What were you vegetable garden failures in 2008?

[micheal p]

and my runner did do a RUNNER down under .so this look out all bunnys  ......!!!!!! going to sleep there :D ;) :) :) :)

[micheal p]

[raisedbedted]

Aubergines - again, this time they got blight I think.

Celery - a stalk thicker than a drinking straw would be soo nice, then again I dont actually like Celery but its a battle ;D

[debster]

in the garden it was deffo my tomatoes total disaster only gonna grow 3 or 4 plants this year, however most of my other disasters came due to dampening off, lost lots of seedlings however pumpkins and squash over all did really well but lost all my butternut squash plants and they are what i love most

[Duke Ellington]

Parnips!!!

only got one decent long one all the rest were stumpy little with tendril roots !!

Duke >:(

[beckydore]

My butternut squashes disappeared under a mass of weeds. I had dug out the couch, put down pellets and protected them with netting (they were next to my peas) and either they died or the weeds overtook them.

On a positive front I was pleased with my strawberries, rocket, radishes, courgettes, pumpkins, sugar snap peas and will be planting those again.

[debster]

oh yeah i forgot parsnips  ???

[glow777]

squash did nothing this year except for  Queensland blue, tomatoes got off to a great start but didnt fruit well and then got blight. Parsnips bad but last few years they have been so good I may be hoping for too much.  Carrots got fly. A lot of bolted leeks but I grow too many so it wasnt a problem

Spuds, broad bens, peas & runners best Ive ever had

[gordonsveg]

 >:( >:( tomatos due to the ******** blight, just growing a few in the G/H this year.    ;D peppers were great though.

[gordonsveg]

P.S. HOPE YOU ALL HAD A NICE CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR>

[KathrynH]

No parsnips whatsoever. This year I'll do exactly the same though as they year before they were great - no explanation for that at all!

I think most of the "failures" were down to the lack of tme I was able to devote to the plot, despite my fantastic neighbours watering and generally looking afte things for me during the week. This year I will really try to devote a bit more time to it.

On a more positive note though, I'm still using stored onions and potatoes, have a freezer full of raspberries, black and red currants, broad and runner beans and if the ground wasn't so frozen I'l be digging up leeks.

[staris]

cabbages, i'm new to this and didn't know it was best to keep them netted catterpillers and pigeons ruined the lot  >:(

[calamityjayneuk]

I don't seem to be able to get the hang of squashes, but I'm going to keep trying! I reckon last summer's weather was mostly to blame.

My chillis weren't too good, but better than last year so must be doing something right. I think I will try one or two in the polytunnel this year.

Other than that I just seem to grow far too much of some things and not nearly enough of others. This year I want to grow too much of everything and put my river cottage preserve book to good use  ;D

[Mike J]

Parsnips, carrots, and beetroot all failed to germinate in one of my raised beds - two sowings. Not sure if it was the bed that was the problem, the weather conditions (they went in at approximately the right time), or the seeds.

There were other disappointments but those I can put down to 'poor management'!

Still, I'll try again this year - such is the mentality of the allotmenteer!

[organicandy]

ALL YEAR ROUND CAULIS, grew fantastic and then 2 rows blew within a week, never mind tho, they have made good compost lol

[valmarg]

Climbing french beans.  Didn't manage a decent salad Nicoise. ;D

valmarg

[les65]

tomatos due to the ******** blight here as well

[Susiebelle]

I've tried to grow aubergines  out doors now for 3 yrs, absolute rubbish! I get 1 or 2 fruit per plant but the 'molly coddling' (is that a real word?) I recon each fruit must have cost me a tenner :'(
But the one that surprises me is the butternut squash, This year I did get some fruit but then stupidly I left them out to long and the first frost hit them, so no good for storing, but I go through the motion of doing all the right things then the guy on the next plot bungs em in and forgets them and they do fabulous - jealous you bet!!!

[shirlton]

Onions leeks and garlic all succumbed to the dreaded moth. This year the are all growing under enviromesh. I won't be growing any outdoor tomatoes either cos just as they were looking great the blight got them again.

[cornykev]

I grew my toms in the back garden last year  :) as the year before was wiped out with blight. :'(         ;D ;D ;D

[hopalong]

Many of my toms were hit by blight too.  It was a terrible year for it, because of the damp weather I suppose. Some allotment friends escaped by spraying early with Bordeaux Mixture, so I thought I'd try that this year rather than giving up. Have others out there found this an effective remedy?