How was it for you?

Whitefly got in my indoor growbox and stuffed my giant onions & leeks (never putting aubergine whitefly magnets in there again), I transplanted my giant tomatoes, marrows and pumpkins into compost bought some time ago, and they all grew distorted and died. I suspect it was from one of the last batches with Apriomid in. Due to the wettest winter ever, I couldn't cultivate my plot and due to being fed up waiting for it to dry out everything planted at the right time drowned, and everything planted later suffered from delayed planting plus being planted in soggy ground. And a Muntjac appeared who munched my strawberries in Spring and also had my bush French beans later on, but that pest has now been sorted.

At least the blight didn't get my spuds, but only because I didn't grow any this year.

 

Aww, Scrunge

No wonder you'm been living off soup and toilet rolls

 

Zigs, The judge would snap it to see if it was stringy and what the condition of it was ,must have been a good stick to come up first.The judge would ask who ever was stewarding with him to pick a number between 1 and 3 then snap that stick.It makes you feel great to see first prize card sign on your exhibit don't it. When I was showing some years ago we had a judge who came to judge for us at or local show,one year I was at another show and he was having a look at what every one was putting up around the hall,he was always willing to help newbies on the show bench,I had put a plate of 6 Hurst Greenshaft peas on the plate when he came round "Them your peas young man,yes says me,change no2 for no 6,why I said,because this judge today always picks no 2 and thats your best pea"Won first prize out of 11.I used to steward for him when he came to judge for us and he would after finishing judging show you were things right our wrong.He was a grand man and was sadly missed when he passed away.

 

Ahh, cheers FB

I had a tear in my eye when I saw the card

Second year of entering the same plant, and first for both

 

To think a year ago I knew nothing about gardening or plants. It's been a great year, I've learned so much and had some successes with existing plants and the many that I've added.
Now I know what everything here is I'm looking forward to next year and seeing it slightly more organised!
Thank you to everyone on here for all your contributions and advice.

 

Cor, glad we've helped

 

This year went really well for my flower growing . I can't recall any failures and everything seemed to bloom well into November My bijou vegetable area is being hugely reduced . Just going to grow my Wilkos onions from sets (lovely) and two varieties of chillies . I am now confident that the Asda/Tesco method of vegetable procurement is vastly better

 

I tend to use Lidl and my local market and I'm more than happy.

 

On the flower front only amaranthus and coleus failed me this year.
In the GH plenty of nice sungold, tigerella and Manx marvel toms, the cucumelon were a let down in taste. The demon thai chilli were productive and had a nice warmth to them
Next years plan is to get more hardy plants in because the garden looks so bare in the winter

 

Only reading this thread , I forgot about the manky wet spring we had.

Bees best year for at least 4 or 5 so really pleased with that plus I had gone from two hives in the spring to now having 4 and only having to buy the bee hives , bees were free for a change.

Gardening wise , had to take out some large plants , just got too big ... I hate doing but thats gardening for you and the garden needs sunshine.

Tomatoes with other GC member's helped "Manx Marvel" with keeping the seed 100% true and available and will be doing the same in 2015.

Daylilys collection still adding too , so easily over a 150 different named varieties , and had my own seedling flower for the 1st time was exiting and very nice it is to.

So all in all not a bad year

Spruce

 

On reflection, not a good year for me.....
brutal elimination of ground elder took its toll and I lost a lot of things . The Summer wasn't kind. Yo yo hot days followed by cold nights didn't provide the best conditions for growing too many tomatoes in too tight a space. They got too soft, overfed and lanky and blight put paid to them at the end of August.
But the Salvias were delightful this year and I will put more of them ( took cuttings ) in the borders,
Jenny

 

And there was 30 free packs of bagels, 100 free pizzas and nearly £250's worth of free fruit and veg from Morrisons. We've just won a competition for free Riverford veggie boxes. Got so much stuff all reduced to 5p on Sunday, I've got two 28L 12v fridges (normally used for fishing trips) on the go in the kitchen. We wont starve.

My apples failed again this year, so I only pressed about 10 galls of juice, but we picked over 400lbs of blackberries from the hedgerows which made up for it somewhat. Got enough for eating and apple pies, but not vast quantities of juice for drinking, cider & wine.

Grew some Cape Goosberries for the first time in about 50 years, they got to the roof of a polytunnel but hardly any ripened before they were killed by frost, wont be growing those again.