[hubballi]

After the hope and optimism  of last year my enthusiasm has been pretty much crushed for this coming season. So many things failed and so many things hindered my progress that it hardly seems worth the trouble but as I love the thought of growing my own veg it's depressing me, especially as I haven't started anything yet.

I have a small walled garden which in the winter doesn't get much sun. I bought a plastic small walk-in greenhouse last Feb and started to grow early veg. Now it's a ragged torn mess, the zip come away from the plastic (even after countless repairs) our cat has climbed up it that many times attracted by the warm heat that it's got great holes on the roof and tears up the side where it has climbed. It's beyond repair and hardly worth replacing if the same is to happen again. As I was made redundant last year there is no hope in getting another.

I did everything by the book and my seeds grew well. I made raised beds including a tabletop one for salads.

I planted:

 Sutton Broad beans - (very healthy plants but eventually they went poor when in the ground producing small, twisted and  dark colored beans. The plants were no better)

Potatoes- in bags of compost and in the ground ( very small yield in soil and bags, the latter most of the foliage eaten by slugs)

Carrots ( small round variety and Nantes, some in ground and others in containers with sand and soil. All very poor growth, the small round rotting in the container)

Kale- (great start but after end of summer have stayed exactly the same, very tall, thin and small compact leaf growth at the very top of the plant getting no bigger to this day)

Tomatoes - (a few variety's all slow to ripen, some getting blight and others very poor yield)

Cabbages (Prima and Greyound all slow growing and when planted out most die, get eaten and the few left now are still very small)

Summer Broccoli (one plant out of every one has survived and looks about to flower)

Cauliflower (ditto as cabbages)

Sprouts (ditto as cabbages)

Onions (Spring, Bedford, garlic all small, some rotted )

French beans (some in tubs and one in rased bed. hardly a bean and the ones that grew were very small and twisted)

Runner beans (very good but beans eventually went misshapen)

Peas (Excellent. Can't complain about that)

Raddish (grew in cool soil in shade and still hardly grew. The ones in soil were eaten by small slugs)

Salad (rocket, lettuce, lambs leaf etc- very poor in new compost in table top raised bed)

As well as all this the slugs and snails eventually won and  ravaged most things (again).

I am not trying to get sympathy here or feel sorry for myself. I am just very very frustrated as I did everything as best I could to the book. Fed everything etc but still things happen that can't be explained and no logical reason. To top it all my seeds that are kept in the kitchen cupboard packets have got slightly damp. I have bought them in the hopuse near a radiator to dry out but I bet someone here is going to tell me they are ruined :-( and I will have to buy more which I can't really do at the moment.

Now I am depressed as I haven't started a thing in the garden as the soil is still frozen and the soil is full of cat mess (yes I do love cats and have 2 myself) the greenhouse looks a mess and is a constant reminder of what could have been. When I see glass houses in gardens I get greenhouse envy LOL ;-)

Well, that's where I am at. Nothing happening except for one broccoli that could be finished off by the frost like that last ones were, a few tall and very skinny Kale (what happened to the food through the winter this was supposed to produce ?) and some very small straggly cabbages.

 

[savbo]

hey Hub - hang in there. Maybe reduce the number of things your trying to grow, and go for some sure fire... how about beetroot, chard and perp spinach? And shallots (for shallots and spring onions) and onions from sets?

At the risk of straying into Swap Shop territory I'd send you a few seeds and sets and I'm sure others would to...

[zazen999]

What's the pH of your soil?

What soil is it you have?

[hubballi]

Don't know the PH of soil sorry. It's about normal in consistency.

I forgot to say I grew beetroot which wasn't bad. Spinach always rubbish and chard the same I'm afraid.

