This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Thursday 19 July 2012

Slow Growing compared to last year

This year my veg is very slow growing, and it's definitely behind in comparison to last year. This time last year I was harvesting salad leaves, tomatoes, radish and spring onion. Left: Last Summer, photo taken 13 July 2011, I was making up my own salads from items grown from seed in the garden. 

This year I've only a few salad leaves ready to harvest. My spring onion is still tiny; my radishes have bolted and much of my salad didn't germinate. However, I've lots of tomatoes forming and they should be ready to eat in the next few weeks. 
Last year (photo taken 10th July 2011) I was complaining about slug damage to my courgettes and blossom rot. This year I've haven't even managed to grow a courgette fruit yet!
Above and Below: This year's courgettes - most aren't flowering and the ones that are flowering haven't managed to produce any fruits.
But there's good news - I've harvested one (yes just one) Squash (Patty Pan White) so far this Summer. It was delicious - even if it was small.
Seed sown indoor 8 April 2012; planted into tub outside 17 June 2012. Yield: 1 squash in July.
Fingers crossed more harvests to come!
Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

12 comments:

  1. Hi Kelli, I've been watching the weather in your area and am quite in shock of what a cool season you are having. I hope summer will kick in for you soon so that you can enjoy a hearty harvest. Cheers, Jenni

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  2. Hi Kelli,same story down here but the next few days promise some improvement but it may be too little too late for a lot of crops.Our lettuce is under a cloche and is coming on, we usually put in 2 courgettes which is more than enough but have now put in aobut 6 and they are the same as yours!

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  3. I love patty pan squash because they look like little UFO's. :o) Parts of the US are having the worst drought in 55 years. I wish there was some balance to all of this crazy weather. Fingers crossed you'll have some warm, dry weather soon.

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  4. We really need summer to start and go on until about October don't we?

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  5. I'm having trouble too - slug damage on the courgettes and cucumbers and the patty pan are falling off as soon as they develop.

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  6. I think it's the same everywhere in the UK this year, everything is growing so slowly because of the weather.

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  7. We could make up a good salad at the minute provided you don't mind a lot of lettuce as we've got nothing else for the salad bowl except some bolted radishes.

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  8. I am sorry that you are having such trouble with the weather. Here in the states it is so dry! Even my friends up in New England are talking about how dry it is. Wishing some bright sunny days your way!

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  9. Same problem here in Fleet. If you've had at least one Patty Pan squash you have done better than me. My Lebanese cucumbers are picking up though, so all is not lost.

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  10. Kelli, saw your gardening article in an online magazine. Wonderful! Your followers can see it at http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/index.gspx or at http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/5115/the-art-of-gardening

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  11. Here in Yorkshire, we're growing even slower. My tomatoes are in flower, but no fruit yet. I too was harvesting at this time last year.

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  12. so glad to see its not just me! My tomatoes are flowering like crazy.. but at 19 of august I only have 2 fruits. I've harvested 5 courgettes so far but I think the slugs have worked out how to knock off the baby pumpkins off the vines! I'm vegan so don't have the heart to kill the buggers... but next year I'll be planting in a mint moat to see if that keeps them away!

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