[Goldfinger]

Sitting down flicking through catalogues and surfing the internet,

I'm lost on what to plant next year,     

Except.... NO WAY am I planting hispi cabbages!!! If you just looked at them they would burst, yet my savoys and ball cabbages never did anything.

How does everyone here work out what they are doing for the next year ??

Is it decided through successes and failures, or what you will / will not be eating ??

[sunshineband]

Four ways

1. Best of this year's crops
2. Avoid the disastrous crops unless feeling strong
3. Get sucked in by lovely looking illustrations in catalogues
4. be forced to buy seeds that are 50p a packet at the end of the season

Then I plant what I fancy at the time 

[Spana]

This year i tried to use up all the opened packets from past years so didn't spend very much on seeds.
So i feel i can go to town next year a buy anything i fancy but when the times comes will probably buy my old favourites yet again

[digalotty]

im growing 3types of spud and a lot of other stuff from my success this year but i also like to try some new things as well thats where this site helps ,   i try to pick up on what others have enjoyed growing,    and will grow some faster growing catch crops to make the most of my plot

[arugula]

Should this be in Chatting?

[DD.]

Not really, it's about growing your own.

Guess where it's going!

[Kristen]

I'm a sucker for growing the varieties  I have always grown. Every year I grow some variety that people rave about, but I very rarely find that they Wow! me. The Golden Sunrise tomatoes I grew this year were no more tasty than Shirley that I usually grow ... IMHO of course!

I've stopped growing some things that I tried and didn't get on with, the "fancy crops" like Salsify, Scorzonera, Asparagus pea.  But I grow things that have failed that are just down to me. We've had a lousy year last year for Parsnips.  This year the Kohl Rabi have been a disaster. So have the Sweet Peas.  But I'm growing them again next year

I grew onions from seed very successfully this year, having always grow sets before (thanks to a free packet of seeds that came with one of John's books). I'll definitely be doing that again - nothing like as much hassle as I thought it would be.

I have records of how many plants I grew (both how many I grew, and how many made it to maturity, plus an indication of whether it was enough or not) and I use that to gauge how many to raise next year.  And timing too ... my last batch of sweet corn has just ripened, but this late into September there aren't as many mouths to eat it as we've stopped inviting people round for outdoor dinning.

[Kristen]

You see what you've done? I've just read a thread about over wintering onions. never tried that before ... 

[DD.]

Well worth it, Kristen. The bonus is they go in otherwise dead space.

I'm with you regarding Shirley. In the 45 years I've been growing tomatoes I've tried a few varieties, as you can imagine.

Every year now Shirley is the first to get sown.

[Goldfinger]

Not really, it's about growing your own.

Guess where it's going!

Engage brain properly before typing next time   

[zazen999]

Some years things are good and some years things are bad. So I am hesitant about never growing a failure again as the next year it can be the right conditions for it.

I am a HSL seed guardian and also pick my 6 free packs of seed every year; so I always make space for those and if I like them I'll grow them again.

I also have lots of seeds which I sow little and often - so I might have say 20 different varieties with only a few of each [I own lots of labels] - so I choose the ones that taste the best and perform the best for the next year's sowing.

Trial and error - pest and disease resistance - and taste are all the things that over the years means you build up your own planting plan.

[Redgoat]

This year the Kohl Rabi have been a disaster. 

So were mine never got going 

[Christine]

It's easy here:
Firstly. Things that I like - garlic, fennel, peas, carrots, onions, swedes, kohl rabi, courgettes, marrows, beans, strawberries, raspberries, apples, plums, cabbage, a few spuds, parsnips
Secondly. Things that the local family like - garlic, fennel, peas, carrots, onions, courgettes, strawberries, raspberries, apples, pears, plums, brussels, a few spuds, parsnips
Thirdly. Things that will grow well in the North East - peas, carrots, onions, swedes, kohl rabi, courgettes, marrows, beans, strawberries, raspberries, apples, plums, brassicas

It's a case of take your pick to fill in the space as the mood takes - final decisions by February

And finally. At least one, if not two, trial vegetables - next year the marrows are being exchanged for patty pan squashes and we'll find a space for ying yang beans.

[Pip Judgeford]

I had a big "aha" moment a couple of years ago and I now grow what I eat!  This might sound kind of obvious but I did spend many years forcing myself to eat (or not) what I grew. 

So now no parsips or novelty stuffing tomatoes, but lots of coriander, leeks, kale ...  and heaps fewer wasted vegetables in the compost heap!  And at the same time I have shifted to saving a lot of my own seed, just because locally grown seed does best, and because some of my favourites have been "discontinued" from catalogues.

=Pip

PS I think we all need to do the asparagus pea thing just once!

[zazen999]

PS I think we all need to do the asparagus pea thing just once!

That's the one packet that I am toting round work at the moment trying to palm off on someone; I'm sure one of the new apprentice gardeners will fall into my trap eventually.....