It's our first season on the allotment and how did it go? I suppose better than it could have but not as good as I would have liked.
Cabbage - We've had some good ones, and more good ones are coming but they need protection from birds until they are quite large.
Cauliflower - some quite good ones but these suffered quite a set back because of birds. As did..
Kohl Rabi - we have had a small one which is one small one better than we ever had before the allotment.
Cucumbers - (Those yellow things in the picture are Crystal Lemon) Loads of Crystal Lemon and about 6-10 traditional green ones
Runner beans/Climbing beans - did very well but early wind damage set them back going away in August let them get out of control.
Tomatoes - we did very well and blight was not too much of an issue.
Peas - quite well but birds and wind damage caused set backs.
Potatoes - planted in the wrong place and the ground wasn't well prepared enough.
Radish - some very good ones but not enough succession planting.
Parsnips - some lovely ones but some places where germination just didn't happen.
Carrots - some quite nice ones, but a lot of damage and I need to find out why.
Broad Beans - Quite a lot but maybe we didn't pick fast enough. We plan on eating them (having dried many) over winter in soups etc.
But then there's things like Swedes which we have had no success with. And of course we planted many other things, some with success and some not so successful.
Lessons to learn, studying to do but... The season isn't over. It never is because it's a full circle and we are starting again with spring cabbage, broad beans, onions and other things.
But one thing is for certain... I have enjoyed the allotment this year and next year promises to be even better.
Gerry,
ReplyDeleteYou say you had a lot of damage to your carrots. Well, my crop has been decimated with white fly. Fortunately, they won't go to waste as the ponies will eat them, but they are the first real failure I've had in the two seasons I've had the vegetable patch.
I'll take more care next year.
We have had a lot of whitefly, but not on the carrots - just the brassicas. The carrots suffered from some worm or slug or something. The soil needs to be cleaner and better drained I suspect.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I meant to say carrot fly. Sounds like you had the same thing. Apparently you should disturb the rows as little as possible and only pick in the evening when the flies are less active. Google it.
ReplyDeleteYes, carrot fly is a pain but we've not seen any. What I've seen done is enclose each row in 3 feet high very fine mesh so the carrot fly can't get in easily from row to row. Seems to work.
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