I really am dissapointed with my vegetables this year,I prepaired the ground late autunm digging three trenches and filling them with compost but my runner beans were hard and stringy and my tomatos were no bigger then marbles and not many went red.So where did I go wrong.
feeding, watering and position (sun/shade)? ... as for compost, you need to mix compost with soil (and sometimes manure) ... unless you use something like John Innes no 3 which has already been pre-mixed and is ready to use .... but you should still use a fertilizer periodically that is suited to the plant you are growing I don't grow vegetables, but think it works the same for all plants/shrubs/veg etc ... you need to provide all the key elements for the plant to thrive
This year has been really good for runner beans. Did you grow a stringless variety? Pick them before they get too big, if you leave them on the plant too long they go hard and stringy and the plant stops flowering. Keep picking them and you get more and more. This year has been bad for tomatoes, they do need a sunny position but the last couple of months of weather hasn't helped. Mine are still producing loads though, a bit small compared to other years but still growing. Yours should still be growing. Where abouts are you?
Don't worry too much arty, it happens. It's the nature of gardening, in that every year some things do well and others don't. My father had a saying, "That's always a good year for somethin'." This is particularly true of vegetable gardening, the particular weather conditions of any given year or season will be ideally suited to some crops, whilst not for others. This has been the case as usual with my vegetables this year. Some crops have thrived, while others have sulked and produced little or nothing. Last year was the same, next year will be too. It changes every year, a crop which does well this year may be poor next year and vice versa. One answer is to try growing as many different vegetables as you can, then you can be sure something will have a good year. Also, don't be afraid to try different varieties if a particular crop hasn't been a success this year. Another variety of the same plant may be better suited to your particular soil or location.
Every gardener get years like these so maybe you're just having one? Anyway, this is what every gardener needs - Dealing with Disappointment: Amazon.co.uk: Elizabeth Crary: Books
My polestar runner beans were doing very well again this year, but when I went to pick them today I could immediately tell something was wrong - no flowers! Then I noticed that there was an absence of small/medium sized beans due to all the tiny ones starting to shrivel up. Another failure. I was hoping for weeks more of picking a large carrier bag full every couple of days and freezing loads of them. My courgettes have virtually finished cropping and I've only had 2 marrows off over a dozen plants.
