The upside to all this rain

[veggiechicken]

Rob and Lukens, this has been a horrid year for new and old gardeners alike. I'm on my 3rd sowing of courgettes, squashes and pumpkins having lost about 70 plants already to the slimies. My beans have gone the same way, my onions were strimmed by a well-meaning neighbour! If I'm very lucky I'll have some spuds and tomatoes but I don't hold out much hope for anything else.
On the positive side, there are lots of seeds that can be sown now for autumn crops and I'm going to give them a go. The weather is bound to dry up and warm up before long. Chalk this one up to experience and sow on

[Two_Sheds]

It looks as though we'll get some runner beans this year.

This week last year I was picking lots of beans, but this year I only have a few flowers on a few plants


Dismal

[Kaiya]

My potatoes in a bag have survived/thrived. My tomatoes in the blowaway don't notice that I'm not there to water them for five days out of every week. My allotment soil isn't a sheet of solid set clay. These are all good things.

Normally my issue is only being able to water at weekends, things die during the week. So far this year, I have lost things to slugs and snails and to overwatering (lol), but haven't lost a single thing to drought, not even inside the blowaways as even the air is damp enough to let them survive the weekdays without water.

I would have prefered a bit more sun, if only to prompt the grass to bother growing. We've only had three lawn cuts this year I think, which just isn't cutting it (boom-boom) for mulching the allotment.

[shona_b]

this year has been worse yet in my 4 years of allotmenteering. Blight on spuds, teeny tomatoes on waterlogged plants (those that have even bothered to flower), beans blown to ground, squashes given up due to cold and constant attack from the evergrowing snail population. Only the rhubarb seems to have thrived and I don't even like that!

[Mr Bones]

Rhubarb has done well, chard is lush and plentiful, Florence fennel has been tender and radishes, lettuce, beetroot, Kohl rabi and broad beans all seem to have benefited from plenty of rain. Just chopped the tops off some of my spuds (early blight) but the tubers are a good size and plenty of them.

[Piggle]

my raspberries are doing alright - this year I am seeing the benefit of havin the lotty in the corner under the trees as my ground isn't waterlogged .... that's a small benefit though as I don't get much sun ( not that there is much to have anyway)

[cazp]

Not sure if it is due to the wet weather but I have been harvesting off the same few March sown little gems for a number of weeks a few leaves at a time. They are now tall stalks with new leaves growing off the top and they seem to want to keep growing. Theyre on my list for next year, but is this typical of little gems or is the weather a contributing factor to how long they are lasting?

[Shadylane]

They are now tall stalks with new leaves growing off the top and they seem to want to keep growing.

Sounds like they're bolting. Lettuces do that round this time of year if it's warm. The leaves tend to go bitter but if you haven't noticed then don't worry and keep scoffing em.

Upside to the rain eh? Well, best year ever for broadies, though some have choccie spot and doing nowt. Peas also - never seen em so tall. Last year the rasps weren't happy cos of the drought - this year they're going mouldy. Comfrey's doing well tho, no mildew yet and the wildife area is, well, wild. I can no longer see the pond. That is all.

[Florence Fennel]

Florence fennel has been tender

Why, thank you kind sir I'm sure a lot of folk must think I'm as tough as old boots

[Florence Fennel]

It's raining again here after a fine day yesterday, but it's looking even more like I'll get a good crop of runner beans, so that really pleases me.

[Niall]

Downside - weeds, billions of them. I hate weeding and will forever go on about it and living in the countryside surrounded by fields and roadside weeds they are a constant threat - I pull some up an after a week of rain another billion have emerged from the seeds blown around by the gale force wind.
Things like pumpkins, marrows and squash dont seem to be doing as well, lack of heat and sun I'd imagine.

Positives - Potatoes, I have 40 potato plants around the garden and have lifted two so far and have ended up with over 50 potatoes from those two plants. Maths would indicate I am going to get 1000 potatoes... I am not counting the teeny tiny ones by the way, just golf ball or bigger
Strawberries are doing amazingly, I have fruit set on some plants that were only sown from seed 5 months ago... Beans are a nice lush green colour unlike last year and I think im in the minority here, but the sweetcorn seems to love it too, despite the lack of sun a plant has now gone beyond the 6 foot in height mark, this plant also has 5 cobs on it and a visible second male part.

Now... Its sunny outside, 3 hours before work so I am off to weed myself silly.

[bearded bloke]

Biggest plus side to the amount of rainfall .... no shortage of water to make beer & whisky with

[Glutton4...]

The only 'upside' I can think of, is that my IBC container, for the Chooks, and emergency garden water in the event of a drought, is full. It filled in three days, and isn't needed. Therefore, it will go green with algae, so will be no use for the Chooks (their water troughs are refilling automatically with rain, anyway), and I'll have to waste it.

[Jeanied]

Upside - my hydrangea is delighted and flowering its socks off - same with my blue agapanthus in a pot!

[Thelma Sanders]

I still can't think of any...............................................

It's all pants (except for the Alderman peas )