Losing the plot...

[Strawberrygirl]

I think i am coming to the conclusion that i don't have green fingers and that maybe i should give up growing veg and putting it all down to a bad experience....
Second year, we have new soil/compost supplied by Council (which was sodden in Feb so dug in hay and a bit of sharp sand). It dried up nicely and so over the past couple of months planted spuds, b/beans, onions, carrots, turnip, cabbage, silverbeat, spinach direct and seeds in mini greenhouse.  Well, over the past week neighbouring plots look amazing, all their seeds coming through thick and lush - mine look cr*p !!! Spuds doing ok but nothing else is.  Strawberry leaves brown and no growth since putting them in 3 wks back, seedlings pittiful, onions looking pale limp, and even the 4 healthy cobs and 4 healthy squash that i planted out a few weeks ago have done nothing (the ones still in the g/house looking very healthy and growing well). So i really don't know what to do now. We have dug in well rotted manure so we assume the nutrients are there.  I havent over-watered but maybe have under-watered? 
OH now seems to think we need to get soil tested for the right kind of fertilizer but really don't want to spend more money, it's getting ridiculous.  Other plots with same soil all doing well so what am I doing wrong??
All advice welcome from a very depressed Strawberrygirl  :'(

[Strawberrygirl]

[gypsy]

Please don't give up! Try to think of it as an experiment, with lots of seed trials till you find the best variety for your soil and location. You can find out a lot from other allotment holders who have already tried lots of varieties and methods.

But... the above methods are also subject to weather variations, pests and diseases, etc. It will all seem too complicated at first, but in a few years you will be giving advice to new gardeners. Oh, and try to make notes. After 30 years gardening I have beans with no labels, maybe dwarf, maybe climbing. May not be beans at all. We all make the odd mistake.

[cleo]

Next year I will get it right-been saying that since 1977. Now I blame older bones

[cambourne7]

If i was in the position to still have an allotment but not want to grow veg I would turn it to fruit i would plant it up with fruiting trees and plant some fruiting scrubs in part sunk recycling boxes from the council (damaged ones) i would cover the whole thing in weed membrane and wood chip and leave it to nature.

But the rest of the guys are right dont give up !!

Have you checked the PH level of the soil? If you think its a nutrient issue why not go now the chicken poop road a big tub is not going to set you back loads and you can i believe also make it into a liquid feed which might be a quicker fix.

http://www.notcutts.co.uk/Earth-Matters-Organic-Chicken-Manure-Pellets-7Kg/pid-00241099?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shoppingfeed

Other question was the other plots doing well do they have this new soil/compost?

[1066]

definitely don't give up!
I'm not sure where you are, but it has been one of the driest Spring's on record, I've been battling the lack of rain on my plot, and things are being incredibly slow, I've never had to water in April before. And never lost broad beans to the lack of water!

re the squash and corn, I think its a bit early for them to go outside, the ones in your greenhouse sound happier because they are warmer

And Gypsy's advice about finding out what other plotholders are growing is a great idea

1066

[Amazingrotavator(Derby)]

Just a thought. Did you harden off the plants when you took the out the greenhouse?We always harden off for a week or two. There was a frost not long back so that would knock them back. Plant out with a bit of blood,fish and bone to give them a good start. Don't give up. If at first you don't succeed try and try again. Good luck.

[cambourne7]

Another though if its nutrition you think your lacking as you clear parts of your allotment for the year dig in some manure and then cover it will break down over the winter and you should have better soil the year after?

[Ellen K]

I've been going only a couple of years and here is what I think:  You need to dig and weed like crazy and embark on a massive soil improvement programme especially if you are trying to bring a previously unloved plot back to life.  And also, you might find that your neighbours have failures too.  Where I am, even some of the Vets who are top gardeners have failures and far more than they deserve.

Also, it is still quite early in the growing year and depending on when you planted, things might not have taken off yet.

May I ask: is your name Christine?  Your username makes me think of the Souxsie and the Banshees song.

