The very good, bad and very bad | allotment tour in July

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Steve's Seaside Kitchen Garden & Allotment

28 күн бұрын

What a year it’s been, lots of things are really great this year, but a few critical summer crops are very very bad … let’s take a look!
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Пікірлер: 103

@crebelo34 25 күн бұрын

Thank you for showing the failures. Don't feel so bad. This is a really bad year 😢 melons and pumpkins also failed almost no fruit and tomatoes still a big question mark 😭

@NnekaOchonogor 25 күн бұрын

I feel your pain Steve. At this point, I just laugh and focus on the successes as there are a few. It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the summer look like and if the weather and plants that are struggling redeem themselves 😂

@lynnpurfield9430 25 күн бұрын

@@NnekaOchonogor I can do that unless blight gets my outdoor tomatoes then philosophy goes out of the window and sheer violence takes over....lol

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

I’m not worried that we won’t have enough food, just frustrated by the amount of growing space that looks like it’s been wasted : all the best - Steve

@sheepnstitches 21 күн бұрын

Interesting your peppers doing well Steve, I’ve had the same with mine also grown in a low tunnel - not quite such large fruits as yours yet, but doing better than my greenhouse tomatoes!

@TAMSTERMAN 25 күн бұрын

As a newbie gardener I grew some melon plants and was so excited when I got foliage. Then I was wondering if my plants weren’t getting pollinated in my greenhouse as they weren’t producing fruit but alas the master has nothing also. Cheers Steve on sharing as I know it’s not only me

@lynnpurfield9430 25 күн бұрын

I usually get huge colanders of strawberries but only the ones in hanging baskets have neen good. However the raspberries and tayberries have been amazing. Yes, peas, carrots and lettuce have been loving it.

@sonnyjuke 22 күн бұрын

Very interesting Steve

@magspies 25 күн бұрын

thanks for vid. yep, grow outdoors/uncovered...no tomato fruit, no courgettes either and plants are dying, min growth of squash etc etc. it's depressing. we went from the hot May on record to 1 of the coldest Junes (and July's) and continously DULL...i'm goin to have to rethink all my next sowings, I reckon. :/

@AliW-xu4lv 24 күн бұрын

May was only the hottest on record because they bundled in the night time temps to come up with the average. The daytime temps were actually below average. Interestingly, it's not usual to include night time temps, and the previous May's that May 2024 was compared with had not had night time temps included in the data. So it was an unfair comparison. Dont believe everything you hear in the news.

@magspies 24 күн бұрын

@@AliW-xu4lv only I'm not going by the news, I'm going by the actual stats and records.

@AliW-xu4lv 24 күн бұрын

@@magspies so if you've looked at the actual stas you'll have noticed that as i've just explained, the stats were manipulated, by adding in this May's night time temps to raise the average, when all the previous data has never done that. It's not a true comparison

@magspies 24 күн бұрын

@@AliW-xu4lv "as I've just explained"...repeating the same misinformation again and again doesn't make it true. just stop. i have my own weather station...and part of a network community that uploads records....so....

@AliW-xu4lv 22 күн бұрын

@@magspies sorry if it came across as arsey, it wasnt intended that way. Text can be so easily misinterpreted. oh OK, you have a channel, great! what's it called? I'll check it out. So were the night time temps for may not included then?

@questchain1115 25 күн бұрын

Nice, long video. Will review after working in my garden.

@myrustygarden 25 күн бұрын

Wow for having so much uncovered it’s looking fabulous I think. Here it’s stupidly hot 🥵 and things are bolting such as my spinach. Chard and beets all got leaf miner and they have now even moved on to my aqualigia flowers 🤦‍♀️. As it is hot we do have loads of cabbage whites about. Hope the carrot nematodes work 👍👍. Great update Steve, Ali 🌞🇨🇦

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

Only recently uncovered though Ali : all the best - Steve

@danyoutube7491 23 күн бұрын

Those peppers are a marvel considering the weather this year, outdoors too!

@SteveRichards 23 күн бұрын

Thanks, I try hard with the peppers and I’m always trying to improve. I tweaked my system a little this year : all the best - Steve

@PamsMountainGarden 25 күн бұрын

Well, your peppers look nice! It’s been a challenging year here as well. We are extremely hot and dry but I prefer that to wet. At least the foliage doesn’t disease away. Onward!

