The even newer good, bad and ugly of growing your own in 2021!

-taff

I meant to say, I got a tree spinach seedling from someone that can be used as spinach, green leaves, pink shoots, and hasn't bolted yet. Apparently, once you have one and it flowers, you won't lack in the future...

Suffolk_lass

I'm freezing bags of chopped courgettes ready to use them in the winter for soups and stews. It is still courgette-a-geddon here with three a day off two plants and multiple growing shoots (never had that) on the same plant.All the broadbean seeds are peeled and frozen for the same. I 25k sack of potatoes in the larder and three strings of onions hanging outside, with two large bags of chopped prepped onions are in the freezer.

Disasters this year - the mice eat all the sweetcorn, runner bean and broad bean seeds, then munched all the cucumbers and other squashes. Tomatoes are far less productive than last year. 1 lovely cucumber plant in the greenhouse is producing 2-3 small cucumbers a week, while the outdoor ones are later and just starting. Blauhilde beans, runners (2nd lot), borlottis all eaten by pigeons and snails while small, and like all of you, spinach instantly went from seedling to seed. Dwarf French beans all came together in one go and gone. No fruits on my butternut squash and the crown prince pumpkin needs more space. The pigeons have stripped the blackcurrants and gooseberries that were not yet ripe. Victoria Plums and apples look nice but not ready yet. Strawberries were tasty but not enough and same with Raspberries. 

A good year for blackcurrants, rhubarb and gooseberries, but all done now. Must check re layering and moving and pruning advice for fruit bushes.

greenbee

After last year, I invested in netting - strawberries are producing very, very slowly, and the blackcurrant was moved from the middle of the raspberries - but the birds aren't getting any The summer raspberries are doing fantastically - they LOVE the rain. Autumn raspberries are just thinking of getting going (last year the summer ones did SFA and the autumn ones started early). 

A few courgettes - not as many as the rest of you! Dwarf french beans have steadfastly ignored the supports and draped themselves everywhere, but there are beans if I can find them. First lot of broad beans did well, second lot are thinking about it. Mangetout have likewise ignored the support but I've had a couple of handfuls, climbing beans and peas are getting going and very pretty. 

Spinach has been successful - rejected seedlings from my nephew's school project (he hates spinach, his parents don't do gardening...) have given me a couple of meals. Some radishes and lettuces have worked, some haven't. I need to check fennel, carrots and beetroot. Kohl rabi has once again not formed bulbs, but the leaves will be useful. Chard keeps bolting, but is edible. Cavolo nero has a few holes (despite being netted, but then I had to remove a butterfly not long ago, but seems to be doing ok. 

Tomatoes have been slow to get going, and are finally starting to turn. Some don't seem to have set fruit. Peppers are starting to form, but aubergines, while flowering prolifically seem to then go mouldy. Padron peppers doing well indoors, chillies of various kinds look like they might do OK. 

Rhubarb I though was dead (new crowns this year) has finally got going so should do OK next year. 

I have ONE apple, and the plum has died. Quinces did nothing and then got virus. 

droopsnoot

My peppers planted from the seeds found inside an Asda red pepper seem to be doing quite well, with five or six plants with a pepper on them, two of which are starting to turn red. I only seem to get one pepper on each plant, not sure if that's all I should expect. Also I suspect I may be over-watering them, but some seem to appreciate more water than others.

greenbee

The tomatoes have succumbed to blight, so I'm busy making green tomato sauce to freeze. I did make a cake with the first lot, which was nice, but not the most sensible use of them!

carinjo

@greenbee your post came at just the right time, got blight in half the tomato pots at home, so can go on a rescue mission. 
Not much been done since my last post, so the next time i go to allotment i am expecting a jungle! Am waiting for a couple of sunny days in a row to get the potatoes out of the ground and get it ready for flower bulbs.
@-taff, would love to do a pollytunnel for the tomatoes, but will have to wait till can afford one. I am looking out for anyone upgrading their system or getting rid of things (neighbour is building a new conservatory, might be able to make a cold frame with some of the stuff)

Suffolk_lass

@carinjo -keep your eyes open for the middle aisle garden stuff as we picked up a lovely cold frame for not much this year.

Still getting 4-6 courgettes every two days. Got a large leg of lamb out of the freezer to give me more space to "tetris" the bags in there by flattening them into the air pockets. 

Honey harvest today. I want us to get the frames back on the hives this week so the bees can clean the rest and pack it away fro themselves

greenbee

@carinjo - there are lots of green tomato recipes out there if you start looking, but the sauce seemed the most useful. It's in the freezer for use as a base for other things. 

As far as cold frames go, I've made them out of old windows in the past - my mum had a greenhouse made of old windows once! So  make sure neighbours know that you're interested. I've currently got two external doors to get rid of, both of which have glass panels, but recycling isn't really that popular round here for some reason. 

Suffolk_lass

Picked loads of Victoria Plums and am giving some away to our neighbour with a conference pear tree that she shared the bounty of last autumn. I think I will offer a couple of squashes too, although she is off away on hold next week.

We also foraged some blackberries and greengages from the edges of the fields we walk (there are also masses of sloes but we don't drink enough gin  ). Tromboncino are doing well too

Got raspberries too, but we don't share these as they are a favourite...

carinjo

Potatoes harvested, still got 1/2 row to go. Some tomatoes (can't believe some survived!), runnerbeans and courgette. Had to harvest 2 butternut, allotment neighbour's gardener went a bit crazy with trimmer and slashed the skin. 
 
Camping this weekend, so jext week ms C and I going to carry on tidying the plot.