God I love growing our own

[enrico]

Odd how fruit bushes are weak but strawberries and raspberries seem ok. Just dug a new variety of garlic called mersley white. Half the crop has root rot . At least the rhapsody and presence are useable despite the rust but have small bulbs. Seriously considering not growing anything but elephant garlic next year.

 

[JamezF]

Just to buck the trend, I noticed strigs of ripening fruit on our redcurrant this weekend and the goosberries seem to be doing pretty well.

James

 

[enrico]

Just to buck the trend, I noticed strigs of ripening fruit on our redcurrant this weekend and the goosberries seem to be doing pretty well.

James

Bah!

 

[Garry R]

Somerset here too - some things OK if not spectacular but out of 2 packets of peas I got the sum total of 3 pathetic plants. I feel that in some cases the nitrogen has got washed out of the soil and soil structure seems to have changed. In the last week the soil has gone brick hard and digging it has been hard work. Loath to break up even rotovating it. Gardening this year is a fight against nature rather than being in tune with it.

 

[pargyle]

Somerset here too - some things OK if not spectacular but out of 2 packets of peas I got the sum total of 3 pathetic plants. I feel that in some cases the nitrogen has got washed out of the soil and soil structure seems to have changed. In the last week the soil has gone brick hard and digging it has been hard work. Loath to break up even rotovating it. Gardening this year is a fight against nature rather than being in tune with it.

It has been a challenging year so far ... I now have more cucumber plants than I can possibly need but they are only at the four leaf stage ... it will need a lot of luck to see a few cucumbers this year ... some of them are mini-munch which the grandchildren eat like sweets so I'm hoping they grow quickly.

The birds are busy stripping the red raspberries that are ripening .. I think I will have to net them over - I've not had them take so many in the past - Oddly, (Dani !) they don't take the yellow ones ...

The spinach is finally big enough to pick some leaves but the salad leaves are all bolting.

The second sowing of peas germinated (the first lot did nothing) and were just starting to show some growth and overnight they have been eaten down to the roots ..Mouse or an army of snails I suspect. I don't mind sharing my crops with nature but at present nature is getting the better end of the deal ...

 

[drex]

I have found germination across the board has been poor this year, even those sown indoors

 

[Moobee]

Toms romping away in the greenhouse but pathetic outside. Think I read somewhere that they hate dramatic temperature changes, especially of going from mild to cold (ie this 'summer'). Cucs doing ok and thrown out several fruits and chillies in flower. Thank heavens for the greenhouse..... everything outside looks feeble in comparison or has been munched to death.View attachment IMG_7655.jpeg

 

[Garry R]

Perhaps the seed quality suffered with the poor summer/autumn last year.

 

[JamezF]

Perhaps the seed quality suffered with the poor summer/autumn last year.

I have wondered that myself. I didn't have a single Crown Prince squash germinate despite success with other varieties in conditions as close to identical as is practical.

James

 

[Goran]

plum plum

 

[Bryang]

Somerset here too - some things OK if not spectacular but out of 2 packets of peas I got the sum total of 3 pathetic plants. I feel that in some cases the nitrogen has got washed out of the soil and soil structure seems to have changed. In the last week the soil has gone brick hard and digging it has been hard work. Loath to break up even rotovating it. Gardening this year is a fight against nature rather than being in tune with it.

I've had the same problem with peas this year. I start mine in short lengths of rain water guttering. First lot I planted was in compost from last year, results were good. The ones planted in compost I purchased this year have been diabolical.

 

[pargyle]

plum plum

Oh that brings back some memories ...in Rijeka in 1967 ... our Croatian was not that good and we saw these plums for sale at the roadside ... offered the seller some Dinars (pre-Euro in1967) and some sign language he took a few dinars and gave us three huge paper bags of them. I was 17 ..the plums were something we rarely saw in South Yorkshire and if we did get them they were usually stewed to death by my mum - these, well ripened in the sun, were sweet and so delicious. All three of us failed to think about the effect eating that many plums in the day would have on our digestion ! More so with the primitive plumbing at the camp site we were staying at ...

 

[Goran]

We also adore plums.. they are so healthy and delicious fruit. Not to forget to mention " home made" plum schnapps..

 

[judy12]

My Sidney plum tree didn't flower at all this year after 10 years of providing more plums than we could shake a stick at. Do they take a year off or is it time to get out the saw?

 

[Garry R]

Loganberries are starting to ripen but a good 2 weeks later than normal. The birds are having tp be patient. I generally keep them off with a fleece cover and it also helps the ripening with the extra bit of warmth - especially needed this year. Broad beans look good but flowers not being fertilised . Early cabbage good and as observed barely a cabbage whjte butterfly compared to other years.

 

[Aneebe]

Does anyone have experience with tayberries? I planted a thorned and a thornless version a few years back. They're now monsters especially the thorny one. I let the birds take the berries till now but this year Id like to do something with them and feel some netting coming on as they start to ripen. Any recipes or advice in general please? I've been disciplined in fanning them and moving new grow to opposite side/ pruning out old stuff yearly.

 

[enrico]

My Sidney plum tree didn't flower at all this year after 10 years of providing more plums than we could shake a stick at. Do they take a year off or is it time to get out the saw?

They often fruit better biannually and this year has not been good for fruit. Loads of flowers but poor pollination and the recent wind has blown loads off our trees. We have four plums on our tree this year...

 

[enrico]

Does anyone have experience with tayberries? I planted a thorned and a thornless version a few years back. They're now monsters especially the thorny one. I let the birds take the berries till now but this year Id like to do something with them and feel some netting coming on as they start to ripen. Any recipes or advice in general please? I've been disciplined in fanning them and moving new grow to opposite side/ pruning out old stuff yearly.

We have something similar, a youngberry, but you only realise how nice it is once cooked . A bit pippy though but great in an apple pie

 

[E&MBees]

My Sidney plum tree didn't flower at all this year after 10 years of providing more plums than we could shake a stick at. Do they take a year off or is it time to get out the saw?

Don’t do anything hasty. My damson tree had nothing last year, but is covered in fruit this year.

 

[Murox]

My Sidney plum tree didn't flower at all this year after 10 years of providing more plums than we could shake a stick at. Do they take a year off or is it time to get out the saw?

I don’t think plums are self-fertile and pruning at the wrong time and mess it up too as will frosts etc at the critical time. As was said, don’t do anything hasty, in fact give it love and feed/mulch etc etc.