[tallgingerbloke]

Hi,

Very disappointed this year with the general growth in the allotment,
french beans...nothing
peas......nothing
squash and courgette nothing

it seems that everything got off to a good start in the greenhouse and then as soon as they went outside........they stopped!

Am i right in thinking this could be down to the weather or could it be something else

[arugula]

Similar reports from all over the UK, its the weather.

[arugula]

Apparently the jet stream is sitting right over the UK and has been for weeks, when it is normally hundreds of miles further north allowing continental weather to reach us, and this is keeping our weather cool, damp and windy.

[Aidy]

Yep even here in the tropical part of the uk we had one day of rain that has simply goosed everything on the plot.

Peeps are losing cukes, spuds are rotting in the ground and one poor chap has lost all his toms.

I am finding anything above ground level is not doing to bad but those underground are struggling or rotting.

This I reckon will be the worst year I have had for many a year now.

[sowitgrowit]

I'm quietly happy with the progress on my plot, all things considered - things aren't coming on as well as I had hoped (this being my first year with all the excitement that comes with it), but really we haven't had it too bad.

My courgettes are starting to produce, peas are in flower (though they had a growth spurt and fell over and some stems snapped whilst I was away), my sweetcorn is about  18" and toughening up nicely given all the wind.

A few areas have been abandoned due to the weeds taking over during few weeks where I wasn't able to get to the plot, which will be cleared and mulched possibly with cardboard or similar.

[missmoneypenny]

Yes this is my third year and definitely the slowest. No courgettes or cukes yet, whereas last year I had loads by now, the only things that have done well so far are broad beans (planted last November) strawberries and lettuce. I am resigning myself to losing my toms and spuds to blight as the conditions here in London are ideal- wet wet wet and a few days of sun in between. I also lost about half my toms to blight last year, altho the spuds were OK.

[yorkiegal]

my cabbage and kale are doing very well and i've already harvested some. Everything else is very very slow. My sweetcorn is still only about 10 inches tall and my sugar snap peas, whilst producing pods, don't seem to be growing up the canes at all.

No sign of courgettes yet but the plants are doing well.

[shokkyy]

I'm very, very glad I invested in a polytunnel for this year. It's only a cheap one from ebay but it's been worth its weight in gold. Because of it, I've had good chard, early mange tout, lettuce, courgette, beetroot, kohl rabi, baby carrots, and the peppers and chillis are looking very happy and producing fruit.

But everything outside is slow and/or struggling. My always reliable Gartenperle in baskets look very sickly indeed, with more leaves yellow or dead than healthy and green, and a seaweed liquid feed hasn't helped them at all. The outside squash and courgette have only just started to grow in the last week or two, ditto my runner and French beans, which have shot up the poles in just a few days. The brassicas seem okay, though I've had to constantly reapply slug pellets to protect them and everything else. My onions are very battered by the winds and lying down. Outside tomatoes and even those in my tunnel are all showing stress, with lots of leaves curling, discoloured or just dying. Cucumbers are very late and struggling too, inside and out.

[potatogrower]

peas are doing well, got plenty of flowers and pods but i'm doubtful of the sweet corn, courgettes and tomato's (now that i've planted them outside) just hope at least August brings some much needed sunshine

[LilacSandy]

Does anyone know if, and when, the Gulf stream may shift?

[mumofstig]

Jet stream shift?

There's some thinking that the jet stream may be moving because the position of the Magnetic North pole has moved into Siberia, so in effect the world is spinning on a different axis.

The new axis rotation seems to have a bit more of a wobble - leading to a larger variation in the normal wave motion of the jet stream - meaning we got all the storms this year.

Will the change be permanent? I don't think the scientists have any idea they can only say what is happening now - not what will happen.

[tallgingerbloke]

Thanks guys, you have reassured me that it is not completly my fault !

time for one more attempt at carrots and peas maybe !

Tim

[mumofstig]

I shouldn't bother with peas, in this weather they're bound toget mildew. It's always a risk at this time of year, but in this weather?