My Tiny PlotEnough Rain Already!
Okay – that’s enough rain now. No really, it’s starting to get tedious. I mean day after day after day after… it really is too much. On our visit to Heligan (Lost Gardens of) last weekend (in the rain, obviously) I happily scoffed at the so-called experts’ shallots which were nothing more than rotting, soggy mounds (as illustrated in the photo). But lo, I visited mtp this weekend and to my horror I was confronted with the same sight. So, I’m not more clever than the wizened gardeners at ‘H’ after all. Rats! And my shallots last year were so beautiful too. As a gardener I guess you have to get used to the game of roulette we call the weather. It can make or break you, it can certainly make or break your harvest. Recently, I’ve been researching which varieties of apple trees to buy for my new garden and I like what Monty has to say about that, which really can be applied to anything, “There will always be good crops and bad crops. Scab, bitterpit, moths, wasps and earwigs will all have their day. I don’t see it as a war to be waged against nature. Even the bad years will be good enough.” So I guess I’ll just put up with the rain and accept that my shallots will be rubbish this year – who knows, maybe something else will love this ‘swamp-like’ climate and shine through!
Hi ya…
We are having exactly the same problem in Norwich! Out Garlic, Shallots, Onions are all suffering at the hands of this constant drizzle, however I guess there is always a silver lining to these ever-constant rainclouds – our potatoes are absolutely loving it – as well as our squashes, cucumbers, courgettes and pumpkins. You win some, you lose some – however, losing our garlics was pretty hard going (they are one of my favorite crops) :( Good luck and here’s to sunny days!
Ben x
Oh! Send it to Florida. We are dry as bone! It is to the point where I’m hoping for a nice soggy tropical storm to hang over us for a few days. Good luck on the rest of your garden!
Oh how disappointing. :( I hope that you get some good warm sunshine from here on out to encourage those plants to grow!
OR
You could plant rice.
Hi, about apples… I live out on the Cambridgeshire Fens and our village used to have acres of old orchards, most of which have been grubbed up. My garden still has several different varieties of apples, most of which are ancient but still excellent. The village conservation group decided to create a community orchard, apples, pears and plums on land which the local council have rented to the village for 99 yrs at reasonable fee. Defra were very supportive, they helped us research the history of what type of apples were grown locally and went further by supporting us in planning and planting the orchard. You’ll be spoiled for choice for varieties in the west counties though my favorite is the Worcester P., our tree is always picked clean each year, nothing left for cider or the birds.
Same here with our shallots. Measly little things, but edible at least!
I sympathize! There is always something that doesn’t like the weather be it too hot or to dry or too wet. The raspberries, beans and rhubarb are loving it! Each year I try to take a chance with something exotic to see if it will grow. If it doesn’t then I didn’t really expect it to! If it does.. it’s a miracle! You can’t lose either way! Does that help?
My shallots are actually looking really good this year so far (hope I’m not tempting fate!), last uyear they were tiny. My garlic has suffered though with white rot so I think I’ll be freezing it rather than risking storing it.
I agree with everyone on ‘you win some, you lose some’, it would get pretty boring if everything was a success each year, this way I think we get to tune in better to nature and our plants.
My shallots are looking good too, huge great things. Potatoes, huge (too huge!).Broad beans, pounds and pounds of. But raspberries, battered. peas, loads but not swelling. Sweet peas, all green and no flower. Carrots (those not grubbed up by badgers)puny.
It’s just one of those years. At least we don’t have to spend hours watering.