Nothing is growing

I've noticed how slow things are this year also.
I think its the slowest I can remember.
Even greenhouse plants are not doing well due to the gloom, we need more sunshine even if its not hot.
Nice today though, 25C in the shade and the wind is much less than the previous week.

 

another good gardening lesson learned: best is to plant a variety of plants that do well under different conditions

my definitely unperturbed fellas this year: red valerian, canterbury bellflowers, fennel, candelabra primulas, campanula poscharskyana, sedums, vipers bugloss...

 

My annuals are just starting to flower, but they're not looking happy. Today I discovered the poppies (Papaver) I've grown from seed are rotting at the base of the stems, I've picked three good sized plants up today that have rotted through.

Everything else seems to be overgrowing and spindley, they look a mess and I feel like pulling the whole lot up.

 

I've just planted Watercress.

 

Bizarrely, my tomatoes are doing much better this year than they did last year, despite my son accidentally decapitating most of the plants with a clothes rack when they were still in the conservatory. I should have some 'Sungolds' to pick in the next few days.

Slugs and snails, always a problem in my garden, have been an absolute pain this year. As a rule I never use pellets but I've had to give a few things a helping hand to prevent them from being finished off entirely. I use the 'Growing Success' ones, which are supposed to be safe for wildlife, and I use them fairly sparingly, just to get things off to a decent start.

 

do

Don't you have a hosepipe ban in your area? We have

 

Sal, I notice that the compost that you have the toms in is the new stuff made up of loads of coconut fibre. I'm not sure I believe the manufacturers that say it improves water retention and crop yield. I've been trying some of it and it seems to dry out much too quickly. I've gone back to the other type.[/quote]

You are right , in a different condition that would be too dry , but what we got this year in the other way around......I`ve been using john innes n1 for the 70 % of my seedling and because of the lack of light they never dry proper and lost many seedling by root rotting , as in April and May we had few night at 3c and day at 10c , they just didn`t cope with it.

this morning I ve just noteced that I`ve got 3 big bag full of tea bag at work as I start collecting in March for help with the hose pipe ban ....never even used one , but they are keeping for me ..lol.

I`ve lost many tropical seedling just because of the lack of sunshine ...yes plants that thrive naturally in the shade are doing well , but should we start to grow edible fern?

got 3 of them in my garden , they are actually taste like green bean , not bad at all.

 

Not that i've been told about no. I've moved the outflow from one of the downpipes to where its planted.

 

We've had nightime temperatures of 12 degrees+ for the last 2 weeks or so here and its made a big difference, most plants are now getting a shift on, some at such a rate its as if they know they're several weeks behind.

Things doing/done well for me this year are; on the veg/fruit front; tomatoes (thriving with the warm wet conditions), potatoes, peas, raspberries and rhubarb..
ornamental; hostas (just got to keep the slugs off ), aquilegias, brugmansia, erythrina, clematis, alliums, lilies..

And the blooming grass is going nuts , given the chance it needs cutting twice a week really, last year I think I only cut it 4 times all year as it was so dry it gave up trying to grow ......and don't even get me started on the russian vine from the neighbours at the back, I hack it back , turn my back to grab the brush and 'et voila' its grown another foot , well not quite but its not far off

Things that are really struggling this year aren't so numerous now but still include; strawberries and cannas (my worst year ever).

 

the only strawberry I`ve managed to eat , wasn`t taste nice at all even the snails seams to ignore them ...luckly I don`t have grass in my garden , don`t have space for it :WINK1:.....
Recently i was posting a picture of my garden on facebook and one of my collegue replyed...... you idiot... you live in England , palms and bananas are not growing in Uk....put the lawn down , barbeque in the corner , the washing line and a chair where to drink your beer (that was is idea of English garden)... ...he was serious about that .

 

My early Raspberries are ready, which is about normal timing I think.

 

Just been out & took several slugs off the newly planted saladings, peas, beans etc.

Put sand & pellets round them. The slugs are even turning the spuds into net curtains

Someone order a heatwave please

 

The strange thing is, although my plants aren't coming to much I haven't seen any slugs and snails. They're usually everywhere when it rains.

 

They are everywhere here ... well, everywhere except where the Chickens hang out