Problems....

It seems, looking through the threads of the last couple of months that just about all of us are having problems with our plants/veg this year.
It has certainly been a difficult one, with the weather not making up it's mind what it wants to do. Not only veg failing, but all plants too, inside and outside of the greenhouse etc.

Let's hope for a better season next year.

 

Sheal, plants and crops fail every year, that`s what makes gardening a challenge. If we had perfect flowers and perfect crops, year in year out, we would soon get fed up. We NEED the challenge of taking on Mother Nature, and WINNING.

 

It's definitely been a challenging year so far, the most noticeable things for me have been the lack of rain; especially in the spring and those pesky cool winds that just would not go away for weeks on end...

Despite it all I am pleased wih how I've managed to coax everything along; the only noticeable failures for me have been peppers and one aquilegia that is badly affected by mildew, that's about it to be honest and for that I count myself lucky

There have been advantages of the dry weather, namely a big lack of slugs and snails, but greenfly and blackfly were (were being the operative word :D) a problem as are the millions of ants that we have this year..

 

I think the worst is yet to come .... winter may be a bad one this year

 

I definitely have had more problems this year. Many of the plants that had survived through the winter before got killed off. I think I lost 8 or 10 plants that way. I have also noticed that some stuff has not grown as well as other years. Blame the weather. I do hope this winter isn't a bad one.......

 

What Dai says is spot-on , you can't expect 100% success with plant growing , and no two years will be identical . But this year I have called my "annus horribilis" ! I have lost more plants after the last winter than in the last 10 years :wallbang: Even 2 of my rugged indestructible container phormiums went belly up . Still you do learn , my winter plant protection will be a little more thorough this year .

 

Harry, something interesting to note is that re: winter protection ......
Fleecing is only effective if the temps are no colder than minus 5, any colder and the protective effects aren't there, this was explained by one of the TV garden presenters.
I didn't realise that and it explains why a friends determined efforts were fruitless in her garden.

Another reason i believe the perennials here haven't been as good as previous years is because overall we've not had enough sunny days, this years summer has peaked and i think our very warm spring seasons have a lot to answer for - it's like it fast-forwards the seasons
I mean, it's just not normal to have temps in the region of 75-80 degrees in the spring, is it

Hey ho, i'll get down now :WINK1:

 

Who wrote that then Dai?:D

Wind has killed my Yard Long Beans stone dead this year.

We are in for a humdinger of a bad winter again. Solar activity is as low as it gets in the solar cycle, the jet stream isn't in a good place for the UK, the gulf oil spill and its resulting chemical dispersants has done nothing good to aid the boyancy of the gulf stream so expect iced up harbours & another few months of snow & ice.

I've not just built another hot bed for no good reason.:(

 

Oh bum. I could have done with a mild winter seeing as I've planted over 50 new evergreen plants this year. They are all young plants as well, so probably less hardy.

One of the baby dwarf Rhodos I planted out in April is currently flowering

 

You are always the one to cheer us up Ziggy !:runhills:

Thanks Louise , I will get all the containers I can into the greenhouse or behind my shed, which is very sheltered.
Ziggy has just predicted Ice Age II , so I am off to look for a set of snow chains on Ebay now :D

 

:D And the bag of salt/grit Harry

 

I'll think of you all when you're covered in the dreaded white stuff and I'm out there having a barbecue.

Barbecue! I'll probably be eating my words!