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What were your successes and failures this year?
Is it too early for a successes and failures thread? I'm hoping I'm not duplicating, but would be interested to hear about experiences this year - I found it helpful last year.
For me, successes:
- poppies (the somniferum variety) - I took the seeds from a few that had sprung up in amongst the brambles and weeds last year and sprinkled them over some bare soil - this year I had a bed FILLED with poppies for weeks and weeks and covered with bees. You could hear the hum from a distance. Just beautiful. So much more rewarding to grow than the oriental poppies - next year I will grow more varieties from seed.
- daphne "eternal fragrance" - has lived up to its name, bushed out beautifully and flowered almost continuously with the most amazing scent since March.
- anthemis (thank you @josusa47) which has covered huge amounts of dry bare soil in a short period of time and super easy to propagate (and is still flowering)
- nemesia - another one that has just bushed out and covered huge patches of bare earth with continuous flowers from spring to summer and still flowering now. So easy to propagate.
- all my annuals - cosmos (cupcake), antirrhinum, calendula, bunnys tails - I will sow lots more annual seeds in the beds to fill gaps between all the shrubs next year but I will sow them much earlier - I think I left it too late this year.
Failures:
- equipment wise - not having enough plant supports. Everything has grown so floppy and tall - I have bamboo sticks everywhere!
- dahlias - they've all needed digging up at one time or another to allow them to regrow their leaves after slug attacks. All with the exception of some "bedding" dahlias that I got from Wisley last year that everyone told me would perish over the winter and have come back bigger and better this year and are clearly not tasty for slugs. I won't buy anymore dahlias - I will look after the ones I have but keep them in pots I think.
- delphiniums - see above. Also eaten by slugs. Now regrowing leaves in pots, out of my borders.
- hydrangeas - dry soil - not at all suitable for growing hydrangeas, even in shade. I should not have bought them.
- strawberries - 3 tiny strawberries and that's it.
- carrots - 3 tiny mandragora-like carrots
- potatoes - 2 "salad potatoes"
- onions - none
I am not a farmer.
For me, successes:
- poppies (the somniferum variety) - I took the seeds from a few that had sprung up in amongst the brambles and weeds last year and sprinkled them over some bare soil - this year I had a bed FILLED with poppies for weeks and weeks and covered with bees. You could hear the hum from a distance. Just beautiful. So much more rewarding to grow than the oriental poppies - next year I will grow more varieties from seed.
- daphne "eternal fragrance" - has lived up to its name, bushed out beautifully and flowered almost continuously with the most amazing scent since March.
- anthemis (thank you @josusa47) which has covered huge amounts of dry bare soil in a short period of time and super easy to propagate (and is still flowering)
- nemesia - another one that has just bushed out and covered huge patches of bare earth with continuous flowers from spring to summer and still flowering now. So easy to propagate.
- all my annuals - cosmos (cupcake), antirrhinum, calendula, bunnys tails - I will sow lots more annual seeds in the beds to fill gaps between all the shrubs next year but I will sow them much earlier - I think I left it too late this year.
Failures:
- equipment wise - not having enough plant supports. Everything has grown so floppy and tall - I have bamboo sticks everywhere!
- dahlias - they've all needed digging up at one time or another to allow them to regrow their leaves after slug attacks. All with the exception of some "bedding" dahlias that I got from Wisley last year that everyone told me would perish over the winter and have come back bigger and better this year and are clearly not tasty for slugs. I won't buy anymore dahlias - I will look after the ones I have but keep them in pots I think.
- delphiniums - see above. Also eaten by slugs. Now regrowing leaves in pots, out of my borders.
- hydrangeas - dry soil - not at all suitable for growing hydrangeas, even in shade. I should not have bought them.
- strawberries - 3 tiny strawberries and that's it.
- carrots - 3 tiny mandragora-like carrots
- potatoes - 2 "salad potatoes"
- onions - none
I am not a farmer.
3
Posts
Heading towards a tomato glut so that's a success.
Courgettes. I've decided I don't really like them much.
Gazanias have been spectacular. Nothing to do with me. They've been in the ground a few years and got comfortable
Most of my planted out cuttings have survived.
- clearing my two veg beds of what had accumulated over the last 5-6 years of complete neglect.
- strawberries. Dug them all up and put them in pots. Reasonable harvest and have about a dozen new plants for next year with at least another dozen to follow, hopefully.
- acquired my first planters. Painted and lined all 6, with 4 now in operation.
- carrots. My first proper crop - smallish but perfectly formed.
- germinating (for the first time) sweetcorn, peas, broccoli, radish, cabbage, onions, french beans and rocket. Whether I get a crop eventually is TBC.
- constructing animal and bird-proof cages for two veg beds.
- potatoes. Got a nice crop from two planted straight from the kitchen waste. Waiting on the 'proper' ones sown from seeded KEs. Plants looking healthy at the minute so fingers crossed.
Failures:-
- propagating from the plants in my sister's garden hasn't yielded any success. Yet!
- the tiny onion plants didn't make it!
- lettuce. Cultivating slug food. Got about half a dozen leaves so far!
- not constructing insect-proof cages!!
- sowing some of the veg seeds a little bit too late. I may need a magnificent Sept-Oct weather-wise to get a return.
- not having enough gear (and absolutely no idea). Although this has meant cobbling together supports/stakes/cages from what I've got available. Cheap and more environmentally-friendly. Second thoughts - that might be another success
If I actually eventually get any peas, sweetcorn or cabbage (and more spuds), I'll definitely call it a success.
My Denbigh plum fruited, despite being only 3 years old; about 25 plums. Rhubarb and raspberries have been abundant, and I'm currently picking more runner beans than we can eat. I have two parsnip plants thriving, my first ever, and some leeks. My best ever crop of carrots, including some purple ones from seed a forum member sent me.
Failures: I planted Pink Fir Apple potatoes I'd saved from last year's crop; shan't do it again, because lots of them came up scabby. Those that didn't were delicious. I have failed again to grow peas and French beans, but I'll keep trying. Broad beans were very scanty. Tomatoes were late going in because of the drought, and still have flowers. I probably should pick them off. Not a great lot of fruit formed yet.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that you have success!