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In a break in the rain this evening after work I lifted my main crop spuds. Quite a nice crop so happy days.

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All the spuds here went in quite late so are 2nd earlies are just coming ready to lift now.

No scab or wireworm damage I hope Trev?

We're now eating masses of stuff from the veg plot; runner, french, and broad beans, maincrop peas and sugar snaps, beetroot, swiss chard, spring onions, lettuce, courgettes. Tomatoes are ripening, celery is coming along nicely.

All the hard work is paying off now.

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My order from Suttons cocked up so I only ended up with a small bag of Desiree this year instead of them and earlies. Got them in three months ago and they've just finished flowering so just right for lifting. I've found to my cost in previous years that hoping they'd get bigger by leaving them in the ground longer means a lot of skin and worm issues but these look fine. I'll let them dry for a day or two in the trug in the dark of the shed then bag them in a paper sack.

My lettuce are all done now (they bolt so fast in the summer so I only do them for spring eating), carrots are ok but "ugly" due to my stony soil, beetroot are doing/eating very well this year, had several meals from the runner beans with lots of flowers still on them, onions are bulking up well, the pumpkins have gone mad with some of the runners over ten feet long now with some of the fruit the size of small footballs already, and I've never had such a good growth of parsnips - we'll be eating those for months later in the year! Toms are not quite ready yet so I've lost my annual race with dad as he's been eating his now for a couple of weeks.

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Carrots this year I planted in two full sized enamel baths filled with a 60/40 mix of soil and builders sand. Growing them in the baths has meant no carrot fly as they are too high up for the fly to reach. The sieved soil/sand mix has resulted in lovely long tapering carrots with no misshapes. I'm pulling baby carrots as thinnings now and they are beautifully sweet and crunchy.

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I can just imagine the looks I'd get from the neighbours if I started bringing old baths home from skip raids and growing things in them :)

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Ha ha! That would probably be one of the incentives for me!

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I find Arran Pilot seem to cope with the slugs well. Left some last year in the ground until September - all ok.
I have grown carrots in a dustbin the last few years - not a large crop but a good taster (as I tell a friend that must feed his ground steroids) Shallots I left in the no dig bed really good. Those in the garden crap.

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Not sure what variety of spuds we have here beyond being one lot of 2nd earlies and one lot of mains.

Just lifted and dug out the first 3 plants of 2nd earlies. Tonight I shall mostly be eating potatoes! :D

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I think my hawthorn tree is sick :( Some of the leaves are turning brown, others are curling and they feel dry. I'm going to take a couple of cuttings to the garden centre (in a sealed bag) from where I bought it for suggestions.
I planted it last year and it produced nice blossom this spring but I've since discovered that they are prone to various insect infestations (couldn't see anything on the leaves) and a fungus.

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Fingers crossed for you. Hawthorn hedging is pretty hardy so hopefully this is just your tree settling in and getting used to your soil and watering.

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Garden centre man, after looking at my cuttings, says it doesn't look like an infestation or fungus :) it's either:

1) Lack of water (I can fix that) :)

2) Since it's a new sapling, it may be living on existing sap and has now exhausted it and will die :( . Oh.

They will replace it if it doesn't recover next spring but I really didn't want my "Paraquat Fingers" reputation to continue.

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We're well into harvest time now so how did we do this year?

Tomatoes - I have so many I'm giving them away to neighbours. Never had such a crop. Will be growing Sweet Millions again.
Runners - have been eating them and freezing batches for weeks. The rain has eased recently so growth has slowed.
Spuds - after Suttons messed up my order and sent a small net instead of a larger one, after all the rain I still got half a sack of Desiree.
Onions - lifted them yesterday. Good size bulbs (from sets) that are now drying.
Carrots - set off on the bench in toilet roll tubes as my experiment for the year. They don't like my soil and rarely germinate so this worked better. Very wonky crop but we're freezing the surplus as they grew so well.
Beetroot - also set off on the bench, grew like mad in the wet weather and are eating very well. Nearly finished them.
Parsnips - yet another bench-to-ground experiment instead of direct sow and they look very happy. Will give them another two months before trying them.
And finally the pumpkins. After an argument with Marshalls last year I have a different variety this year from Suttons. Instead of just a few beachball sized monsters I have a dozen fruit sized between grapefruit and a small football. Autumnal pumpkin soup - marvellous.