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

Melons, tomato sauce and winter squash are a blow, but they represent about 2% of our harvest, the rest all looks great so I’m not panicking yet : all the best - Steve

@deejay-d7q 23 күн бұрын

Thanks, Steve. Really interesting and I’ve been having the same issues. Tomatoes especially have long trusses but often only one fruit set. I’ve put this down to the lack of pollinating insects this year. There are a few more now, but barely anything out when the toms were flowering. I hope they recover next year. I’ve seen three cabbage white butterflies. Normally I’m inundated by them

@SteveRichards 23 күн бұрын

I doubt it's insects, my early tomatoes in the greenhouse pollinated just fine back in April, when there were virtually no insects : All the best - Steve

@Lifegrowsonandon 25 күн бұрын

Melons have been a right off here too Steve , thanks for the vid

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

it's a bit of a blow isn't it! Lots of hungry kids and grandkids were waiting eagerly for them! : All the best - Steve

@Lifegrowsonandon 25 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards I know! Managed to put dwarf french beans around the failed ones so not all is lost in terms of wasted space

@markshaw5835 25 күн бұрын

It's been struggle this year. My leaks I put in don't look like they have grown at all been in for about 3 months. U still have a lovely harvest

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

I think we will be fine for fresh food, but preserves not so much : all the best - Steve

@markshaw5835 24 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards yea been a strange year, would be nice to see more sun 🌞 lol

@glassbackdiy3949 25 күн бұрын

Good show, cheers Steve. I think most of us have suffered with mellons this yr, only one I've seen doing well is Charles D who's looked ready to harvest last week, mine are up to the eves of the GH but no fruit set, whole GH has been really poor for me this yr, hardly any toms set fruit although the plants look splended, I sowed peppers too early under lights with very little room they got root bound, although a few recovered only 1 fruit per plant, brassicas have been exceptional tho, got my highest brix ever on Broccoli at 14 considering they're in new soil that looked almost yellow on arrival I'm quite chuffed.

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

Charles Dowding is so far south he’s basically in France and he grows in such incredibly fertile silty loam there’s no point me comparing what I do with him : all the best - Steve

@andrewlee5237 22 күн бұрын

Hi Steve thanks for another wonderful video, I think the whole gardening community have had a tough time this year 😮 two questions for you did you have germination issues with your pelleted Eskimo carrot seed and can you remind me of the red cabbage you first sowed in September last year. Thanks mate 👍👍😄😄

@SteveRichards 21 күн бұрын

The cabbages were red drumhead and the Eskimo germination was close to 100%

@bewoodford2807 25 күн бұрын

my Lilia have grown into nice size onions- really pleased with them. I will keep a close eye tso see if they start tdo bolt. really chuffed with my Toughball which have grown huge. First time growing after watching you recommendation in a video last year. I think everyone's melons are very slow and not likely to produce melons, sadly. Mine re the same and mine are in a small greenhouse. I am really tempted to take mine out and put more tomatoes in. My spring cabbage and calabrese has been great, Potato leaves went over early but got a decent crop from them and I actually like small potatoes. I steam/boil them whole and they seem to retain more flavour than those I cut up to cook.I have ha a few peppers so far but many on the plants now to harvest. I've only just planted out my leeks, rather late this yar- was waiting for some space on the allotment, but had to plant them in kitchen garden in the end as the spring cabbage has been so prolific. My lettuce has just started bolting now- especially the cos lettuces. Looks like it's the year of the brassica! Happy gardening 🙂

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

You do need to do a few lettuce successions to get through summer : all the best - Steve

@bewoodford2807 24 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards I have some seedlings ready to plant out. I've actually been good t remembering to succession sow this year, LOL!

@brimelowfarmbychon3329 23 күн бұрын

Hello dear friend grow very will vegetable in your garden +❤ full support New friend

@lynnpurfield9430 25 күн бұрын

Love leeks. We have over 400 in 😊

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

I have about 300

@growingstuffs 24 күн бұрын

I'm not too far down the coast from you and have been having a very similar growing season. My Red Falstaff apple tree is usually loaded, this year barely anything. Both of my apple trees have bad scab, which isn't uncommon, but it seems earlier this year. The butternut squash aren't doing anything. Half of the greenhouse tomatoes aren't growing much, and the fruit set has been really poor. The cucumbers are being very slow to get going. The container potatoes look bad, but I've yet to harvest any, so there may be a pleasant surprise. On the positive side, I've had some stonking kohl rabi, nice sized garlic and pretty good calabrese. The sweet peppers are some of the best I've ever grown. The lettuces have lasted longer than usual. Onions and shallots are bulbing up nicely. Carrots and beetroot have been decent. Strawberries were OK. Looking forward, not as many blueberries as last year, but still enough. Hopefully the autumn raspberries will be good. Sweetcorn and French beans are doing well after looking a bit anaemic in June. The outdoor tomatoes are romping away, so much better than the ones in the greenhouse, but they are in raised beds so presumably the soil is warmer. I've only seen about three cabbage whites so far this year, but the mealy cabbage aphid has bad here too.

