The Vegetable Patch 2024/2025

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Come and share your triumphs and failures in your vegetable plot or allotment.

Ah yes, you’re getting it a lot hotter than us.

Do you have a garden as well as a balcony, or are you doing all your gardening on the balcony, which must be quite a challenge

On the other hand @BiddyPop you probably don’t have to worry about tomato blight up there!

Not much! 🤣

Quick trip to the allotment this evening. Picked some more raspberries and sugar snap peas/mange tout. Fondled my sweet corn 🌽 😀 to aid pollination. Leeks are looking good, the beetroot has come along great and I've finally got some courgettes set. Apples and pears also doing nicely.

Going to try and get over there for a couple of hours tomorrow and get some weeding done.

@tizwozliz my apples look like that. Although each one seems to have a statutory worm in it.

We have also had hot mid to late 30s temp where we are the last 3 weeks now. Luckily had a large rainstorm last night so everything is freshly watered. I had been prioritising watering the raised beds and berry bushes so the fruit trees had a good soak.

Waterbutts have been mostly empty. It hardly rained at all this winter or spring here so not ideal.

Mixed coloured heritage carrots doing well. Mangetout. Planted Reka blueberries last year and this year large crop. Cherries were ok. Apples growing still. All beans slow as slugs at most end of May so had to replant. Trying Aubergine this year which is growing but no fruits yet.
Flat peach tree died over winter so nothing there

My leeks aren't doing anything. I have loads of courgettes. I have peas but no beans, turnips but no radishes. Make it make sense.

@TheGander I've sprayed with nematodes this year as I had codling moth worms in my apples and plum moth worms in my plums. Too early for the apple harvest although far less early drop which is what happened with the wormy ones, but the plum harvest probably only had 4 or 5 with worms in of about 40 plums. Might be worth a try for you in autumn/spring.

Honestly, if I hadn't been growing veg for 10 years or so I'd think I was totally rubbish at it and have given up. Living in Greater London, this is the first year when we've had such a mild winter followed by such a damp cool summer. The combination is disastrous but I've learnt so much about dealing with similar challenges in future. The raspberries are looking good and my tomatoes, though slow are very healthy looking so I'm trying to find the positives.

That’s interesting @Brieandbeetroot I also live in zone 3 London and the allotment has been doing similarly to yours. I will definitely look into nematodes for next year. I did a winter wash in December and March and that has helped a bit. My main worry now is tomato blight, no signs yet but Lots of healthy green tomatoes now but I am not relaxing until they are red and harvested.

I didn't know you could use nematodes for codling moth, the website says to apply them to the tree in mid September.

tomatos are now in glut mode.
the black one (nightshade) is tastewise a bit dissapointing but maybe they need to be riper, which is hard to see on the vine. the yellow one (yellow pearshape) is awsome.

My tomatoes are all still green.

I grew that really dark tomato a few years back.
Did not bother again

yeah, was hoping for a mini version of black krim tastewise... look impressive - taste like dutch greehouse ware.

I've only a few tomatoes set!

And at the allotment when I was there the other day, I child see/smell the first signs of blight. Suspect it'll be a sorry sight sight I go up there tomorrow.

Hopefully my home tomatoes are safer.

But on the plus side, my soft fruit has been better the ever! OK strawbs have been more bounteous in the past, but rasps, loganberries and all the currants are fruiting faster than I can pick them! Gooseberries excellent too a d my early blackberries are looking good.

And my apple tree is over laden. Loads has dropped but I've had to thin further. And my pear tree! Normally I only get 8 or something, but there are tens and tens of fruit up there also aphids.

Beans are shite though.

It's warmed up here in the last week (to mid-20s mostly, although 31 yesterday). I've been hand-pollinating my courgettes when I see a male and female flower both open, just to help - and there are currently 3 courgettes growing into proper sizes 😁 on 4 plants - that's great as I had complete failures the last 3 years in the garden!

Another handful of french beans harvested, and another few cherry toms over the weekend. I don't think I will quite manage my original hope of a few jars of semi-dried for winter use, but I'll enjoy them for the next few weeks at least.

