peppers and tomatoes are doing we enough, but tomatoes are yielding less than last year, and are late.
Cucumbers are doing well.
Aubergines are doing nothing at all except dropping blooms. Advice online says they need lots of water (it's raining nearly every day) and don't like heat or humidity?!?!!
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I think my potatoes have got blight. The second earlies might be dying back at the end of their life, but the maincrops are doing the same, which is way too early. When I am next at the plot I'll have another look and may have to cut all the foliage down and dispose of it. Blight has been reported on other plots on site. It has been a cloudy wet summer in the SE so not surprised.
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Slugs, slugs and more slugs. Hardly see them but they are eating Beans, Courgettes, Radishes and lettuce like anything. even climbing to eye level on the beans. Dare I say Blackfly has not been to bad so far.
Carrots did nor germinate despite multiple sowings, Spinach went to see before it got big enough to eat. French beans look good but not producing many beans and what they do produce are short and fat.
Runner Beans looking good but not set any Beans yet. Potato's so far so good. Onions doing well, Autumn sets yet to dry out but large, Early seed sowing doing well as when planted out we had rain. Asparagus not as prolific as prior years.
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It's really interesting for me to read these posts as I moved house last year and now have a slightly acidic soil plus a smaller greenhouse with a bed that hadn't been used for a few years which had mares' tail, what looked to be an oblong stone-built cold frame containing soil and weeds, and a lower stone walled bed next to it which is long and thin and was covered with a layer of concrete. I dug and weeded the gh bed and added top soil, mushroom compost and later some rotted horse manure and did the same with the other beds. In March-April I sowed some veg and flowers plus some ordered flower plug plants and later on two types of toms which were all kept inside the gh in a mini-gh with a zipped cover and a max-min thermometer. One lot of toms didn't germinate and the other variety took ages to produce two plants. I bought two more and put each of the four in a grow-pot, two to a big grow-bag, and now have a jungle of them. Things that did start growing in the mini-gh were held back with the late frosts and took a long time to recover. My sugar snaps had to be removed just after planting as my OH wanted to make a climbing frame for them which resulted in two out of the twenty four actually doing anything so I've sowed some more. The carrots in the gh eventually came up and did quite well. There was a delay in planting the leeks and sweetcorn 'cause their beds weren't finished so they got rather root-bound, spring onions, carrots and beetroot in the cold frame bed are doing ok, the kale took ages before it was ready to plant out, but the worst thing is my climbing French bean! In the past I've only ever planted one in my gh as it takes off like a rocket and becomes quite jungly. This time I only grew one stem with a few very dark green healthy-looking leaves that were rather spaced out up the stem, the top of which died off and only produced a few measly flowers. I've just seen some side shoots appearing so am not giving up hope yet. The four dwarf French beans took ages to grow and still aren't doing very well and the upper leaves are small and cup-shaped. The weather really seems to have played some part in this but at least we can't blame it on Covid!
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An awkward year for me so far. I was very late with lots of things.
Emptying my mother's house 200 + miles away in a pandemic doesn't leave a lot of time for the plot. Still going there regularly to visit Mum in her nursing home.
Garlic has come out. Early Purple Wight was best.
Bought onion sets to save time, lots have bolted.
Poor and late germination on beans.
Carrots and parsnips a no go.
Courgettes and tomatoes doing okay but no crops yet. My only squash has been chewed through, I think by a cutworm.
Good very early crop of Charmette peas in the polytunnel.
1st early Maris Peers are doing well in sacks.
Pigeons have eaten the strawberries.
I should be able to pick field beans, peas, blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries but I have been pinged by the App so must stay at home.
Sending OH to water.
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A mixed year here too.
Lovely Charlotte potatoes, but weirdly the swifts’ haulms have been devoured by slugs while they left the charlottes alone, haven’t attempted to harvest the Swift’s yet, scared of what I might find!
