Another year in the veg patch - mustn't grumble...

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Another year in the veg patch - mustn't grumble...

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OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 16 7:09 am Post subject: Another year in the veg patch - mustn't grumble...

Once again the growing season holds surprises - each one is different than the last. I was determined to have more winter crops this year - but I've been thwarted again. Looks like Leeks and maybe PSB will be it.
Still the good outways the bad - enough to keep the addiction going. I can see that my approach seems to be to get enough back through sheer weight of numbers

Not so good:
The rats/rabbits/slugs/pigeons have devoured just about every calabresse/sprout/psb plant I've planted out - despite covering them in netting and laying (allegedly organic) slug pellets. The beetroot went the same way.

The Swis chard is peppered with holes (slugs/leaf miner) and/or gone to seed.

One lot of spinach (Bloomsdale) went to seed as soon as I planted it out. "One of the best spinach varieties! This variety is slow to bolt and has excellent flavor." Yeah right. Did well in previous years too,
The 2nd (Emilia) has done ok (but has bolted now).

Lettuce - no show from two showings

No peaches set this year

Broad beans - started off well but have grown weakly - think it was too shady in the lower polytunnel. This is the first year that the other half has developed a taste for htem too (previously they were shunned). Started to cut back surrounding Hazel & Ash trees but won't have an effect until next season now.

Asparagus - I wonder why I bother. 5 years and just a hanful of spindly stalks.

Better:
Tomatos are looking good even though its been a cool season so far.
Courgettes are already producing - these have failed for the past few seasons.
Turks Turban squash - quite a few fruits set already.
Pumpkin - good so far.
Mangetout (Norli) - the now 10 year old seeds proves to be as reliable/productive as ever!
Doux Provence -starting to fill out.
Grapes - both red and white looking good.
Sweet Corn (Incredible) doing well so far.
PSB now resown (under 24 hr guard).
Shallots looking good.
Early potatoes - Casablanca - reasonable yield already. Charlotte not ready yet.
Apline straws - ready and good as ever
Chillis - slow but getting there. I think I have mixed up the labels so not sure which is which - the fruits will give them away though.
3 heads on the Artichoke - I might just leave them for the spectacular flowers again.
Garlic - good so far although its been in the shady polytunnel and growth is a little weaker.

Fruit:
Blackcurrant - looking good so far
Raspberries - ditto
Gooseberries - ditto
Red currents - ditto
Apples - not a lot of fruit set on mature trees - but own grafted have a few set (they are only 3 years old too).
Damsons - light crop set but better than previous years.
Kiwi - rampant growth but not a sign of a flower yet (on both male and female plants)
Fig - might be first year to flower?
Hazel - not a sign of a nut - It did really well 3 years ago but no more than a handful since - it is growing like mad though - perhaps thats the problem?
Cherry - average crop but these are only grown for the birds anyway

Japanes Wineberry - plant is getting bigger all the time - might get a bowl full this year.
Siberian Honeysuckle - no flowers yet...

New Kids on the block:
Golden Berries - looking good
Edible Fushia - 5 plants all thriving at the moment.
Reed Mace - 2nd lot of plants have taken (well 4 of them have).

chickenlady

Joined: 18 Aug 2013
Posts: 413
Location: Dorset

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 16 10:47 am Post subject:
Very interested in how the edible fuchsias taste. I nearly sent for some..but then got overtaken by events. I'm just about to uproot the broad beans and sew a few fennel seeds in the space. Never grown it before so it's an experiment. My failure this year is Agretti. Grew well, have loads of healthy plants...but it just tastes like grass to me. Shan't bother with that again.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 16 5:42 pm Post subject: Re: Another year in the veg patch - mustn't grumble...

OtleyLad wrote:

Hazel - not a sign of a nut - It did really well 3 years ago but no more than a handful since - it is growing like mad though - perhaps thats the problem?

Have you tried brutting them?

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 16 5:58 pm Post subject: Re: Another year in the veg patch - mustn't grumble...

OtleyLad wrote:

One lot of spinach (Bloomsdale) went to seed as soon as I planted it out. "One of the best spinach varieties! This variety is slow to bolt and has excellent flavor." Yeah right.

Bloomsdale is a nice older variety, but there are lots of good reasons that it's largely been replaced by modern varieties by commercial growers.

It's worth preserving older varieties, but sometimes there are reasons that people moved on....

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Mon Jun 27, 16 5:06 am Post subject: Re: Another year in the veg patch - mustn't grumble...

Treacodactyl wrote:

OtleyLad wrote:

Hazel - not a sign of a nut - It did really well 3 years ago but no more than a handful since - it is growing like mad though - perhaps thats the problem?

Have you tried brutting them?

Not heard of that before - might give that a try...

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