This season a write off

[Nannysally99]

I would keep an eye on this forum next year Marb, I took my cue on seedlings, planting etc on what others were up to. I must admit that all of my plants were outside by mid May this year due to holidays. Only runner beans were planted out a tad later. A great crop has been had. I do mostly container gardening which eliminates most pests, and yes, we use slug pellets when necessary.

[Littlefox2000]

Hi Marbs,

My heart goes out to you, as it really does sound like a dismal year.

Maybe it sounds crazy, but I'm actually really super impressed at how much you're trying to grow in your little garden. I also have a little garden and tried growing things several years ago and just got really discouraged by the lack of produce...I literally got one courgette and one marrow from three courgette plants (And some people wonder why I plant so many these days on my allotment). My peas went to nothing, sweetcorn didn't get big enough. Radishes, well it was a total disaster. Tomatoes stayed green. Trying to get stuff from my tiny space was a real struggle and actually put me off trying til I got my allotment.

I don't know what the solution is, as in a lot of cases you're not really doing anything wrong. I wonder whether trying some square foot gardening, and doing some soil replacement might help...?

I know you're worried about applying for an allotment due to the unwanted social aspect that this might bring...but until I got my half plot, I had no clue what a courgette plant could produce, let alone my other crops. But maybe this is a solution to not moving to a house with a bigger garden. My allotment site certainly has a mixed bag or contributors...those who are massively chatty and active in the allotment community to those who just come and tend their plots. Please have another think about it.

Anyhow, I really wish you some better luck with your autumn plantings.
LF

[Veggiemama]

Hi Marb,

I am sending you loads of huge cyber hugs.
I really feel for you.
I have read quite a few of your posts and as soon as i see the thread title and see your name, my heart sinks :-(

I wish i could magically make it all better for you.

I am the sort of person that doesnt like to be beaten, so, for me, i try, try and try again.

The others have given you some good advice and i hope something works for you.

Dont give up though, as disappointing as this year has been, theres always next year.

Huge hugs on the way to you and i wish you better luck next year.
Veggiemama

[bearded bloke]

Just looked in on the off-chance of some pictures of crops &/or growing area,will check back later in optimistic hope.

[Dorothy rouse]

Marb, how about sowing green manures, nice and 'pure' they will only help improve your soil, and then come Spring, you can start your seeds off indoors and then move outside to prepared beds.

I was at Homebase today, and they do have good plug plants, winter veg, cabbage, leeks, carrots etc, so you could give these a go?

Next year will hopefully be better, every year seems different, I celebrate if something grows well and crops that fail, well they get composted, so kind of recycling.

I have an allotment, but often it's just me there, and I do like that, I don't have it as a 'social,thing', so maybe you should think about getting one, but things still fail!

[TrialAndError]

My advice is next year grow less. Not only the volume of plants but also the types.

Pick four veg, concentrate on them and things may well come right.

Practice good crop rotation - if you don't do that then you are doomed to failure.

Use slug pellets, nothing else works even remotely as well.

Read up about thrips, study their lifecycle and have a plan ready for them next year. From your description, eliminating thrips and slugs would go a long way to helping your crops.

And at the risk of repeating myself, practice good crop rotation.

[ButternutSquash]

Just looked in on the off-chance of some pictures of crops &/or growing area,will check back later in optimistic hope.

My thoughts too. How can we comment if we don't know the growing area, the aspect, shading, soil depth and container size.

Grow plants in shady areas and they will be weak. With no other plants nearby, pests build up. Use small containers and roots are small, and watering is an issue.

[Marb67]

Thanks. Perhaps the negative posts are also due to the fact that I am going through a tough year with personal, very heavy issues in my family. Too painful to talk about here but suffice to say I am not in a good place and get depressed too. I at least owe everyone here that explanation.

[Greenleaves]

You dont need to explain Marb....just hang on to thefact everyone here is routing for you and tomorrows another day

[Glutton4...]

Sounds like you need a break, Marbs. Sometimes, if you're already burdened with worries, even the little negatives can seem overwhelming. I would suggest giving the garden a miss for the rest of the year. Just bin everything, mulch the soil, and let it lie until next spring. You may find you're in a better place, mentally, and physically, by then, and will be able to tackle the garden with renewed enthusiasm.

I hope things perk up for you soon mate.

[Dorothy rouse]

Hope things improve for you Marb, next year will be better.

[lottie dolly]

Thanks. Perhaps the negative posts are also due to the fact that I am going through a tough year with personal, very heavy issues in my family. Too painful to talk about here but suffice to say I am not in a good place and get depressed too. I at least owe everyone here that explanation.

HI,pleased to see this post,it does explain where you were coming from,also pleased that you did not do a runner from us,
I can fully understand where your coming from,but for me it's different reasons,never the less,it still has it's effects,if i feel in a bad place for what ever reason,i only try to post on something that's a positive,and to have a look around,i know,i personally have had to do a lot of thinking about my allotment growing,and will not be able to make up my mind fully until later in the year,it does make you feel like you say,please try and do what i do and have the odd moan on the rant thread,like grrr had a bad day,or bloomin families,or words to that effect,these days when i feel right off with me self,i only have a quick look in on here to say hello and go,and either find something else to do,or have a sleep,have you tryed playing some games on the putor,it can take you out of yourself and relax you,see the time fly by,read a book,am sure you will come up with something,have some me time as in,do the lady stuff like your going out,if you wish then go out to the shop for a bar off choc or somat,all helps the feel good factor,take heart from an older bird good days and bad days go hand in hand,

PS mods if you feel i gone over the top please delit,i just like to help where i can,

[sparrow100]

Hi Marb,

Am sorry you're having a tough year, on top of what seems to be a tough few years on the growing side. Given what you've said, and not being able to see from photos, could you perhaps try and cram a little less into what you say is a small walled garden? Both fewer plants and fewer varieties?

Or, a more radical solution - don't plant crops at all next season, but focus on green manures instead so you both flummox the pests you've got and feed the soil? I can imagine that you might have some fairly intense populations of pests and they can't get out as easily once they are in. Not giving them something to eat for a bit might reduce their numbers.

I do hope things get better for you, on the home front and in the garden. I know how heartache can be helped by getting things to grow.

[whiskyman]

Sorry to hear about your growing season.

Since I moved into my council house(ten years), most of my garden was unsuitable to grow anything. One of the last tenants buried anything he could have, I found carpets, car parts, concrete and everything else. It was too much work to consider digging all this up. So about 4 years ago I found a small patch for my runner beans(only thing I knew I could grow a lot of from a small patch) and anything else grown in pots. Although most plants died or didn't do too well, unexperienced gardener I am grew them in too small pots or didn't have the knowledge to grow them.

This year I decided I had to do something even if was to suppress the weeds, the garden was so overgrown. So after building a few walls and leveling the garden to some intent I mulched with cardboard and wood chips( I had unlimited supply of it at the beginning of the year). Although the garden looks tidier, I know I still won't be able to grow anything in most parts of the garden, so either pots or raised beds will be the way to go. All this work took longer than expected so only ended with growing runner beans and rainbow chard, pak choi and spring onions in a cold frame Anything else are fruit growing in pots(bigger pots this time) until I can find where to plant them permanently.

Only advice I can give you are on the runner beans to tackle the slug problem. I don't know if you can see clearly in the pics below but the runner beans are grown in 2ltr pop bottles taped with copper tape around the bottles and growing canes. Any low growth, leaves etc are cut off to stop slugs climbing up. And weeded often to stop them becoming a platform for the slugs to get on the runners.