[madcat]

Definitely a patchy year; everything got off to an early start then the late frost and cold may put the brakes on
Mange tout - just coming into crop.  first sweet peas in flower too, at least two weeks later than last year.
Beans (French and Runner) starting to grow properly after a slow start and lots of slug and bunny damage  
Lettuce and Rocket romping away after recovering from the bleep bleep bunny
Corn - between 1ft and 2 ft high but generallly starting to get a shift on
Toms - first truss opened today.  Poor little things by usual year standards
Turnip - really getting going as are the swedes
Courgettes & squashes - starting to grow at long last.  Female fruits setting at long last.
First potatoes are light because of the drought and the second earlies dont encourage
Shallots are starting to ripen, onions to swell and the garlic is thinking about collapsing.

[JayG]

JayG you're a star!!!!!!!  :happy:

I feel so much better now I know it's not just me who's been staring at plants that aren't that happy about life.

I avoided planting out until risk of frost had reduced and then everything sat there. Blackfly didn't help.

Then I felt cross with myself for not taking the chance and planting earlier in May. Last year my neighbour lost all of his climpbing french and runner beans by planting out too early. This year he planted out early again and has a beautiful crop almost ready to pick.

Me... thank heavens for potatoes as everything else is way behind.  

There will always be some who gamble with early plantings who actually get away with it and then go round telling everyone that's the way to do it (convenient memories, perhaps?  )

I don't like raising plants from seed and running the risk of seeing them perish just for the sake of possibly earlier crops, and I haven't got the space to squeeze in the "Plan B" back-up plants if I did actually get away with it.

Definitely a tricky year so far, but no real disasters as such - they'll no doubt all get there later rather than sooner.  

[veggirl]

Picked a small handful of runner beans this morning, but plants are only halfway up the canes. Sweetcorn is pale and sulking - about a foot tall and definitely on strike. Courgettes just beginning to grow, though nothing ready yet, cucumbers tiny plants. Marrows, on the other hand, had one, nine more growing; first pumpkin is about five inches across, a few tomatoes beginning to set. Broad beans cropping well despite blackfly on three plants (and loads of ladybirds), peas good and spinach beet trying to take over the allotment. Lettuces great, radishes all bolted. Basically, if it did well last year, it won't grow this, and vice versa.

[MichelleC]

  My first year growing and here's how its going -
Peas doing really well (Kelvedon Wonder/Hurst) but started off badly as I didn't water them enough.
Potatoes - Javelin and Celine are great although lost a couple to blackleg I think.
Sweetcorn - Lark - Nearly 5ft now and starting to flower. I also succession sowed and they're about 2ft tall. Looking forward to these.
Beetroot - Bolthardy - Have done really well and I'm still harvesting. Will succession sow next year.
Radish - French Breakfast - Grew really well and looked great but found the cabbage fly maggot in them.  
Carrots - Early Nantes - Was very suprised to find long staight beautful carrots and then found at the very bottom, early signs of the carrot fly maggot.
Parnsips - Countess -  Spotty germination but we'll see how they go. Probably more maggots.
Spring Onions - White Lisbon - Slow but getting there.
White Onion set - Sturon - Absolutely huge!! Giants infact. However have found a couple with White Rot so not sure about the rest now.  
Pumpkins - Jack O'Lantern - I'm growing vertically and they're doing really well. A good few pumpkins.
Summer Squash - Patty Pans - Thought I was going to lose them but now they're huge with lots of squash growing.
Toms outside - Various varieties - All doing well but haven't riped yet. Worried about blight getting them.
Sweet Peas - Now over 6ft tall and flowering beautifully.
Cuke - Passandra - Was doing well but found some Grey Mould. It hasn't keeled over yet.
Melons - Sweetheart/Orange Shebett - 3/4ft tall but no female flowers yet.
Peppers - Various varieties. - Slow but now taking off.
Butternut Squash - Hunter - Slow but now growing and starting to spread.
Aubergine - Black Beauty - One fruit about to show itself.
Sweet Potato - Very slow but healthy.
Courgetts - Huge plants and starting to show fruit.
Artichokes - Impertial Green Globe now about 2ft tall.
Cape Gooseberry - has eventually picked up but lost one which I think was due to overwatering.

