Starting again - too late?

[Foreverhopeful42]

Good morning, I am looking for some advice please. I'm a new gardener, with a small garden. I've managed to grow strawberries, raspberries, and rhubarb this year and bought a greenhouse.

I had successfully started tomatoes, chillies, radishes, lettuce, rocket and sunflowers in there.
We've had hellish winds and unfortunately my greenhouse and everything in it was shattered. The tomato plants snapped, everything was strewn over the garden. Nothing can be salvaged.

My question is please, is it worthwhile starting again? Lettuce, rocket and radishes seem to grow quickly so I think that's worth it but are tomato plants and chillies worthwhile or will they not grow now?

I'm in scotland and we are due a lot of rain and cloud this July.

I was really enjoying watching everything grow and tending to it sll do this had made me feel very sad. Any advice is gratefully received. Thank you.

Can you pick up any small tomato plants? Too late to start sowing tomatoes and growing from seed I think. If they weather is sunny you might have luck. Can you plant anything for a winter harvest?

Spinach grows quick too, I'd try that and radishes now, directly into the ground. You might have some success. Radishes about 3-4 weeks.

Sorry about your greenhouse, that must have been so disheartening. I think it is for those things- you could try buying plants but even then it's tight. But you could sow loads of biennials for flowers next year: sweet williams, sweet rocket, honesty, wallflowers, foxgloves. And in a couple of weeks sow spinach. Plant it all out in late September. All in trays, doesn't need to be in a greenhouse just somewhere out of the wind a bit!

If the tomatoes have snapped above a leaf rather than right at the base they should regrow. You won't get much fruit but there's still time for a couple of trusses.

Salads and things like pak choi grow fast - and are less likely to bolt if planted after midsummer.

And if you still have the tops of thr tomato plants, stick them.in the ground - they root very easily. I often find a stray side shoot or 2 that's hidden round the back of a plant and not been pinched off. I root them around this time of year and usually get an extra truss.

Tomatoes and peppers may shoot again if you have the roots and a bit of the stems left, hopefully a few leaf axils, with existing roots they should grow away quickly. The mice took off the tops of my chillies and they are growing well from the remainder. And as above side shoots from tomatoes root easily.

Are you going to rebuild the greenhouse to extend the season a bit? I guess in Scotland the season will be shorter, so might be a bit late. Garden centre clearance of plants that haven't sold?

Thank you very much everyone. I feel a wee bit more hopeful that I can still grow something.

The tomato plants snapped at the base. Spinach is a great idea, thank you.
This has made me realise I've so much to learn. I hadn't given next year a thought 😁

You could try courgettes in large pots - they grow very fast. Dwarf French beans in grow bags or pots may also have enough time to give you a crop...

So sorry this has happened to you! How upsetting!.
We just got a new allotment 3 weeks ago and have been clearing it so only just put up a polytunnel 3 days ago. I have been amazed at what I could get cheap to go in it. If you have them near you Homebase seem to bee selling off a lot of tomato plants- 3 for £1 - very pot bound but flowering. Also B+Q were selling off a lot of peppers and chillis much reduced and quite big plants.
doesn't recover all your hard work but gives you something to look forward to.

Start off things like kale, purple sprouting for the spring. Look at the Japanese vegetables which prefer being sown after midsummer.