And my spring onions are almost at eating size so I will start using those this week.

Lots of things seem to be very late this year... but our redcurrants have had a bumper crop.
Another poster with a handful of French Beans now ready and our Giant Mange Tout are always reliable... they are a heritage variety from Real Seeds and they always deliver... the mange tout are always tender even though they grow to huge proportions!

Our plum tree seems to only really fruit every other year (I think I read someone else's on this thread did that as well) This is the scarce year, but it does have about a dozen plums on it in total. Next year we should get a good crop again, hopefully!

My beans are finally starting to set properly. The Greek Gigantes runner beans grew very quickly but some of the other varieties are picking up now too.

My outdoor tomatoes are ahead of my greenhouse tomatoes but the greenhouse ones are looking good and starting to flower now.

I resowed cucumbers, squash and courgettes and the plants look really healthy so I hope they will still have time to be somewhat productive. We're in Greater London/Surrey border so really we wouldn't normally get frost until mid/end November so I think we have comfortably until the end of October for things to mature and harden off. It was worth it anyway as the original plants were either slugged or have just sat there looking a bit sad.

Have had a good potato crop from the first and second earlies and the main crop plants are looking really healthy. My sowings for autumn/winter are looking really good. I treated myself to some new seed trays and modules and it's really helping having the right amount of compost and being able to transplant/pot on into appropriate sized containers etc. Have also discovered that Dobbies will recycle our old plant pots so I have a lot of those that can go as they are too numerous/sizes we just never need.

I had a rant awhile ago about my Diva cucumbers which were living up to their name, objecting to the soil, the weather, the greenhouse…

I’m glad to say they’re now performing! They’ve overtaken the plant from last year’s seed in height, and are covered in baby cucumbers. Last year’s won the “first cucumber” competition but is now sulking.

I've just been out for a mooch round the veg beds in the sun.
My cucs have loads of babies, never grown them before, so very excited. Quite a few courgettes coming along too, finally.
More raspberries that I can pick and a decent amount of strawberries on my new plants. The blueberries are still a bit sad
Chard doing well and the peas are great but they are usually fine.
Made rhubarb jam, stewed rhubarb and gave some away at the weekend as it was taking over the world after my holidays.

First year allotmenting for me. It’s sooo slow. I have a small kitchen garden at home which seems to be doing better with the same plants so wonder if my soil needs enriching.

@1721sunset what size if your plot and your space at home? I have a similar set up in that we have about 50 sq m dedicated veg growing space plus fruit patches, asparagus bed, fruit trees etc but I'm also on the waiting list for an allotment.

Are you finding it manageable to do both?

When I eventually get given a plot, my plan is probably to grow long-season/low maintenance things in bulk at the allotment (stuff like onions, potatoes, garlic, parsnips and some of the larger brassicas, and winter squash) and have the stuff that needs picking regularly/watching closely for pests etc at home.

We have an allotment and a space in the garden. Only our second year but we've found it really manageable. Our allotment plot is 250sqm but a lot of it is fruit which doesn't need too much attention.

Allotment is mainly potatoes, sweet corn, leeks, onions and courgettes/squash and the fruit (strawberries, redcurrants, gooseberries, raspberries, apples, pears).

At home we have about 25 sqm. I've got wildflowers in some of the beds this year, then beans and peas and cabbages. I do tomatoes and chilies at home too but they're in pots up against a south facing wall.

I’d forgotten you had an allotment. I was getting quite depressed at your huge crops. My 2sq m of pots and half a greenhouse can’t hope to compete with an allotment - feel much better now

I am drowning in runner beans already. Stupidly planted French climbing bean too without considering freezer space, both are producing loads.

I have babies on my cucumber plants, I didn’t think they would be successful as the looked a bit sad a month ago, I have tried to encourage them to climb but they aren’t having any of it and are growing across the ground, I’m hoping the slugs don’t get them.
just picked my broad beans but left them up the allotment as I just have nowhere to put them, I don’t really like Broad bean, I rescues the plants from the garden centre reduced shelf. Spent a hour this morning weeding where the broad beans were, not sure if I will plant something else or just cover with manure ready for next year?