Ist season done

Just a post to let you know how I got on in my first season and say I tried to chip in with something useful while I was setting up in my first SF year but of course I got a lot more from you luverly people than I could put in, especially with me being on the other side of the pond. I then vanished as I went on holiday and when I came back took in a homeless cat in September and bought a Border Collie puppy in November.

Me being British and living in the west of Britain I must mention the weather. That's something we all have to contend with so I won't moan too much. It began by being ridiculously hot and dry for 2 months. I had to pull water from the village pump after my rain barrels ran dry. The potatoes went berserk in the ground and flowered a month early. We then got a long, grey, cold, wet summer and got hit by blight. Still no idea what that tomatoe was but the lack of sunshine didn't suit it.

The lettuce however grew like weeds and I was laughing myself silly calculating the savings I made. The late summer and winter lettuce though either bolted before I could give all the surplus away, and I was trying hard, or it got sat on by the four-legged fiend. Scallions/spring onions? just wanted to hang about doing nothing and I've still got some left, the radishes were all spindly.

The carrots were great in containers and netted so happily no wretched carrot fly but the barky furry thing dug one up every day to eat until just before Christmas before turning her attention to picking the Brussels sprouts. At least the parsnips escaped her notice and very nice they are after the frost. Just a nice size too. She also had a couple of my turnips and a swede some of which grew well. My only problem with the turnip and swede was the MM level settled and despite the boxes being made 9" deep to cater for root crops overwintering they pushed themselves out of the mix.

Mini Sweetcorn, not fantastic, the ones in the box didn't do as well as those in the ground. It was a worthwhile experiment with something new to me but I'll just use up the seed if it will germinate this year and not bother with it again, it took up too much room for what it can produce.

Oregon peas kept going after I had got them started in pots well away from the reach of whatever critter had eaten the first batch. I didn't know they were so weatherproof and I don't care if they aren't all flat if the vines keep on producing like that. Difficult to keep butterflies out though. Beans we had plenty of and had spare plants to give away. These give-aways returned as a bag of cooking apples.

Fruit. The red Hinomaki gooseberry did fantastic, the crop was delicious, the weather suited it. I felt pretty silly being the only person around here to net the bush, you wonder what everyone else knows that you don't when you've moved 200 mils in this country. so I took the net off after harvesting and it promptly got set on by caterpillars. I sometimes hate being organic as I've got more interesting things to do than pick tiny caterpillars every day. The strawberry box also went mad with runners literally everywhere and, despite being end of season rootstock for new plants next year, I got a few gorgeously flavoured Strawbs off the plants. Me 1 birds 0. I need another box for them.

Normally I'd have my early potatoes chitting on a cool windowsill but I'm behind due to an ankle injury so the only thing I've done so far this year is get some help to fence the boxes off from the puppy as she wanted to redesign and landscape all of the garden. Last year I planned to make some long narrow table beds for in front of the house wall for the strawberries, I can go ahead with that when I get chance. So again THANKS to you all for your help and I'll try to call in when I can. Good luck in your growing year.

Barkie, it is really nice to hear from you again.

Congratulations on a successful season.

Glad to hear you are getting a fence for the pup, much as I love dogs, I can't tolerate them in the garden. I get too frustrated.

Carrots, lettuces, parsnips, turnips, peas and beans, it sounds like you had a nice variety of crops that did very well for you. Gifting beans and receiving apples is wonderful.

Barkie wrote:I felt pretty silly being the only person around here to net the bush, you wonder what everyone else knows that you don't when you've moved 200 mils in this country. so I took the net off after harvesting and it promptly got set on by caterpillars. I sometimes hate being organic as I've got more interesting things to do than pick tiny caterpillars every day.

Sounds like you were the one who knew something they didn't. Now you can continue to net those gooseberries and show them a thing or two.

Again, congratulations on a great first season. Here is wishing your next season is as successful.

Keep in touch and let us know how things are going.

Barkie, welcome back. I missed hear about Wales and seeing pictures of the great garden area and walls you are restoring. Keep in touch and send more pics.

Kay

Barkie wrote:

Mini Sweetcorn, not fantastic, the ones in the box didn't do as well as those in the ground.

Sweet corn can have a tap root that is 4 feet deep. If there is a weed barrier in your SFG box, it won't do well.

Tom