This years efforts

[itsybitsy]

After the potato disaster that was last year when every single potato I lifted was riddled with scab, I've decided not to grow them this year. I intend to buy a few big bags of potatoes, blanche them and then freeze them, and the same with carrots.

I am only growing courgettes, beans (yellow and purple) and some shallots this year - I just don't have a lot of time to have to tend to fussy plants so I'm going for things that pretty much take care of themselves without too much intervention. I'm not even bothering with tomatoes this year after some of mine got blossom end rot last year. I may get a couple of window boxes and chuck some salad greens in too but I'll see how I feel about that later on.

[jansman]

You do what you can. In fairness,if you are too busy for gardening,you are too busy. It’s not for everyone. Whatever you try,I hope it is successful.

[Moorland Prepper]

For us the first year of growing veg. has been something of a disaster. Successes were few – lettuce, spinach and cucumbers were a great success. Potatoes were mainly a failure, as was the rocket which usually grows like a weed. Growing tomatoes outside wasn't a good idea either. We did get an unusually cold, wet summer last year which didn't help. The winter veg. that we tried to grow have also failed. They don’t die but don’t grow!

We are over 700 feet above sea level and the growing area is a bit shaded but is also protected from the winds that we get. However, we have learned a lot and are planning our summer growing season which will certainly included potatoes. We shall start the first crop around the end of April and the second crop around August, when the first crop has been harvested. Tomatoes and cucumbers will go into our smallish greenhouse and rocket, lettuce and spinach will go outside in troughs. I’ll leave growing winter veg. to the growers who live down south or by the sea where there are never any frosts.

As always, it’s onwards and upwards!

[British Red]

Producing your own food is not the simple thing that many people imagine. It's complex & wide ranging and takes a long time to master ( getting started can be straightforward but getting reliable, repeatable food in quantity and with variety, year round is not). Good for you for starting - it's a journey without an end but can be very satisfying.

[izzy_mack]

Producing your own food is not the simple thing that many people imagine. It's complex & wide ranging and takes a long time to master ( getting started can be straightforward but getting reliable, repeatable food in quantity and with variety, year round is not). Good for you for starting - it's a journey without an end but can be very satisfying.

Well put. my fruit and veg successes/failures vary. Fortunately I usually have both.so the successes overrule the failures and keep me going.

[British Red]

Well put. my fruit and veg successes/failures vary. Fortunately I usually have both.so the successes overrule the failures and keep me going.

One of the reasons that we grow so much variety is to compensate for losses. Last year we got dreadful blight on the tomatoes. The first and second early spuds were fine but maincrop.suffered as we had to pull the haulms early. It was a fantastic year for sweetcorn and parsnips though. I always think parsnips are the most reliable carbohydrate!