Help. My garden has gone to pot. What can I do with the rest of the year to make myself feel better?

[twinklingfairy]

I had an abysmal year for my veggie this year. I think I got One courgette and it went mouldy in the fridge cos DH put stuff in on top!!
Having planted 4 courgette plants in the green house, 3 pumpkins (2 outside) Broccolli, cauliflower, peas (planted them 3 times! Kept getting eaten by slugs or birds!) Tomatoes did ok. And the peas I finally got in the greenhouse are doing well, but only 3 good plants.
A blimmin disaster!
My Clematis died a death too. Barely any flowers to talk of, though it trailed so well, and normally gives loads, this year I think I saw 4 flowers!
How many times did I plant out French Marigolds? Best ones are in the house.

How odd!

No idea about veg (it comes from tesco if you ask me)

Did you feed the clematis so it's producing too much foliage not flowers? Or does it need pruning?

No idea how you manage to fail with marigold Mine self sow all over the place. Can you shake seeds into tthe ground now and leave them to it?

French Marigolds = Slugs!

Did nothing to my clematis cept spend time giving it somewhere further to climb. Ungrateful wretch

Yup, thats where our veggies come from too.
Last year though I had so many courgettes I didn't know what to do with them!
The previous year I had a glut of peas!
This year? Nada!

bump

sorry I can't help with most of your probs, but last autumn I hacked my clematis down in a fit of rage to 15cm of stems?, and this year I have a 7 foot beautiful flowering clematis that loooks completely amazing...

twinkling - if its any consolation I had a nightmare this year too.

Not sure why, far fewer fruit on all the trees, no pears at all. Early potato crop was very light and just crumbled in the pan. All the peas dies, had a few courgettes but not many, got a few french beans.

You could try for some lettuce in the green house as a winter salad crop in pots? That worked well for me early in the year.

cut everything right back and get some gnomes to look at during the winter

my pear tree is fantastic this year, veg was a bit of a disaster (went out to work for four months May-August leaving DH in charge , so am now weeding frantically in an attempt to find some of the veg.
Think this year was generally regarded as a rubbish veg year (unless you really knew what you were doing and had time to spend nuturing stuff). Fingers crossed for next year (am back working from home so will be able to keep on top of things)

I heard that courgettes and pumpkins need plenty of mulch, like EVERY year. I put my old compost on this yr and it hasn't worked well either they need loads of water too!

My veg struggled, some worked well (courgettes, peas, french beans, salad, leeks going great guns for winter) but some stuff never got going - too warm, then too wet and not warm enough. and what did get going just before I went on holiday was eaten by the bastard mouse whilst we were away.

Spuds were a wonder though, alleluyah to that at least.

Toms and Cucs and sweetcorn all crap.

Now picking plums (not that many this year) and apples (bloody loads - separate thread on those coming up!)

OK.

Go to Wilko. Head to gardening dept.

Spend £5 (ono) on some of their remarkably well priced & good quality named bulbs.

On return home, pot them up. Feel better immediately.

From Jan 2011, admire the lovely show you have created. Feel even betterer.