[Coop-a-Cabana]

Hi all i am quite new to posting on this forum although i have been reading all the posts for quite sometime but felt I needed to get this off my chest with likeminded people. 

This was going to be my first good year on the allotment, which is really part of a neighbours garden fenced off with a polytunnel and five raised beds. As both my small children are now in full time school i got the year off to a flying start and was very pleased with how things were coming along then we went away for 10 days at beginning of June !  On returning everything was looking a bit overgrown but otherwise ok just needed a tidy up but then unfortunately my mum-in-law was admitted to hospital a day later.  we were all very worried and then two weeks later she was diagnosed with lung cancer as you can imagine we were all totally devastated but she has started treatment and is truly an inspiration with her positive attitude to everything!!

However as usually happens and quite rightly on this occasion my garden had to take a back seat but i went up yesterday and could have cried although between myself my OH and my neighbour we have managed to keep the toms and cucs watered but oh dear nearly everything else had either bolted, died, been eaten or was covered in white fly and also as i have mentioned on here previously we are totally surrounded by knotweed its a complete jungle and have to work hard to keep the plot clear well that has just moved in and taken up residency! !  all my lovely caulis and broccoli are now lovely flowers i just closed the gate and came away feeling very sad 

I intend not to give up and go up today to try and sort it but not sure where to start and is it too late in the year to get anything in and salvage the growing season??

Luckily i had pulled both red and white onions already and once the tunnell is cleared out and the toms put back in order things in there shouldn't be too bad but i will have a lot of empty space in the beds which is so disheartening at this time of year! 

[garden elf]

Sorry to hear about your woes. Take a leaf out of your mum-in-law's book and keep positive - her condition surely puts things in perspective. I'm a newbie to the site too and by no means an allotment expert but I reckon there's still time to get some produce out of your space, even if it means getting seedlings from your garden centre. I forgot to plant lettuces this year but have recently planted some semi-grown ones I bought at a local and very good garden centre.

[mike1987]

stick at it is the best advice there has been a few times this year where i have only had an hour or 2 a week on the plot and as this is my first year on a propper alloltment it can be a strugle whenever i feel downhartened i sit down and take a look at the positives what i have had sucess with and then try to forget the negatives
take a look at everything you have growing then make a mental lit of whts salvageable and compost the rest plant you spring veg for next year sit back relax and enjoy the toms you have wish mine would grow by themselves

[Coop-a-Cabana]

it certainly does put things into perspective and am so proud of how she is trying to stay strong for everyone else, and although am disappointed with how things have got out of hand on allotment I know that with a bit of hardwork it can be put right i think i had such high expectations for this year as have not had much time to put into it since we started three years ago. I am slowly learning that gardening is not always about doing things perfectly and by the book!

[paintedlady]

I think we all dream of a perfect gardening year, lots of harvests, not many weeds (or at least under control ) ... it doesn't take a lot for it to go horribly wrong and then feel so downheartened by it all.  The thing to remember is that family and health come first - you can only do so much, and then there's always next year to try again   

[Coop-a-Cabana]

Thank you painted lady you are so right!!  now armed with cup of tea and gloves am off up to do proper survey and get somethings sorted will let you know how its gone later 

[Novice but totally hooked]

The experts will probably tell me I've got the timing all wrong but if you've got any seeds or sets left I should stick em in.

I put in a row of onion sets I had languishing in a box last week and already they're coming through beautifully.  I also put some carrots in a week or so ago and they're doing well as are the potatoes I stuck in the other week.

Maybe they won't make prize winning specimens but just seeing more coming through out of chaos and devastation gives me a boost.

[starry]

I cried one year when the frost got my runners a few years ago (my first ever) but I did manage to rescue them please dont feel down hearted you had other things on your mind (we have had a hard last 7 months but fortunately that has now been resolved) but plod on you know that it can only get better I found my allotment a bit of a sanctuary at times, there is always next year !! 

[GrannieAnnie]

Don't feel too downhearted C-A-C!  It's not like you were just being lazy, just life knocking you back when you least needed it!

There's not so much to sow now, but I have only just sown some perpetual spinach, chard and spring onions, and with the polytunnel, try a few potatoes perhaps for Christmas and I even grew some carrots 2 years ago in mine quite late.