@SteveRichards 24 күн бұрын

Do you have ripe sweet peppers?

@growingstuffs 23 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards Not yet, but the plants look very promising. No where near the amount of fruit as on yours, though!

@SteveRichards 23 күн бұрын

@growingstuffs ah ok, I’m always excited to find someone who outgrows me, always learning : all the best - Steve

@henryisaacs525 24 күн бұрын

hi steve hop e you well love your videos and tips i have learnt a lot from you thanks i need some help please if you can, first time this year tried growin khol rabi great success from sowin seed to planting out super big plants then i go to garden and disaster all except a couple have split they say its watering i have irrigation system so water is on a regular basis it is frustrating as they grow to a size of just under a tennis ball they then split any ideas please thanks steve henry

@SteveRichards 24 күн бұрын

Oh no, I’m sorry but I hardly ever grow them so I’ve little experience, although over watering is most likely, probably a rain storm recently?

@smithyrayner 25 күн бұрын

If you harvested the red cabbage, why did keep the plant in the ground? I love you ve your channel. Thanks for all the advice.

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

Good question: a few answers: I don't need the bed until August, so it's quicker to just leave it in, shading the ground and stopping weeds, sometimes little 'pup' cabbages form which are really lovely, I like to leave living roots in the ground until I'm ready to plant more living roots : All the best - Steve

@klauskarolina 24 күн бұрын

I noticed pigeons eating flowers from fruit trees in my neighbor's garden. Now he has fruits only at the top of branches(was too wobbly for a bird to grab it). You have big trees near your apples, that's a good spot for birds to hide and wait for an opportunity.

@SteveRichards 24 күн бұрын

Maybe.. I will watch for that

@inesbanovic4178 25 күн бұрын

Your peppers are stunning, may I ask what do you feed them, thanks in advance?🍀

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

These have not been fed much apart from compost mulch, but last week I started feeding them with chilli focus. I don’t like to feed too much too early as I seems to force the plants too much, all mine get is a cheap garden centre multipurpose compost when potted on and the right mix of heat and light and good 1.5” mulch of home made compost when planted : all the best - Steve

@alicecoppers8980 25 күн бұрын

Diotomatious earth works great on black fly.

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

Only if you visit the allotment often enough and pay enough attention to spot the problem though! : all the best - Steve

@tonyr7393 25 күн бұрын

Lettuce looks amazing, and as ever you have loads of great crops coming along nicely. We can't control the great British weather and i tell myself I'm not growing enough crops if there's not a few failures each year. Curious about your yacon in pots....what size pots do you use and do you notice a difference in yield size between them and those grown in the ground?

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

it's my first time growing the yacon in pots, they are in 35 litres, they seem happy. In previous years we often found the plants in the ground produced huge tubers, way too big for most meals. Two years ago we had a yacon disaster, most of our stock died and the ones that survived were very weak, the result though was much smaller tubers, but just the right size for a meal, so that's why we decided to try pots.

@tonyr7393 25 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards Thanks Steve. An interesting experiment, and a harvest reveal video in December could make good viewing. If you get all the tubers out without snapping any of them you could be on to a winner. Good luck.

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

@tonyr7393 that’s always a challenge!

@cannymoose 25 күн бұрын

Wow if you have problems I'm doomed. I'm having a terrible growing year. Pears are good . Sweetcorn are looking hopeful. Not alot else has gone well.and as you say, it maybe too late for alot of things. But maybe we will have a very late summer.

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

it's probably my worst year, not in the sense that we will go hungry, but more in terms of the amount of space I have allocated to crops that are unlikely to give a harvest : All the best - Steve

@GARDENER42 23 күн бұрын

About half of my Charlotte in containers have gone over in the past week. Harvested one 30l container - 2.6kg from four seed potatoes, which is more than 20% down from last year. In contrast, I'm inundated with gherkins & cauliflower. Don't think the application of slug nematodes in my garden was effective (these were NOT Nemaslug...) & I'm seeing ever more damage from the damn' things. Late planting of brassicas went in where the broad beans came out, or rather half the bed, as leeks went into the other half. Don't mention melons - planted three in the polytunnel, two never made it & the last plant is maybe 6" high...

