Sun please.......

[lesleylove Profile]

My broadbeans have been loaded with flowers for 4 weeks now - but they are rotting due to too much rain and not enough sun so we won't get any this year. Nor tomatoes - though I do have a couple of plants still in the cold frame - nor peas and will be very VERY lucky if we get runner beans. What a totally miserable summer! The spuds are enjoying the rain though.

[Joanbunting Profile]

It does seem unfair - no pun intended!

We have had lovely gentle rain for the last 36 hours and the tomatoes are just loving it. Now the sun is coming out so I can see the preserving pan coming out this week for the first batch fo tomato sauce.

[Limaoemportuguese Profile]

Sorry Lesleylove,

podded and frozen down at least 30lbs of broad beans(called Fava beans here)our time for them is March/April, the toms are turning a lovely shade of red, hence a message on another thread, I will be busy making tom soup this weekend.

[lesleylove Profile]

My broad beans are coming through and I now have about 10 tiny green tomatoes! Am excited! The courgettes in the cold frame are coming along a treat too. Will probably get about 12 plants off them. But still need more sun and some heat! 9 degrees for July is just NOT good enough

[Luiska Profile]

I really didn't choose a good year for my first one of gardening in Suffolk after decades of dealing with the short but very sunny Finnish summer. 20 plus tomato plants are happily exhibiting flowers but not so much as a pea-sized fruit; broad beans have produced a decent showing on the lower parts (a few meals, no more) but no new flowers on the top 30 cm; meagre showing on the wide climbing beans (what are they called in England?); zucchini flowers very pretty but dropping off unfertilised; basil and coriander turning yellow in despair and damp - and so on. Must say, though - as I planted veg instead of annuals in my new beds - it's all very pretty and green

[Joanbunting Profile]

Hi and welcome back,

S-I-L in Derbyshire and a very keen gardener has almost given up hope of any fruit or veg this year. She said even the goosegogs have given up the ghost.

We are more worried about running out of water than having too much, especially as over the last few days we have had quite strong winds that dry everything out really quickly. Still thanks to the well and M's ministrations we have the best crop of tomatoes and aubergines ever - see the heritage tomato thread on Food Chat.

Incidentally why don't you use the courgette flowers - they are really nice stuffed and steamed or battered and deep fried.

[lesleylove Profile]

Well, here is an update. Harvested our first early spuds. OK - small but not much flavour. Will do the seconds this weekend. And after all that worry, we have had broad beans the last 2 Sundays and lovely carrots! Peas - they are actually coming out now too though it won't be a massive harvest. Green beans - lots and lots of flowers. Fingers crossed they will come to something. Toms - lots and lots of very small green fruit so might just pick and put in paper bags to ripen. And courgettes - I had lots of flowers but they just seem to be falling off. Perhaps I only have female or male plants? So not as disastrous as I had thought and loving having home grown veggies to eat!