[Anton]

A bit late but a Happy New Year to you all.

I just wonder what your experiences were last year in the vegetable garden?

I have to say I actually managed to have a decent vegetable garden last year (here in Belgium) in spite of all the stress, drought, …

The shops were all shut down to start with so I used all my seeds left over from 2019.
One of the gardeners decided his neighbours from two doors up were joining us. Which meant that together with the drought and the crisis preventing anyone going away on holiday the water barrels were soon depleted.

Amazingly enough, thanks to mulching with straw, my plot looked quite handsome.
I had always transplanted lettuces before (as when I tried with seeds they were immediately gobbled up by the slugs) but I had no option to have a go with some old "Four Seasons" lettuce seed I had bought on a whim. They were marvellous. They were not attacked at all and I was able to transplant some of them or just cut them down to the soil and they would soon spring back (maybe it is the slight reddish tint that deters the slugs). And they tasted and felt almost like butterheads).

I ordered some potatoes online (from a Belgian company) and it took two months for them to arrive in Belgium (from Scotland via Holland, for some strange reason).
I didn't expect much because I had no fertiliser and it hardly rained for two months but when I dug the potatoes up they were the biggest ones I had ever seen (must be all the Scots porridge) and very tasty as well. I had never heard of them before. They are called Wilja. They are second earlies.

Happy gardening to you all.

[Yorkie]

Really pleased to hear about your good year. Wilja are a well-known crop over here.

[snowdrops]

Hi there, pleased you had a good year, Wilja are a favourite of ours to buy not grow, they are so plentiful in the shops that I choose to buy harder to get for growing   . Hope you do as well this year

[rowlandwells]

well at least you can give your self a pat on the back for what you've achieved on your plot Anton with the lock down and as ever as gardeners knows some you win some you loose

 I've never grew Wilja but i know many who grow them and say there a very good potato to grow and eat you can't beat Scotch seed

and we did the same as you with straw 2 years ago and it worked for us good idea interesting to see you to have slugs to contend over there  we could export you a few more slugs if you haven't got enough 

we also had a good year for veg on our plots last year put plenty in our freezers and stored our  potatoes in the shed for winter use

and although we have  snow and its darn cold here looking on the bright side springs not to far away when we can start on our  plots so  good luck with your veg growing this year

[bayleaf]

Ah Belgium. The home of white beer, frites, cycling and now allotments. All my favourite things in one place. I must consider emigrating!!