That's nearly everything but I'm sure you're bored by now. But I have to say I've thorougly enjoyed growing it all and at this very moment it's absolutley chucking it down outside and has been for hours and no doubt all of the above will have to learn to swim! Or at least till I can get down the lottie tomorrow to save them. Sad I know. I used to enjoy partying. I need a drink...

[PennyS]

mmm was pondering this yesterday.  The weeds are doing fantastically  but a lot of my crops aren't doing nearly as well as last year.

Carrots and snips suffered terrible germination (I had fairly good success with snips last year) - probably due to lack of rain and me not watering enough. I've resown a few times so far...

Onions - mainly overwintered ones - are really terrible - few survived and they're mixed sizes.  The ones I put in in spring also fared badly.  I think rainfall (lack of) is to blame.

Climbing French & Runner Beans are getting there but not looking that great.  French beans however are starting to crop.

Courgettes are really slow to get going, even the squashes are overtaking them.

Sweetcorn looks promising as do the brassicas.

Artichokes on the other hand are romping away and we can't keep up with them!

Peas and potatoes are looking - and tasting - fantastic.

I think I have a real problem with moles under the plot though, I keep finding really soft areas.  And despite my efforts with rabbit proof fencing, I found a few piles of rabbit poo in the middle of the plot. Still can't see where they are getting in... Arrgh!

[Trillium]

My buttercrunch lettuce has gone over but the romaine is doing fine. Toms all have small fruits and many flowers, and climbing their twirly poles.
Have been picking chard already and many coming, and red and yellow beets can start to be pulled now. Will seed more very soon.
Sweet peppers and eggplants are a bit slow but catching up now that we have real heat.
Potatoes are so darned large that they're flopping over with flowers, so will have a furtle very soon.
Shallots are bulking up fast and garlic will be finishing soon.
Peas have loads of of flowers and some small pods now. Beans are in full flower.
Have had 2 cukes so far and more coming and crawling quickly up my Munty frame.
Chipmunks have eaten most of my strawberries this year 
Savoy cabbages and tuscan kale are huge so must net them soon.
Have picked loads of red currants and am still swamped in them. Blacks are ripening fast.
Raspberries have tiny berries starting to form. maybe I can beat the birds this year.
Late planted carrots are up and a few inches tall.
Have had a huge courgette already and more are forming. Red kuri squash is flowering now and threatening to take over my town.
2 varieties of grapes ARE taking over the yard despite numerous cuttings back, the other 2 are playing fussy.

[AnneB]

Well...
Courgettes and squash very slow.  Have one courgette starting to appear now.
Runner and French beans looked quite yellow and poorly battered by the wind, but gave them a feed of seaweed and recent warm spell livened them up considerably and they are now around 6' high with flowers, (the runners that is, The Czar).  Looking better.
Broad beans starting to harvest (Aquadulce Longpod) - no troubles
Peas (Hatif d'Annonay) were slow to get going but now a big harvest.
Sweetcorn, Golden Bantam Improved.  First lot deceased apart from 1.  Second planting taken well but still only around a foot high.
Cabbage - Precoce de Louviers, Red Cabbage, Ruby King and Rouge Tete Noir all doing brilliantly.   Should harvest first summer one soon.
Kale - Nero di Toscano, looking good
Lettuce - doing well
Beetroot - Sanguina, almost ready for harvest
Parsnip (Tender and True) and Carrots (Giant Red) coming on.  We have had first of the Giant Red from the garden and they were wonderful, but some have got carrot root fly, have covered those at allotment.
Potatoes, lots of first earlies- Tuskar, but only good for roasting, bit bland on the flavour front and fall apart a bit on boiling.
Onions - Turbo sets look great and growing well.
Basil - rubbish
Lettuce - all good
Tomatoes - outdoor, have some green ones (Stupice) looking promising.
Leaf beet - loads eaten.
Japanese bunching onions, slow start, but doing well.
Celery - Giant Red Reselected - cracking

[Robert_S]