Have a look down this link to what else you can get sown in August if you have the time and space cleared!

You should see my veg garden, it got took over by the turkeys!  So now I've dug up a bit nearer to the kitchen for the bit of veg I've got in at the moment!

http://www.allotment-garden.org/garden_month.php

[harry]

Its also my first year with my plot and as i work full time the weeds have taken over, my onions got white rot and something ate my peas but I'm not down hearted so keep going and good luck

[Trillium]

All your 'failures' are the price of the learning curve sadly. Every seasoned gardener has learned the hard way.  And as grannie says, life sometimes throws a spanner into the works when you least need it, but it all makes gardening what it is - a challenge. Now its time to assess what happened and how to improve on it for next year as you save what is still growing. Never look at it as failure, but merely as ways to improve   

[RichardA]

Sorry to hear that things have not gone too well, gardening is a challenge and it is a hobby so like rounds of golf or dance class or whatever sometimes you do have to miss a few days. Trouble is the garden then thumbs its nose at you and shows you that you have missed a day or so. If you had got everything perfect this year by now you would be worried you did not have enough garden to go at. As said previously by others gardening is about learning not about being taught so it is tough climbing that learning curve sometimes. Spring and summer never leave time to relax and the garden is always demanding attention but from now on the pace ases and the jobs will get done and you will keep up. Take chance to put in bought or given plants or to have a good dig and add soem compost or some green manure or just tidy up and sit and enjoy and plan for next year -- order seeds early.
On my wall a scruffy little note says "Courage does not always come as a mighty roar, sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying I will try again tomorrow". Where better to be challenged than on your own plot, just be realistic about the targets and change them if circumstances change. Hope things start to go better for you.
R (40 years at it and still behind most of the time)

[Yorkie]

On my wall a scruffy little note says "Courage does not always come as a mighty roar, sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying I will try again tomorrow".

What a lovely quote, thanks Richard 

[Bev]

Aaaaahh! I feel so sorry for you but please don't give in and leave it until next year.

I put some Purple sprouting broccoli, Leeks and cabbages and onions and garlic and broad beans in last year in about october and they sat there all winter and I thought they all looked quite poorly in March but were lovely about April/May this year. The butterflys didn't get my cabbages at that time either!

You never know if we are going to get a surprise Indian Summer in September so just go ahead and plant some things. Don't worry if you only use a part of the plot. Just do what you can manage. Get the children to do some too, they will love it! I am sure your Mums spirits will be lifted when you arrive with some lovely fresh veg!

I had a slightly similar experience only for a lovely reason. I tried my best to plant out loads of veg really early in May before having my baby in June but then everything died because it was too cold and I had to do it again!

Good luck and hope your Mum kicks the cancers bum!

Bev

[Coop-a-Cabana]

You are all such wonderful people thank you so much for your kind comments and good wishes.

And i am glad to report that I have spent a very enjoyable 5 hours on my plot today and things didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would be.  I knew that all the brassicas had to go they had either gone to flower or were being eaten all the way through by caterpillars (the chickens throught it was their b'day cabbages and caterpillars all in one meal!) on to weeding then and pulling up the dreaded knotweed   Once i had got everything cleared away and the paths swept I could then assess what could be salvaged and to be honest i was pleasantly surprised I have harvested half a bucket of new potatoes, a courgette, 4 chilli peppers, spring onions, 2 cucumbers some red tomatoes and was so suprised when i was tidying up the melons to find 3 tennis ball sized melons i was very giddy

My sprouts that i had sown as seed had grown into fair size plants so have put them in the ground even though it may be a bit late also sown some winter hardy spring onions and cut and come again salad leaves into pots.

The tunnel looks well again have tidied up the tom plants whcih were trying to take over the world, french beans look good with quite a few beans on them also sweetcorn both outside and in the tunnel doing well!!

I hadn't realised how much i had missed my plot until i went back on it.  It was very calming and a chance to reflect on the last few weeks as we also lost our very much loved 13 year old husky about 2 weeks ago and he used to come up to the plot with me so i felt like he was there by my side.  I can't tell you how much better i feel tonight and how much your kind words have played a part in that.

Richard that really is a lovely quote which i am going to try and remember over the coming months.

I am off to order some over wintering onions and garlic now i have the space