Topic: will growing in 2013 be worth it

[fish4card]

according to uk guardian  the weather is going to force people be better gardeners in my opinion.  the weather has been kick in teath for farmers and will make good harvest require alot work. since the farmers are having it tough. so food price will be high again if weather is bad again.
don't waste time in garden.
uk-farmers-face-disaster/ a prefect storm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/16/uk-farmers-face-disaster

[Obelixx]

Gardeners are, by definition, optimists so, evn though last year's crops were poor owing to the rain and lack of light, I'll be giving it a go again this year but being more careful about seed sowing times and spacings and weeding so they get the best possible start and care to help them produce a crop.   If nothing else, rows and blocks of veggies and salads are easier on teh eye and mind than just giving up and letting the weeds take over..

[Ellen K]

< Best Yoda voice>

A drive-by post this is ...

< /Yoda>

[steve1967]

Always look on the bright side. My glass is half FULL  This is typical media doom and gloom to fill the pages. I am looking forward to what I think will be a good season just a little later getting going 

[Hi_Hoe]

Well, that link made for some depressing reading!!

Im sure that most of us will have learnt lessons from last year and I for one am adjusting my growing accordingly. I really feel for the farmers and to have whatever crops they managed to harvest be labelled as not being of 'sufficient quality' must bee a real kick in the teeth. At least they're trying! Whats the alternative? Give up agriculture and import everything we consume from abroad? Not an option. Any money donated by charity to the farmers welfare groups must surely be appreciated, but the figures involved are a drop in the ocean. What this country needs is a major overhaul of the farming industry and more investment - we could take al the money from those that dont work and give it to those that do!!

Of course that doesnt compensate for the weather but more investment could mean better land drainage, things grown under large glasshouses etc.

Anyways, fingers crossed for nicer weather to come!!

[Squash64]

When we had a lovely hot summer a few years ago I had a bumper
crop of butternuts.  I've planted them every year since and have been
lucky to get one or two, and sometimes none, per plant.  It still doesn't
stop me from being optimistic that this year will be perfect.

Another Glass Half Full person here!

[goodlife]

OH YES IT WILL BE!  Even in bad summer something will flourish and we just have to settle to that and be happy.
My biggest 'knock out' last year was the lack of tree fruits. I really don't mind that much of lack of veg if only my fruit intake is secured..my precious fruits...
If the I cannot grow all the veg..there is plenty of weeds that can be cooked if it all gets that desperate. But nothing compensate fruit and berries....other than expensive trip to supermarket..

[manicscousers]

In this part of the country, it'll be a necessity 
But, we always get something and it always tastes better than shop bought

[Dandytown]

I guess us growers need to adapt.  Change crops, change varieties or change conditions (e.g  grow under cover etc).

The year you give up is the year the weather will be perfect. 

I had a blowout year in 2012 with 1000 sq foot wasted on two pumpkin plants that produced only salad and no fruit.

I'm hoping for better weather this year but who knows if i'll try again in 2014 if the same happens again?

[antipodes]

hi all! back online a bit!
the spring here is horrid! wet and cold, but my alliums are in, the early spuds too, and have sowd radish, mizuna, lettuce and spring turnips. They are hard to kill!!!! 
Let's be optimistic in this world of pessimism!

[goodlife]

hi all! back online a bit!
the spring here is horrid! wet and cold, but my alliums are in, the early spuds too, and have sowd radish, mizuna, lettuce and spring turnips. They are hard to kill!!!! 
Let's be optimistic in this world of pessimism!

 

[Nigel B]

This will be the best year yet.

[manicscousers]

Start of the best season ever 

[strawberry1]

I planted accordingly last year and had a good harvest which we are still eating now. I do get piers corbyn`s weather forecast and we are likely in for the same for years to come, being at the start of a little ice age. Imo the fancy veg have to go and basics need to come back. My first early spuds are chitting and will be out and prepped for the freezer well before getting blighted or bogged down in water sodden ground. I am giving my veg more individual space and will feed them well, then they will come in and be preserved for winter as soon as they are ready. It won`t just be the weather but slugs will decimate crops more than last year. Local farmer had a disasterous sweetcorn crop and I see he has now ploughed and laid to grass, a canny move I believe. The fields behind me are normally a lush green by now, winter wheat but I cannot even see the green haze.

My hardening leeks just got well and truly battered by massive hailstones and I doubt they will recover, I will make another sowing of seeds that I have left from last year  and then I will have to battle the moth and rust,  Sigh, it just isn`t like it used to be

[BarriedaleNick]

Yes it will! It always is and it always will be.
I am not a farmer and I love my plot for more reasons than what it produces in a given year.  Sure it gets a bit depressing but there is always a chat and a laugh with my fellow growers and there are always new techniques to learn and new varieties to grow.

No-one knows what the weather has in store for us but I'm looking forward to a bumper year..

[Plot69]

I guess us growers need to adapt.  Change crops, change varieties or change conditions

I fully agree, this year I'm growing rice 

[Bing]

[green lily]

Well back to basics it is. Dig for victory etc... I intend to stubbornly continue my tradition of not buying food during Lent which roughly translates as 'hungry gap'. It must be stashed away from the previous harvest to see me through.. Lent will be later next year so I'd better hatch a cunning plan to have plenty despite the weather. Mind you this years winter/spring caulies are a bit behind so perhaps I need to up my soil fertility or try another type. Still have leeks, psb, kale and onions and I'm going to pick the first rhubarb tomorrow  :blob7:woopie first 'fruit' of the season

[davyw1]

Sat in the cabin yesterday five of us trying to keep warm and looking out over the North Sea, just looking at it reduced the temperature. Some one said "wonder when the house martins will arrive this year" "couple of month after the Penguins" was the reply.

[chriscross1966]

Well I've still got a couple of shallots left from last year, the last potatoes went last week as did the last of the fresh tomatoes, but there are still any number of portions of frozen mash I made months ago along with a big pile of frozen PFA chips.... and broad, shelled french and green french beans, some peas,  plenty of sweetcorn, chillis, frozen tomnatoes, peppers and I'll strip the brussels down this weekend cook and freeze off for bubble adn squeak... af which there is also a frozen pile from the autumn.... SO this year the only exotic I'm relying on outdoors is sweetcorn... there will be peppers and outdoor tomatoes, but I expect the bulk of them to be provided by the greenhouse (it's a biggie and I'm single).... I'll try to grow more peas and green beans, and if I can get slightly higher productivity out of the shelling french beans they should last me a year... cabbages, kohl rabi, onions... all should grow come what may, ditto salads, I tend to grow them in troughs... if the weather looks bad they go under cover, if it's good then on the patio...