One think that is doing well on my lottie are raspberries. I picked some at the weekend, but they don't seem as sweet as usual...I'm assuming it's the lack of sun?
The same for some toms ( gardeners delight) I'm growing in the conservatory. Ripe, but not much flavour.
Anyone else having problems?
I'm going to nip up the lottie today, and see what the slugs have done/ blight has got/ onions have rotted ::)
...wish me luck.
There is lack of taste with raspberries this year..and its all due for lack of sun and lots of water. Sugars won'r develop same with lack of sun and such a lot of water available will cause berries to be well hydrated and dilute the little bit of sugars that are in.. ::)
Same with strawberries I am finding
It's not just plants. It's us too. The poor summer last year left 80% of Belgians short on vitamin D and that leads to problems with bones amongst other things.
It'll be even worse this year so when the sun does shine, get some skin on display.
my blackberries aren`t at all sweet either.
Re vit D, I did 6 monthly blood tests on a scientific research programme. I started at 28 before supplementation and am now at a steady 50, the number to aim for is between 40 and 60. I usually reduce dosage for summer but not this year. To get enough from skin, you need full body exposure, not just arms and legs. D3 is the one, cholicalciferol
I did start off some toms, but I don't think I'll bother planting those out. I'll try the brassicas as they have all autumn to come good.
It's a good year for clipping hedges and moving bushes though. I feel a bit of a garden re-design coming on. ;D
My raspberries this year haven't been too bad taste wise.
The sun over the last few days has helped them out.
However, a neighbours raspberries have virtually no taste, and are quite swollen, probably from the excess water we've had.
Lets hope the sun comes out more over the next few months ::)
Quote from: Obbelix on July 11, 2012, 13:27:17
It's not just plants. It's us too. The poor summer last year left 80% of Belgians short on vitamin D and that leads to problems with bones amongst other things.
It'll be even worse this year so when the sun does shine, get some skin on display.
It's getting so bad that I'm really thinking about replacing our living room UV bulb now, instead of in autumn. OH takes SAD quite bad and she's been cranky, complaining and tetchy of late.
I suffer from SAD & have put my daylight bulbs in most rooms this week & also started to take my Vitamin D supplements that I usually don't take until November. So this time I will be taking them for 9 months instead of the usual 3.
I have felt the awful symptoms of SAD creeping up on me, lack of concentration, grumpiness, finding it so very hard to get up & wake up properly on dark grey wet mornings etc etc.
I do have a light box but hope not to have to use it until the actual Winter is here.
xJane
You beat me to it. My raspberries are very tasteless. We had a lovely day Thursday last week and a couple of days later they tasted much better.
But this week very dull dull dull. Nice yesterday morning but it was not enough and it has been very very wet.
Not a sun thing here but I've noticed that canes which are fruiting for the first time here are producing much fuller and tastier raspberries than ones from previous years which were cut back in Winter - these are cuttings or transplanted strays from the original.