How about the rest of you?

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Mixed results here.
Several tomato plants grown in the greenhouse from seeds brought back from Spain have done well. Some stripy ones, some that are purple on top and red underneath, and some yellow ones, all of them large. Tomatoes grown outside are doing well but not yet ripe.
Celery is growing on well.
Dwarf french beans cropped well.
Cucumber plants outside didn't like their location and have been a bit of a disaster, but the same variety of cucumber grown in the greenhouse has already given me five fruits and has half a dozen more growing on.
Runner beans have been good and are still cropping heavily. I've already frozen three bags of them.
Beetroot, both golden and red are good,
Chard has also been excellent.
Onions have, on the whole been poor. Some have made a reasonable size, but lots have made very little growth.
Spuds are good, just about to lift the rest of the 2nd earlies, the maincrop spuds are still growing well.
The carrots we grew in a mix of old, sieved soil and builders sand, contained in two full sized enamel baths are great. Long, tapering roots from all four varieties, and no carrot fly.
Courgettes are unstoppable and we have lots of pumpkins and squashes doing very well.

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My efforts
Toms in greenhouse poor - surplus plants outside doing better. Chillies now ripening nicely in the G/H.

Garlic was good, onions grown from seed good but only 9 made it.
Lettuce were good
Spuds ok but not as good as last year.
Carrots poor, cucumbers good, beetroot coming along. Brussels looking good and managed a couple of nice cauliflowers.
Marrows doing ok, hoping they will fatten up a bit more yet and courgettes have been steady.

French dwarf beans were good, climbing ones not bad and runner beans not so good but did not set in the ideal position - had run out of room

Moved the raspberry canes last year so not much good this.
Red currants fantastic, blackcurrants good, apples loaded and one pear tree good the other an Asian pear absolutely delicious but only five fruit - have eaten two. Cherries managed one before the birds had it, and the plums very few. Enough Damsons on although the tree keeps losing its main branches in strong winds

I have gone for continuous cropping this year so have a second row of peas in as a trial



Last year I set Fennel for the first time and it lasted well into the New Year so hoping for the same this.
Have been pleased with the no dig bed and have opened up an extension to it with quick growing lettuce to see if we can get a crop before the weather does its worse.


Never used the Rotavator this year and I hope to go more no dig next.



I have a friend with great soil, I take a bottle or two of homebrew once a fortnight or so so and come away with a cycle pannier or two full of produce so our veg bill has been negligible this summer.

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Nice. Good to hear of everyone's potterings. Dinner tonight will have my carrots and beetroot in it which is always nice.

On a related note my new battery-powered scarifier was used in anger yesterday - two hours to do my whole grassed area (about 250 square metres) instead of the usual half day plus with my old corded one. Result.

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i'm reaping the rewards of my neighbours massive poly tunnel :-)

once the house is finished i might just think about some raised beds in the front and back gardens.

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Gave up scarifying years ago, the moss always wins and I don't use chemicals if I can help it. Now we have a clover field in summer and the bees love it.( Possibly instigated by the fact I am to tight to buy an electric/battery one and the wife has had enough using the lawn rake! )

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I have an electric scarifyer - it removes the moss to allow room for the other weeds to grow. :(

On a different note: I intend buying some plants/bulbs but I'm curious about your experiences. Is Bakker better than Gardeningdirect, is there a better on-line company?

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Things like bulbs, seed potatoes and packet seeds are fine from any of the mail order companies I would have thought. Plants however... I've had bad experiences in the past where boxed plants have clearly been roughly treated and arrive in a real mess. My folks have received dead plant after they were sent to the wrong depot by the courier and spent a weekend there before setting off again. For plants I suggest looking out a local nursery or even a chain one - you may pay a little more but they're more likely to grow.

Have chat to the staff as they may be able to get what you want. My local indie garden centre (alas now closed down as the land was sold for housing) were happy to get in the variety of cherry tree that suited the space I had and the dwarf buddleia plants to encourage more butterflies.