Good beetroot
Ok Swiss chard
OK courgettes , beginning to crop, dry late compared to most previousl years
Blackcurrants are getting there, I will harvest in about a week
Sweet corn looking good, healthy plants, am doing an early and a late variety this year
Strawberries had a kind of blight and the fruit rotted just before reaching maturity. I think they have a virus/ fungus, I am going to dig the patch up and start from scratch next year with newly bought plants ( I built current bed from similarly affected parents, not a good idea).
Cucumbers slow to develop but I think they’re getting there now, lots of flowers
Beans disappointing, poor germination then not a lot of flowers
Tomatoes- keeping fingers crossed!
Anne you have my sympathies, I have been down that road with both grandparents and my father, it is hard.
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Anne you have my sympathies, I have been down that road with both grandparents and my father, it is hard.
Thank you Missmoneypenny. I am hoping for some equilibrium now. We only finished sorting out my mother in law's house too just before Christmas. I have had a cataract operation a month ago and our 3 year old grandson has spent a week in hospital. I think that's probably enough to deal with. No more please!! The plot isn't looking great, but it's not too shabby considering. Hoping for a good second half of the season.
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The year is behind itself in a lot of ways. Good harvest of peas, broad beans look to be good, courgettes suffering from mildew but producing better than last year, carrots seem to be better than last year, not as many raspberries but with the family away a lot more than I could eat, new strawberry bed - looks as if next year will be more productive, onions small but good, salad behind with the planting, first lot of beetroot didn't come up, brassicas not doing what they should, first lot of kale went to seed almost as soon as out of the packet along with the purple top turnips.
In other words, a mixed bag but enough to keep us going.
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After a very slow start.
Courgettes are doing well. 2 plants are enormous and producing well. Some leaves have signs of mildew, but this isn't unusual. I've been cutting these off and binning them.
Sugar Bon Peas doing really well.
Runner beans shot up their frame after a poor start. Started with lots of dropped blooms, but I guess this was due to too much rain. They are now producing lots of blooms and quite a few beans.
Climbing French Beans started very slowly, but now hitting the top of the frame. Not so many blooms but producing some curiously curly beans.
Sweet Peppers have just recently started to grow in earnest, and some have just stated to flower.
Tomatoes plants are a bit disappointing but are fruiting, I don't expect very big toms, but time will tell.
Greenhouse Cucumbers have done brilliantly, and very tasty.
Outdoor Cucumbers. Only one germinated :( and isn't in the best of condition.
Thinned out carrots and Parsnips yesterday, some of the carrot 'thinnings' were big enough to eat :D
Regarding our allotment cohabitators. Loads of bees, around at the moment, which is great. Not so great the amount of aphids/black fly. I've also been pretty fortunate, up to now, with slugs and snails. I've not encountered the usual plague levels of slugs, but a few determined snails have had a free meal or two, or more, but manageable.
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My pea Avola looked as if they were going to fail, nothing for ages and now cropping very well, courgettes have been disappointing this year, out on my raised beds the pak choi has bolted and been replaced with little gem, onions are doing well, carrots are looking good as are the cabbage, sprouts, leeks and beetroot. the brocolli and caulflower are not doing so well. In the greenhouse the cucumber are doing very well and cropping great as were the tomatoes but plenty of fruits still on them. on my window ledge my jalapeno, golden bell, frigilitilo, hungarian hot wax and red cherry are all coming along well
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My main concern is that we are not getting away from cool wet weather. Don't misunderstand we need rain but the tender tomatoes have just about had enough. It is very unusual for us to get so much cool wet weather
at this time in the summer but if we get past the next week or so without too much rain there is just a chance that we may get some nice tomatoes to store for the winter but it is certainly the worst weather we have had in summer in the 10 years we have been here but locals are saying they cannot remember such poor weather ?
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It's not actually a like, Jambop, just that I agree with you, especially after Friday here, which was like November!
I think the GH toms will pull through, and probably the open East facing ones, but the shaded East ones are doing terribly, with hardly any trusses. It's a shame, because they're San Marzano, which we rely on for freezing, but hey-ho...
'Joan J' rasps are forming now, so maybe it'll be a fruit year instead - the 'Xenia' gooseberries and '?' blackcurrants were fantastic!