Successes and failiures.

This is the place to discuss not just allotments but all general gardening problems and queries which don't fit into the specific categories below.
(formerly allotments and tips, hints and problems)
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SarahJane
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Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122483Post SarahJane »

What have been your successes in the garden this year? I have to say that my runner beans have been brilliant, I have eaten some, frozen some, given the neighbours some and still keep on picking.
Also I was pleased with my garlic, which is hanging up drying as I type. My shallots were ok too, I have pickled them. The peas were ok, tasted great, just not enough. Courgettes also were good.

As for failiures, there were a few! I had no luck at all with spring onions. I am not sure what I did to my radishes ( a few different varietys) but got nothing from them, and they are usually easy to grow! My tomatoes are late but at least I will get an abundance for chutney if they dont ripen! Other failiures.....cucumber, not one appeared despite a strong healthy plant and it flowering well!

So how have you got on this year? :flower:

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122487Post QuizMaster »

Courgettes aplenty but not much flavour to them.
I used cocozelle this year. Tasteless things. Back to the darker variety next year. Or I might even give them a rest.

The peas were a huge success, but only to the grazing toddlers. Hardly any made it indoors. And why not.

The beans are only coming out now. Hopefully will be ok in the colder weather. Suddenly have lots of little ones. If they all reached full size we might get beaned out.

The onions have mostly rotted at the neck. What's with that? Still fine, though many are smaller than they could be.

Spuds were fine. Ditto carrots garlic chard.

The blackcurrants have vanished. I suspect birds. Guess they need a net. Live and learn.

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122489Post The Riff-Raff Element »

QuizMaster wrote:Courgettes aplenty but not much flavour to them.
I used cocozelle this year. Tasteless things. Back to the darker variety next year. Or I might even give them a rest.

The peas were a huge success, but only to the grazing toddlers. Hardly any made it indoors. And why not.

The beans are only coming out now. Hopefully will be ok in the colder weather. Suddenly have lots of little ones. If they all reached full size we might get beaned out.

The onions have mostly rotted at the neck. What's with that? Still fine, though many are smaller than they could be.

Spuds were fine. Ditto carrots garlic chard.

The blackcurrants have vanished. I suspect birds. Guess they need a net. Live and learn.
Overall I have had a really good year (more by luck than judgement, I suspect).

The biggest successes: Peppers, courgettes, harricot beans, my "three sisters" bed. I've managed to hatch 30 chicks and have actually got around to growing some food crops for the chickens at last.

Failures: Disasterous tomato blight and very poor tree fruits.

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122507Post red »

failures:

leeks agian - I don't know why I am so rubbish at leeks.
courgettes - when the terrible weather came, the plants went down with something and never recovered. however we had a massive harvest before that so a success too
carrots not done well
peas, last sowings did not come good
aubergines failed this year
woad struggling
pumpkin - only just setting now

successes:

French beans - millions of them, freezer full. runner beans good, sweetcorn coming in, baby sweetcorn loads and loads, courgettes (see above) potatoes and tomatoes (despite blight)peas (earlies), mange toute, lots, beetroot ok, cabbages, basil, chilies, rocket

still to be decided:

squashes, sprouts, PSB, red cabbages, celeriac
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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122510Post LBR »

Herbs doing well: stevia, lemon mint, chives, greek oregano. Have used them much more than last year.

Veggies sparse: okra and tomatoes. Will plant veggies in ground next year instead of in pots. They were more plentiful last year, but I had the pots in a sunnier place. But, last year the plants got sunburned.

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122621Post Millymollymandy »

Rubbish this year:

Downy mildew on cucumbers so although the first two plants produced well before sucumbing they passed it to the new plants which have only had one cucumber each. :(

Not sure if it is the same thing but the melons have died back with a similar looking thing, although I've got about 8 mini melons hopefully going to ripen.

Just could not get spring onions to germinate in the soil so have been growing them in tubs

peaches, plums, pears, same prob as everyone else :(



Very good this year:

Spuds (Amandine and Europa, absolutely enormous spuds, have never seen such big ones before, and taste delicious!)
Onions both Japanese and Red
French beans
Runner beans (put at least 4 bags in the compost!)
Brassicas are all enormous
Parsnips
Potimarrons
Chillies
Radishes & Rocket once the flea beetle has gone (August onwards)
Currants
Strawbs
Rasps
Apples
Spinach beet - always grows well and the chooks love it!


In betweeny:

Sweetcorn
Carrots (always get rootfly)
Butternuts - loads but small and most have split
Toms - Gardeners Delight - producing well but I've got 12 plants and seem to have fewer that I used to get off just 6 plants?
Borlotti beans - seem to get very few beans for the space that the plants take up which is a shame.
Leeks - always get rust to some degree or other but normally do well, it remains to be seen.
Lettuce - early ones good, but a lot bolted due to dry conditions and a rare warm spell.
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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122626Post moogie »

Good:
Hot peppers
Small tomatoes, just ripening before dying of blight)
French beans
Swiss chard
Eggplant
Basil
Rosemary

Average: bokchoi and salad leaves

Bad:
big tomatoes (rotten)
Oregano (old one, I need to plant some new ones next year)
Sage (something's been eating it)
Cucumbers (a disaster)3

The weather has been really unkind so I am not too disappointed...

