The ups, the downs and the insides out of growing your own in 2026!

Kantankrus_Mare

I will be joining in as and when I get time to post. 
This will be my 20th year having an allotment. Not sure where that time has gone and I still dont class myself as an expert by any means.
The things I have done best with are strawberries and raspberries. I have potted up lots of strawberry runners (around 200} and will be selling some in the spring to hopefully cover the cost of my plot, seeds and compost. I like my growing to be cost neutral then feel like my produce is free food.
Will be growing everything I can this year and hopefully actually getting to use some of the asparagus that started cropping this year. My problem was that there wasnt enough to harvest at any one time to do anything with but someone on here said you can store it in water until there is enough for what you want so will give that a go.
Good luck everyone!

Suffolk_lass

When you say your asparagus started cropping this year, I presume you have let it crop and seed twice before reaching that stage in year three @Kantankrus_Mare? I presume you know it needs to put on the root growth before you begin taking some to eat?

DiscountDuck

I’ve been gifted a packet of collared green seeds. Has anybody here grown them before? Any tips please? I’ve never grown or eaten them so any advice would be welcome.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Thank you @Suffolk_lass for starting the new 2026 thread ⭐️ 

Last year was quite frankly, an allotment disaster. We moved house this time last year and most of our efforts went into doing what we wanted with the blank canvas that is our garden. Add in a May holiday where everyone who we would have got to do the watering for us was with us on holiday, we only did the bare minimum on the plot. On the upside, we were able to use the plot for storage of our garden stuff while we moved 😂 it’s only when you need to store it all that you realise just how much you’ve got 😳

This year we are going to be focussing more on using the plot. We haven’t drawn up any plans yet but we want to use the old chicken run as a fruit cage… there is a good 6 inches of chicken manure in there so it will definitely be good soil once we turn it over! We will sit down in the next couple of weeks and work out what we want to do. One of the greenhouses did move with us so we have no excuse not to get sowing when the time comes. 

I will do my best to be on this thread more this year! 

droopsnoot

I'm intending to do some more chillies and tomatoes this year, despite the poor results last year. I've still got one chilli plant in the house, the only one that produced any fruit, and that was only a single one. I'll see if that makes it through and does any better this time. I don't really need chillies as someone on a local FB group bought several trays for an event and gave away all the leftovers, so I have quite a lot in the freezer. 

Suffolk_lass

Our community garden is picking up my suggestion of starting a seed-swap from tomorrow. Unfortunately I shall be at the hospital for my long awaited audio clinic to explore why I get tinnitus in only my left ear. Hopefully I can join in next Tuesday. Snow overnight here so no guilt about doing nothing at the moment.

Mollina_Girl

Please may I join in with your lovely friendly group? I took over a very very weedy allotment in June last year, it's only a half plot but it's plenty big enough for me. I spent most of the summer getting rid of the weeds and composting/manuring the soil. I put in some strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb and a red gooseberry bush but no time for any veg. I'm completely new to this as I've only ever grown herbs in pots at home.

We have thick snow here at the moment but when it clears and it warms up a little I'll dig it over and start planning what to put where. Can anyone please suggest any tomatoes that I can grow outside as I don't have a greenhouse.

Farway

Mollina_Girl said:

Please may I join in with your lovely friendly group? I took over a very very weedy allotment in June last year, it's only a half plot but it's plenty big enough for me. I spent most of the summer getting rid of the weeds and composting/manuring the soil. I put in some strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb and a red gooseberry bush but no time for any veg. I'm completely new to this as I've only ever grown herbs in pots at home.

We have thick snow here at the moment but when it clears and it warms up a little I'll dig it over and start planning what to put where. Can anyone please suggest any tomatoes that I can grow outside as I don't have a greenhouse.

Welcome to the group.

Outdoor tomatoes are always a bit of a hit & miss in UK. So prepare for some failures but that can quickly be off set by picking a ripe, sun warmed one and eating it as you go around the garden.

And your location helps, obviously far easier in Devon than Durham

Most will be fine, just avoid any that specifically mention indoors, greenhouse etc

Here are some that are OK, Hampshire.

The Heritage, older variety ones, are tried & tested

Outdoor Girl

Moneymaker

Ailsa Craig

Gardeners Delight

Shirley

Sungold

Alicante

Bloody Butcher

Kantankrus_Mare

Suffolk_lass said:

When you say your asparagus started cropping this year, I presume you have let it crop and seed twice before reaching that stage in year three @Kantankrus_Mare? I presume you know it needs to put on the root growth before you begin taking some to eat?

Oh yes......its been in years. Think this will be year 4 or 5. Last year I had some decent asparagus tips but not enough grew at the same rate for me to pick together and actually do something with so fingers crossed, this will be the year I get to grips with it.

Mollina_Girl

Thank you @Farway, I'm along the Yorkshire coast so not the warmest place  . I'll check the recommendations and see what I can find