On a far less industrial scale than most (only got the allotment in Spring, so much of this is home grown):
Courgettes: the success story of this year, sowed in pots in March, grew in one of those mini-greenhouses then moved to large pots, then transplanted down the allotment. The 5 plants are now producing it seems like 1 a day, if they carry on like that, will definitely need to stretch the imagination to use them all up.
Onions: early spring planted sets in the garden (about 30 odd) are looking good, some huge ones.
Lettuce: iceberg in the garden have been abused as a cut and come again crop for several weeks now, still hanging in there. Mixed ones on the allotment yielded the first salad this week.
Rocket: Have had several servings from the garden, has now bolted but that's ok as I've had enough!
French beans: only planted a handful, and haven't had enough for a full serving for 2, only 1, once, and a few spares to sstick in salads. Sowed some on th allotment a few weeks ago and they are coming on nicely.
ditto peas (excluding the bit about the allotment)
Basil: has been growing well indoors. Is something we use every week at least once, and havent had to buy any for a few months, so all good. Outdoors planted stuff, tough and not that good so far.
Coriander: has gone mental and now to seed in the garden, have had several servings from it and soon will be de-seeding it. Still using the leaves though.
Leeks: some planted out in early spring are now getting there, need thinning but now swamped by the coriander
Tomatoes: hmm, seem ok, some tiny green toms, will wait and see. Some bought, some sown, some at home, some at the allotment.
Chillies, peppers: sowed early, start march, two small peppers in evidence so far on one plant, flowers on some others, hope remains high
carrots: a small row planted in early march at home, only 2 germinated, prob ready to dig up now, but the anticipation is probably nicer than the crop! Sowed some on the allotment a few weeks ago and they are doing nicely..thinned last night.
erm what else..
outdoor cucumber, tiny plant bought off market is now a healthy teenager with a few baby cukes on it. Has only just gone outside though, was in minigreenhouse before.
Garlic: speculatively planted some supermarket stuff in mid spring, sprouted well and has now keeled over, i guess i will fin nothing more than a slightly larger clove but will soon see.
Sweetcorn: very sulky, of 19 planted out only 10 or 11 are around to tell the tale, and then only small. Planted supersweet, think i will go for a hardier one next year.
turnips and cabbage -- planted down the allotment. Turnips coming on well, cabbages took an early hammering from birds, but some are still alive.

That's about it! ramble over.

edit: I know that wasn't all summer stuff, but it's amazing what a full bottle of red will do for the artistic licence.

[cac19]

Have been eating courgettes for about 2 weeks now but they are a bit slow, also picked my first two red tomatoes yesterday and have a few more beginning to turn, these are outside.  No beans yet but they are beginning to take off now and have a fair bit of flower on them,  and have been eating peas and mange toutes for about 4 weeks now.  Cucumbers not doing to well though.

[mumofstig]

edit: I know that wasn't all summer stuff, but it's amazing what a full bottle of red will do for the artistic licence.

Sok Robert.....lots of the posts above have included winter crops as well.........People tend get carried away once they start a list    

[MichelleC]

Sorry - I'm one of them. I need to re-read the subject line before replying next time. x Did I really grow all of the above.

[mumofstig]

 

[Thephoenix572]

Parsnips are doing very well seem to have some black fly on the pumpkins will spray with soapy water. Courgettes beans and peas growing nicely

[Mazzie]

My runners are doing nicely but still not romping away.  Dwarfs are covered in beans.  Ive had 3 courgettes, no squashes although they are there just not growing very fast.  The marrows are doing well and we have a big yellow one waiting for tea tomorrow    One cucumber but the plant is sulking abit.  Still eating spuds and loving them and summer kale and kohl rabi are keeping us going 

[Carollan]

Just starting to get the sweet toms from my tumbling toms,which I sowed late,so I`m really pleased with the huge bushes and hundreds of flowers!
Courgettes and lovely broad beans,have been giving them away and freezing them too.
Lady Christl spuds are very nice,shall grow them again next year,just a few slugs have joined in for lunch!

Squash and pumpkin plants however ,I realise are in a `draft` on the allotment,the wind whooshes straight down the main path and hits the whole row .Next year,they will have protection from another plant.

Blackcurrants all gathered in and new plants from cuttings growing inside until this cold snap passes.
Peppers , aubergines  and sweetcorn a dead loss this year,don`t know why,last year they did well.Maybe old seed?I didn`t buy any new this year.
Beetroot,root parsley,carrots,parsley,coriander and spinach all doing well.

I forgot to plant the parsnips.....I really can`t work out how I missed them .A senior moment methinks!

Husband needs holding back,he has allotment fever,he`s just cleared the third allotment,I can`t keep up with him......