[Jeannine]

Please don't give up and don't be in a hurry to compare yourself to the plot holders around you.Nobody is born with a flair for veggie gardening, it comes from the heart and from experience. All those plot holders around you have been exactly where you are now
.
Your squash was definately put out too early, it is shivering in the cold and cannot come on, but you have learned a valuable lesson by putting it out too soon.Next year you will know not to do so early.

The fact that you are keen to learn will get you there if you give yourself a bit of time.

Perhaps if you looked at your plot as chapters and take one at a time, get that one right then move on to the next one.

So, lets take a look at the weather, too cold for squash as above, but OK for some of the things you have, take your strawberries, it has been very hot over there I understand could it be the heat combined with insufficient water that has turned them brown. The other thing about strawberries is they have very shallow roots so when planting don't bury the crown part, planting them too deep would make them unhappy.

Your spuds are doing fine, so something s going good. I think you are being too hard on yourself.

Did the other plotholders around you use the same stuff from the council?

I give you my word it will all come together eventually, if you really want to get it you will, don't give up

I would ask the locals for help too, they know the area and growing conditions and folks are usually happy to help.

I could have you in tears with laughing at some of the boo boos I have made in the garden.Like the garlic that I planted upside down and 6 inches deep.Or the carrot bed that I stuffed with manure.Have you ever seen hairy carrotts.

I even had a delivery of hot steaming manure in the early years and immediately put it all over my garden and then planted straight in it.

With squash I once carefully reared about 40 plants in a heated greenhouse, then one sunny day I planted them all out. I never thought that a sunny day in early March might be a problem. I learned that squash don't like frost the hard way.

Or the tomatoes that I took all the leaves off because I misread the book that said to remove some of the lower leaves.

No don't give up, if your heart is in it you will be just fine..trust me!! We have all been there.

Good Luck

XX Jeannine

[cambourne7]

Jeannine you always make me smile :)

[Strawberrygirl]

Thank you ALL for all your encouragement, advice, and laughs (Jeannine lol).  Seems that maybe i am too keen and still have a lot to learn.  In answer to your questions though..

1. Neighbours have the same soil and they have only been on the site 6 wks!!! Polish family, Mum doesnt speak English but asked via her daughter if she could show me how to plant my strawberries (crowns above the soil).  Their's look wonderful. I need to learn Polish!
2. No i did not harden my plants before transferring from the g/house - silly me - last yr i grew them all outside so they didn't need hardening.  A valuable lesson, thank you Amazingrotavator  :)
3. We live in South London so it's been very dry and warm so maybe i do need to water more

We will test the PH level and get some chicken poo and TAKE OUR TIME lol - trouble is we are new to this game and possible a bit impatient - need to slow down, and stop comparing!

Cheers everyone  :D

p.s.  no not Christine lol

[pigeonseed]

Hi strawberry girl - glad some of the mystery has been taken out of it! Needless to say I've had (and have) my failures too. Without that risk, there'd be less fun in it, it'd be pure mindless work.

There's time to add more crops, so you have a sense of achievement:
French beans grow fast, especially dwarf ones.
Beetroot seems reliable and easy
My neighbour started squash off around early May last year, I thought he was mad, he only planted them out in July, but by the end of summer he had loads of squash!
Purple sprouting brocolli, to plant out in July, and eat next spring
lettuce (if your garden soil is not too light and dusty)

Well, it's early enough there are still a lot of things you could sow now. But I thought those ones are quite easy (though even easy crops can go wrong - I can't grow radishes anymore to save my life!)

Here's to the summer!  8)

[Jeannine]

Don't worry about planting late.Where I am now the rain has been so bad for months we have ducks swimming on our plots. I am definately not going to get somethings in but am still hopeful for lots.

For your sqush, avoid the lond season ones, keep to the shorter ones and courgettes, still lots of time for those. Courgettes and all summer squash usually have half the maturity date of many of the winter squash. Some of the winter squah can tale 120 days afyer transplantingn so they are always a gamble.

Table Queen Acorn is about as early as winter squash come and is a good choice for a new gardener.Festival is just about 10 days llonger but still quite early.

Made me laugh to make you laugh, I needed that today.

Bad day, still stuck in bed,meds letting me down..as are my legs today.. Nuff said, twill pass!!