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I have started buying a lot of seeds off e-bay and not been disappointed. Several different companies. For bulbs the wife has used lidl/Aldi not something I have had experience of (the only flower I understand is a cauliflower!)


I bought a couple of pear trees from Lidl, one an Asian variety - the fruit is glorious - the most tasty pear ever. Unfortunately I moved it expecting building in the fields behind us and its not produced much since.

The 2 apple trees produce a lot as well. The disappointment is the cherry - its not on a dwarf stock so not expecting much as I cannot let it get too big

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So as the produce rolls in what do you do with the surplus? Wife made the usual 6lb of piccalilli today. Next will be pickling of the shallots - both much better than any bought equivalent.

We make various chutneys and fruit jellies. Had a list of 22 last year so will not need to do so much this year as we have got a lot left so it will be a quiet year. Luckily no BBE dates on any of the jars!

Have got 5 gall of red currant wine on the go and I make a Damson stout/porter using 3lb of Damsons 3 pts of stout/porter (homebrew), two lb of Demera sugar - makes a port like drink at about 16% proof.
Last years chilli pickle was enough to send you into outer space!

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At the moment I'm busy freezing the surplus runner beans. I have a lot of cucumbers so I may try pickling some of them in a spiced brine. I'm eating most of what I'm picking this year. I'm not as well organised as usual as I'm on new veg plots and only here in this house on a temporary basis. Once (and if) I get permanently housed, I should be able to get much better sorted with the veg growing again.

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Freezer for us too, although that port-like stout sounds excellent RT.

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Sounds a bit too potent for me :drunken:

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Could have mentioned this elsewhere on here but today I got out the Rotavator which I have not used all year since trying to change to a no dig garden - so it has been in the shed for 15 months unused or so.
After a squirt of Easy start it fired up and ran fine! I am pretty sure I had given it a shot of Briggs and Stratton fuel preserver when last used.
I can only think that it was this that stopped the carb getting gummed up so I am a convert!

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Hope those gardeners amongst us are up to speed and have started this years planting! - I got carried away and have far more seeds than I have ground prepared. Guess the surplus can be set next year.

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I'm desperate to get sowing and planting but I can't as I'm still in a state of limbo with regards to housing. i don't want to start stuff off when I don't know what my housing situation is going to be this year.

If I do finally move to somewhere more permanent with a garden, I will be going flat out to get crops in the ground.

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Hi Gary - Do you think you will be able to go back to your old house?

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I'm not optimistic although I would dearly love to go back to the village at least. The house has stood empty and untouched for nearly a year since the chapel kicked me out. There's been no work done on the place at all. :-(

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Sorry to hear that Gary - what a bummer

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I'm really peed off about it I have to say. The thought of 25 years of effort in my fruit and veg garden just reverting to wilderness is not nice

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If the weather holds I'll be doing some prep digging this weekend. About time I pulled my finger out. Need to go get some potting compost but the garden centre will be heaving if it is nice weather...

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Sounds like the chapel showing some good Christian spirit !

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Indeed. :(

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Bedwen plants Henllan, Llandysul


Is this place anywhere near you Gary - I have had a couple of orders from them and have been quite impressed.

The plant plugs arrived in very good condition and all the packaging was recyclable, including the plastic bags used to keep the moisture in.

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That's the Llandysul in west Wales RT, I'm in Llandysul/Llandyssil near Welshpool/Trallwng.

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Welsh geography lesson over for today then - cheers

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Parsnip seeds are sown - it begins again.

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Do you have success with parsnips? I've never managed to get them to grow from seed.

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Funnily not tried for many years but this year I have started them in the greenhouse to see how they will do. There is a fault line between us and a keen gardening friend, we are only about a mile apart- His soil is light and friable ours is heavy clay ( as I would imagine it is round Bristol )- he gets really great results but my Dad did here so it can be done. I have gone no dig so it is all a bit of an experiment.
Will have to be super careful in planting the plugs to avoid root splitting.
I once was told to use a crowbar and make a hole in the ground,fill that with compost, then plant - never tried it though.