It’s that time of year when we start looking back at how things went in the garden or allotment, the successes and failures and what can be learnt for next year.
Needless to say, the weather was a big factor this year (‘when isn’t it?’ I hear you say). This year will be remembered for a long cold spring, endless grey days with little bright sunshine and a sudden cold snap in September. The warmer weather plants (tomatoes, cucumbers, chillis, aubergines, Frensh beans) all had to wait longer to go out: some looked pretty sick by the time they were planted. Slugs and snails proliferated, making planting out a bit of a lottery. The cooler weather seemed to reduce the number of aphids compared to last year, and the ladybirds seemed to cope.
Successes and Failures?
The carrots, onions, squash, potatoes, garlic, cabbages, lettuces and bush beans all did pretty well. There are always a few failures but on the whole the harvest was good. The pole beans that were grown for the seeds (Greek Gigantes, Algarve) did not do very well, mostly because of the lack of pollinators. The disappointments were the tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, chillis and aubergines, basically the warmer weather crops. They suffered from lack of sunshine, and this also seems to have affected the taste of the tomatoes, they are fairly bland.
What am I going to change next year?
I still need to work on my succession planting and try to sow smaller amounts more often. This is tricky, you always sow more in case they fail, then when they all grow I feel obliged to plant them on. Will have to be more disciplined with myself! More flowers for the pollinators may be useful, perhaps sown in pots so I can move them to where they are needed. The art of growing cauliflowers still alludes me so will try a few other varieties and see if that makes any difference.
What’s still growing?
Currently in the ground are leeks, celery, chard, spring broccoli, spring cabbage, and a few sad white and savoy cabbage. Everything else is either perennial planting or green manure.
Still to go in are the garlic. These are replanted cloves from this year’s harvest, bought as Solent Wight 3 years ago. They are in modules in a small plastic greenhouse at home. Storm Bert shook them all off their shelf and upside down onto the floor. Ah well, I’m sure they’ll get in the ground eventually, when they’ve recovered.
It has been fashionable to spend this year moaning about the weather (some would say that’s normal), and I was no exception until towards the end of summer when I realised my small square chest freezer was already full of vegetables and I could stop complaining!
As the climate changes we may have to get a lot more flexible about when and what we plant. It will probably make some new things possible and old favourites harder to grow. More challenges for the lottie!
Happy gardening 😊