XXJeannine

[antipodes]

It is only now in my 4th year of gardening that I am starting to get some things right!
yes you are too early for squash, try direct sowing some now, with a plastic bottle as a cloche over the top of it, you will see it will come up in a few days and then it grows really fast.
You said "A few weeks ago" - the timing somehow seems wrong to me. I think you might do better with some more sowings now.
Cabbage should be sown in a small protected patch then planted out.
carrots are always hit and miss, this is the first time i have had any germinate and that was because I covered them with fleece and watered 3 times a week.
Now is the time to sow French beans, parsnips, beetroot. You might be surprised as now they will come up pretty quickly. But you need to water a lot! Onions, sounds like they are lacking water. It's pretty hard to overwater when you are actually watering outdoors. A good soak at least twice a week would have been the minimum.
Strawberries... they often do better if planted out either in autumn or in really early spring, even though it seems too cold for us! Plant them out dormant and they will soon come up! If they don't work this year, get some bare root ones and plant them in October.

It is easy to get disheartened, the first year I made so many mistakes but now I am starting to get the hang of it. In this first year don't forget to plant perennial things like herbs, rhubarb etc, then next spring you will be rewarded with the new growth which is always a boost to your morale!

I have now heavily manured over winter for 2 years straight and only now am I seeing a real improvement in soil. SO look at this year as a preparation and just be grateful for any crops you do get. Keep putting organic matter in, make your own compost, get in manure at the end of the summer, and you will see a noticeable improvement in the soil next year.
Good luck!

[Strawberrygirl]

Thanks for all the support - what a great bunch you all are  :)

Seems i have made loads of mistakes lol but I will learn.  I suppose i thought once we had weed free soil and loads of compost then away we go and everything will grow, how silly am i!  I am going to take it slow, take your advice and learn to plant at the right time.  Watch this space.....

Jeannine - hope you are ok and get better soon x

[Digeroo]

Strawberries seem to vary depending on where you buy them.  Ken Muir have frozen ones still available and their plants go off like a rocket. 

I agree with everyone else, we all have failures, dust yourself off and try again.  I started with the veg expert book.   Ask other people on your site I am sure they will help. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegetable-Herb-Expert-Dr-Hessayon/dp/0903505460

If you go to amazon through the shop tab at the top of the page Dan gets a small divi which helps run this site.

[shirlton]

We all make mistakes even after years of gardening. You will never know all there is to know about growing stuff but you will learn from your mistakes.Some years you can put stuff our early and get away with it sometimes not. Just experiment and above all enjoy what you are doing.
Welcome to A4A.

[lincsyokel2]

Strawberries seem to vary depending on where you buy them.  Ken Muir have frozen ones still available and their plants go off like a rocket. 

I agree with everyone else, we all have failures, dust yourself off and try again.  I started with the veg expert book.   Ask other people on your site I am sure they will help. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegetable-Herb-Expert-Dr-Hessayon/dp/0903505460

If you go to amazon through the shop tab at the top of the page Dan gets a small divi which helps run this site.

Ive never seen the point of buying strawberry plants, because at the price they go for (and I haven't seen them for less than £1 a plant, you will never get a quids worth of strawberries off one. So the only way is to grow them from seed, which ive tried and it seems to be fiendishly hard to do, i cant get them past the four leaf stage and they die :(

[timnsal]

Ive never seen the point of buying strawberry plants, because at the price they go for (and I haven't seen them for less than £1 a plant, you will never get a quids worth of strawberries off one. So the only way is to grow them from seed, which ive tried and it seems to be fiendishly hard to do, i cant get them past the four leaf stage and they die :(

Strawberry plants spread really quickly though. You may not get a quid's worth off a plant in its first year, but once the runners start rooting, it won't take long to get far more! Never tried growing them from seed as plants are so easy.

Sally

[powerspade]

I`ve been growing veg since I was 11 yrs old and I`m still learning, take your time DONT PANIC . Get a good book
My local barber is 94 yrs old he`s been a lottie for 82 yrs He always say`s you`ll stop learning new things when they nail the coffin lid on.