[Tattyanne456]

Hey, I'll bet everyone of us reading your post can relate to your situation in one form or other!! lol You are by no means in the minority.  But we all soldier on. Maybe give it till March April when the weather picks up you'll feel differently, February is a pretty depressing month. As someone already mentioned, why dont you try growing a smaller range of crops? Your peas and beans did very well, and outdoor tomatoes nearly always succumb to blight unfortunately. Some over come this by spraying with Dithane. Slugs and snails seemed to be one of your main problems, nothing that a few slug pellets cant sort, you can get some that are safe to use around pets. Also, do you have a local freecycle in your area? My brother has picked up a lovely greenhouse, free from his area! Dont give up heart..... Good luck for the next season!!
P.S send me your address, I will send you some seeds, I have far too many!!

[Sid]

I was going to ask the same question as zazen
And has savbo said,"hang on in there"  once spring is here, which should be anytime,already down here the ducks are pairing up and the blackbirds are building nests,and I saw my first fat bumble bee at the wkend
Hub you put alot of effort and enthusiasm into your veg and its let you down,this year will be different,and you will have learnt alot by whats happend.
The ups and downs of growing fruit and veg hey...
Onwards and upwards

sid.

[scabs]

Hi mate,

Listen, chin up. I started an allotment year and had numerous failings (sweetcorn was about 4' high with small cobs, spuds had slug and wireworm damage, carrot fly, dodo beetroot - you name it.)

Take the pleasure in your successes and learn from experience - slug defences, netting etc.

Feed the soil up (can you get your hands on any muck from local stables? It's usually free.

I will have a list of seed in the swap shop tomorrow and would be more than happy to send you a few packets for this year.

Don't give up, mate. 
Andrew

[Jamie Butterworth]

Its never easy, I dont think Ive had one succesful year yet, justhang in there and maybe try not to grow as much, do a couple of plants and then they can get allof your attention, and good luck 

[hubballi]

Do you know I already feel better now I have shared this here :-) It's nice to have support from fellow growers as I get a bit isolated here working from home (trying to get my music business off the ground hence the lament about cost) I do get very depressed around Jan/Feb and have to keep on St John's Wort. The trouble is, the garden helps reduce depression so it's a catch 22.

Again, thanks for the kind offer of seeds and sets but I will wait until I know what I am doing and get the PH of my soil tested (something I thought was an unnecessary chore)

The plastic greenhouse was a bargain at £20 but I can't seem to get a replacement cover to fit it that is tougher than the one I already have. Ideally I would like a glass lean to type thing around 6 ft X 4ft. I will have to look into Freecycle.

thanks.

[Trikidiki]

Get some netting and use it over your greenhouse frame and make a mini fruit cage. A few growbags and you could have tiers of strawberries and keep the birds off them.

[bigben]

I spotted some UV stabilised plastic that you can buy from plastics by post (an Isle of Wight site) that was fairly cheap and would probably allow you to make your own replacement covers. Even if they only last a season they might work out cheaper than you having to keep buying the real ones.

[Thrift]

If you only have a small garden it seems an awful lot to try and produce. Don't give up; as soon as the soil is workable get out there digging in compost and muck ( great for the depression ! ) 

Unless you dug the soil well beneath the raised beds perhaps the brassica roots hit soil that was too solid.

Last year was nasty, cold and wet. Just hope for a good summer and wait to sow until the soil warms up.

I had plenty of failures but a great supply of french beans because I persevered and found a sheltered, warm spot for them plus plenty of nutrition.

Keep going and don't despair 

[scabs]

I suffered a bad patch of depression a while back and the allotment pretty much helped me keep my head above water, as well as the support I received here and elsewhere...

Keep going, it's worth it.

I think I can speak for many on here when I say that the offer of seeds and advice/support is always here.

[Sid]

I have spares just let us know.

[compostqueen]

Sorry to hear you're fed up

I wonder if you tried to do too much all at once, rather than concentrating on a few items and doing those well. You can spread yourself too thin you know 

You could tidy your greenhouse and once everything was in some semblance of order then you'd feel rejuvenated and ready to crack on again.  It's ok being in the greenhouse in this weather rather than freezing your butt off outdoors

I got a cover my grow house from Wilko (have a look at their website as they do an online service)  I need one too as mine has been blasted to hell

I have never tested my lotty soil but I grow most things so don't sweat that one.