Scotland = rubbish, or is it just me?

[glasgowdan]

I have had a few failures this year and I now only have a couple of crops to rely on (strawberries and peas). I have found french beans/rocket/salads didn't germinate (all sown outside in reasonable weather), asparagus only 50% of the 30 plants have come up and they are still spindly even though it's 3rd year now, I sowed a load of sunflowers to line the back fence and they didn't germinate... it's just frustrating! I don't have cold frames or greenhouses but the direct-sown crops should have at least come up.

Is anyone else north of the border struggling?

[rustylady]

It's not just Scotland, we're all struggling this year.

[Two_Sheds]

It's much, much easier to control conditions if you sow into modules/pots first, then transplant. Even if you don't have a gh, this will give you better results than sowing direct, where seeds & seedlings are at the mercy of the weather, rotting, mice, slugs etc

[glasgowdan]

I guess having strawberries is a bonus as they love it cold, wet and miserable! There is a wee plum and an apple tree out front which I hope will fruit, plus there are some herbs growing away, so it's not lifeless at least.

My job is running a landscape maintenance business so time is in short supply at this time of year and the last thing I want to do when I get home is go out and do some gardening!

[Two_Sheds]

time is in short supply at this time of year and the last thing I want to do when I get home is go out and do some gardening!

Oh.

Probably best to give it a miss then. The plants won't grow themselves

[eirish]

Not just you, it's rubbish. I'm feeling pretty gloomy about it today. Most things I've sown direct have come up eventually but they've taken an absolute age. Rocket is the one thing that's come up quickly!

The peas I sowed nearly two months ago are 10" high max, sugar snaps more like 6", and showing no signs of flowering. Lettuce, carrots and spring onions sowed at the start of May are barely getting their second or third true leaves. The beans, cucumbers and courgettes that I started indoors and only planted out within the last fortnight are looking rather sorry for themselves. Like I feel today, really.

[realfood]

I am in Glasgow, and most things are growing well and on schedule. I do make use of cloches (Lidl) and fleece, as it can be cold in June. Sweetcorn and Winter squash are safe and sound under cloches and sweetcorn is looking very good. Peas and beans have fleece protection and will survive this weather.

[jacob]

We've got to face facts -- it's colder up here than down south and that impacts on a few thing (squash and outdoor tomatoes in particular, I find).

[Aberdeenplotter]

The one thing I will not accept is that Scotland = rubbish. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world. I will accept that the weather this year has been a tad disappointing. I could use some colourful language to more fully describe it but won't. Suffice to say that in the last week, the temperature in my greenhouses has not been higher than 55f.


My job is also horticulturally based but I make a point of spending at least half an hour in my plot morning and evening. Anything less and it becomes difficult to keep everything under control, particularly the weeds. A plot needs commitment. I'm lucky, I do for a living what I do for a hobby so for me it's a pleasure not a chore.

It has been difficult this season, but this is Scotland. We can get all four seasons in a day up here. No point in complaining, that's just the way it is. It will be better next year.

[Kestrel]

the last thing I want to do when I get home is go out and do some gardening!

Why are you doing it then? We're all busy and I can't think of anything I want to do more than going out and doing some gardening when I get home. You seem to find time to post on this forum. It should not be a chore but a joy. Oh, and Scotland is beautiful and bountiful and I would swap with any of you there at the drop of a trowel if family commitments did not keep me here.

[glasgowdan]

I do it because I love eating fresh veg!

I make a living by spraying weeds, mowing lawns, trimming hedges. Some days I must pull 500 weeds when doing the rounds. I do it because I am being paid to do it. Doing it for the fun of it when I get home is just not possible! Plus I am physically shattered each evening.

I guess I want to set up some systems that help me grow with minimum effort. It's just keeping things at the right temperature and moisture content that's the issue. I spray for bugs and I can weed in seconds so no problems there.

I guess I just wondered how much of the poor showing is down to this year's weather and how much is my lack of time affecting things

[Feral007]

I can understand feeling shattered at the end of the day.

I usually direct sow into the ground here, as it seems that transplanting can be more than some plants can manage. Either the heat or the wind knocks a lot of transplantees on the head.

I try to grow things that do reasonably well on their own. I like an 'easy' garden. The permaculture workshop we went to we had a walk round someone's suburban vege garden and they work on selfseeding as the plants that do well, and self seed are so much stronger for your climate and soil.

In summer I find it very draining with work, both mentally and physically. But what I usually do is come home smother myself in mossie repellant and grab a glass of wine in one hand and a hose in the other. It's amazing how you can unwind and water at the same time. I also have used the nodig garden with cardboard under the hay/compost to minimise weeds.

I think if you work out which are the easiest most hardy veg to grow that you like, and only do what you can manage it will be easier for you. I love fresh veg too, but there's a limit to how much time I can spend outside in the freezing cold, the baking heat, and the wind in between.

[taff]

I guess I just wondered how much of the poor showing is down to this year's weather and how much is my lack of time affecting things

90% weather 10% you
any other year it would be the other way around but this year seems to be special in an i'ts-really-really-carp-weather kind of way

[CaroltheCarrot]

Glasgowdan, you have me really confused(easily done I know), you say you garden for a living so you know the challenges facing gardeners up here, you say you enjoy the taste of your own grown veg, buuut you dont want to spend any time when you come home gardening???
This year has been pretty pants so far but as AP^^ says theres always next year(if you want to- noones forcing you to)
i may have missed your point and apologies if this is the case

[Two_Sheds]

Doing it for the fun of it when I get home is just not possible! Plus I am physically shattered each evening.

I can relate to that, it is hard work ~ I'm shattered by 10am most days (chronic fatigue & pain). I get home in the afternoon having done my day's work: and there's still the animals and hubby to feed, the house to clean, the grocery shopping to do.

And then the gardening on top.

May to June is a mad rush and I can never keep on top of it all: the weeds, the watering, the transplanting, tying in, staking, harvesting, pest control, composting, mulching ... I don't use sprays so I make it that bit more difficult for myself. Every year I feel like giving up or at least scaling it back.

Until the harvests start coming in, especially the beans & squashes: that's really satisfying (somehow working for 4hrs on the lotty in early May in return for just one lettuce doesn't seem enough! July is when the gluts start)

It's got to be a labour of love. Seriously Dan, if you don't enjoy it, don't do it. I didn't pursue horticulture as a career because I knew it'd end up being work, and I don't want it to be work, I want it to be my leisure, my passion, my solace.