My Tiny PlotClearing Out the Strawberries
It’s time to say goodbye to the Strawberries. The rain killed the harvest and all I could do was watch as they rotted or were eaten away by slugs. The sunny weather has meant that the last few ripened well but you can’t fix what is already broken and I spent some time clearing out the debris from underneath the plants. Looking strangely colourful in the sunlight it really was just a pulpy mess.
There’s something very sad about seeing what should be a bountiful and beautiful harvest ruined. And I feel for the fruit farmers too. Our local pick-your-own farm has been closed for the last month. Their website just says ‘crop failed’, which says it all.
This year has maybe not been the best for me to try and grow my own of anything! My carrots and lettuce never made much of an effort, but I am proud of my dwarf beans, although I’ve not tasted them yet! My parsnips are growing strong and I’m hoping to get some good ones – if I can stop the cat from watering them himself!
I can completely sympathise – my strawberry harvest has been blighted by both rabbits and slugs. I think I’ve picked the sum total of two edible strawberries. Somewhat depressingly, my tomatoes look to be heading the same way.
I’m turning my attention to cabbages and the like now in a bid to have *something* to pick this year!
Well, I guess (my) misery likes company. My strawberries did the same, slug consumed and a rotten mush. My carrots were sparse, slugs levelled my peas, some beans and the majority of my squash. Even my beans have blackfly. Tomatoes are still flowering, looks like another green tomato chutney (thanks mtp for a great recipe!).
Holding out for my apples and rocket, the only things that seem to overcome this all! And there are always winter veg…
My strawberries were a disaster also. This year has been strange for me because a lot of the things I’ve had a lot of success with before are proving disastrous (strawberries, runner beans, courgettes, spring onions, and so on…). However my carrots and peppers – the two things I have never grown successfully in the past – seemed to have actually liked the weather this year and have given me a really good crop. Weird.
It has been a wash out summer all round!
I hear ya sister. Mushy, gross, slug infested and fly ridden strawberries have been my lot as well. Some minor consolation are the numbers and health of the runners being shot out like sillystring from every plant. I’m taking no chances for next year and potting them all up in a bid for forced strawbs next spring and a few in the greehouse in large pots as insurance for the main season. The pine berry and pink and red flowred plant have also been generous, giving me enough to give away to fellow oddity admirers.
I think I must have been lucky as I had a fabulous crop which are sitting in my freezer until I get round to making jam…though I do wonder how many I would have got as alot were also eaten by slug and snails.
It has been a dreadful year for growing fruit and veg her in the UK and I really feel for people who are just starting out on a ‘grow your own’ quest, as alot of them haven’t got the experience to know that next year is another year and can’t be any worse
Younger leaves tend to be more bitter than older leaves. The weather may well have something to do with it, as could your soil. It’s hard to tell, but for any bitter leaves I tend to soak in very salty water for half an hour, rinse several times and then cook. This tends to temper the bitterness.
We have had a lot of slugs which has caused havoc in our garden this year.
I believe the slug infestation was mentioned on the news and they originate from Spain.