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122629Post hamster »

Good:

rocket
cut and come again lettuces
strawberries (few and far between, but tasty)
tomatoes (so far so good)
most herbs
chillies

Bad:

butternut squash and pumpkins - lots of flowers but no fruit, even with my hamfisted attempts to pollinate them myself
pak choi - all got slug-munched, but if I had been more assiduous with the beer traps they might have been okay
peppers - just would not grow from seed, had to buy plants (though all seem to be doing okay now)
blueberries - only one of 3 bushes flowered, but the berries on that one were yummy
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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122673Post Christine »

Mange tout - first time of growing and still picking a handful every two days from 10 plants. If I'd realised they grow so tall, I'd have put in more than 'twiggy sticks' to support them and not had to fight through the resulting jungle

French beans - wonderful and prolific

Blackcurrants - 4lb from two bushes new in last year but redcurrants (same age) were hopeless. Blueberries are less plentiful than last year but OK and raspberries have started to behave like the books say they do. Something nicked all the gooseberries - again! - but not much loss as they formed very little fruit.

Courgettes are disappointing this year but I think two in one place and two a long way away may have affected pollination with the soggy weather and low temperatures - still, enough for one plus an odd one or two to give away!

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122677Post Vammadopper »

I seem to follow on the general theme the of successe and failures

Runner beans good - when finally left alone by the sparrows!
French beans good
Cucumbers have done well in my little greenhouse
Black grape vine - got tonnes though it was a struggle fighting off the mildew in the greenhouse though it seems to have thrived scince being taken out
Sweet corn - plonked them in pots outside and for the first time in 3 years not only did they grow higher than 2 cms - I have about 3 cobs per plant!

Lettuce gave up with seeds and eventually with small plants they just bolted what ever I did.
Radishes grew well but never developed a root - out of a packet done at different times I got 3 small ones.
Spinach grew well ,then got eaten by a weird tunnel thing on the leaves.
Brussels grew well then got decimated by catapillars and green fly - to the point I just pulled them !


First time I've done Potatoes in containers, and TBH they were an after thought and impulse buy ( last in stock end of season) and considering I had to cut the tops down ( grew over 3 foot and still had flowers) the tubers were surprisingly small

Chilli plant is flourishing on the kitchen windowsill though :flower:
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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122679Post red »

oh i forgot about spuds
failure - annabelle are not worth it
success, despite blight: - cara desiree and valor

and livestock:

only got one lamb, but raised him to full size and he has gone off to slaughter.. so I count that as a success! plenty of eggs, and broody failed to hatch 2 broods (failure) but raised 3 chicks and they are now POL - success.
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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122780Post Millymollymandy »

My pots of cherry toms nearly all fell over in the high winds last night, scattering green toms all over the place. When I'd put them upright again and wedged stones and rocks in to hold up the stakes the next time I looked about six of them had fallen again like dominoes! I just left them on the ground rolling around and I've now got 2 plates full of little green tomatoes that might ripen if I'm lucky. :( :(

Bah humbug!
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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122802Post Flo »

The calabrese didn't set heads and the purple sprouting broccoli looks to be going the same way. Lettuce in one corner didn't set properly but were fine in other area. Pumpkins setting but then rotting (rain I suspect). May fail with the root fennel and cauliflowers (soil not quite right for them).

Swedes, onions, runner beans, carrots, cabbages, lettuce, spring onion, spinach, salad leaf, beetroot, peas, rocket all fine. Spuds in tubs not very plentiful - will try a different tub filling next year. Marrows and courgettes fine. Radishes sown too thick which accounts for the failure of the second crop.

Had an ant problem with some of the flowers I set in one corner so replaced with spinach and salad leaf - no problem there.

Note to self for next year - soil needs a lot of feeding though it was fairly well done last year, tubs need a different compost for tatties and need to consider the cauliflower situation. They are supposed to be tricky and not many people on local allotments are bothering. Also need to get some form of freezer for peas and beans for next year. Difficult with layout of room but not impossible.

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122804Post jim »

Dear Millymollymany,

What are pottimarrons?

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Re: Successes and failiures.

Post: # 122838Post Millymollymandy »

It's a French pumpkin which has a taste which is cross between pumpkin and chestnut (marron) and as the name for pumpkin in French is potiron then potiron/marron becomes potimarron! They are brilliant roasted and really hold their shape so good for currying, casseroling etc too.
boboff wrote:Oh and just for MMM, :hugish: (thanks)
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