@SteveRichards 23 күн бұрын

That’s still a good potato harvest though, I only got 2.4 kg

@davidrevitt7470 24 күн бұрын

Morning,first time growing spouts for me I have 15 immaculate plants,they have grown up to my net height,about 2ft,would you suggest taking nets off,and how do I treat for bugs etc,thanks

@SteveRichards 24 күн бұрын

that's what I do and then I follow my own advice, see this chapter of my ebook steverichards.notion.site/Dealing-with-pests-d43c58a85b6b44bb8c5d7a0203b44488?pvs=4

@ajandfarms401 22 күн бұрын

do you have staking the cabbages on video? i would love to see how you do it

@SteveRichards 22 күн бұрын

You don’t normally stake cabbages. These are staked because they are very early, which means a bit tall and very heavy heads. They are staked with fence pins, pushed in at a 45 degree angle : all the best - Steve

@lynnpurfield9430 25 күн бұрын

Haven't seen any cabbage whites this year Steve...so unusual. We usually start with them in June.

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

we've had plenty, but none at the moment

@Cheriesgardenvegplot 25 күн бұрын

We saw some in March but haven't seen a single one since. No caterpillars either which is bizarre

@Cheriesgardenvegplot 25 күн бұрын

It's heartening to see that I'm not the only one to have poor crops this year. Your peppers are incredible though. My uchiki kuri squash are lovely but the patty pan are struggling along.

@myrustygarden 25 күн бұрын

@kmorrison412 17 күн бұрын

Any thoughts on those expensive padded clips you tried out this year? Could they have had any negative effect on those polly tunnel toms? I made one at home and almost used it on a plant a neighbour gave me but wasn't willing to sacrifice it. I was waiting for your review, I guess with the weather it can't be said how well or poor they worked.

@SteveRichards 17 күн бұрын

They seem to be working out well, I've not had any problems yet, although you do need to keep on top of moving the lower clip up and make sure you position them under a leave junction, so they provide good support. If I get chance I will do a tomato video soon, look out for "lots of ways to grow tomatoes" : All the best - Steve

@shawnsgarden3742 25 күн бұрын

Hi Steve, you obviously have a lot of peppers going to come good at once, do you store these too and if so how's best to store them as I can never seem to keep them for long, is it a freezer job?

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

We do have a big family Shawn, so we will get through a lot of them fresh, but yes we freeze them, we just slice them up ready to use, lay them on a tray, quick freeze them for a day or so and then bag them up. We are just finishing the last few bags from last year at the moment : All the best - Steve

@lynnpurfield9430 25 күн бұрын

@@shawnsgarden3742 I too am finding it odd to be getting peppers in such cold and overcast days and nights.

@shawnsgarden3742 25 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards Thanks

@sevecc939 21 күн бұрын

It's not just me that has noticed lack of pollinators. Very time poor, so not a huge amount of time to hand pollinate either. Everything is so late and successive bean plantings have been destroyed by slugs and snails. The tomatoes, peppers and aubergines planted in late January are only just getting fruit on them now. I hope next year will be better. Still, it's all a learning curve, that's what I tell myself. Is the poor light this year contributing to yellowing squash stems? I have given them a good feed and still no change sadly.

@SteveRichards 21 күн бұрын

Sounds like you sowed your peppers and tomatoes too early and then didn’t have anywhere warm enough or bright enough for them. I sowed my late tomatoes in May planted in June and they have fruits now, the earlies which I sowed in February have been harvested since mid May, 8 weeks ago and we are still harvesting them now. Many things don’t need hand pollinating, the only thing I hand pollinated were the nectarines, the early tomatoes I just lightly brushed over with my hands as I walked past them. The peppers i sowed in February are just ripening now.

@jimmyfaulkner5746 20 күн бұрын

I must have 70-80 open sunflowers at the moment and I have seen 1 bumblebee today

@SteveRichards 19 күн бұрын

Sounds bad, still quite a lot around here

@jimmyfaulkner5746 19 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards I'm in harlow Essex even the lavender plants are empty , I've seen 1 ladybird so far this year , but I am currently watching a little swarm of cabbage butterfly so at least the pests are doing alright . Good luck mate

@BeFree-BeFrugal 25 күн бұрын

How long from sowing to harvest for carrots sown now Steve… I’ve just sown some

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

It depends so much on what variety and what you want to harvest, you should get some little baby carrots in October, they won’t grow much in October, but they should stand in the ground for a month or two

@BeFree-BeFrugal 25 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards thanks Steve

@urbsoapco5489 25 күн бұрын

Is this bought in soil or compost Steve??? I think it’s got a lot to do with it too. But not if it’s all home made?? Just interested

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

The original ‘soil’ was basically sand that had been fed with chemical fertilisers for 50+ years. We are sand dunes here. I’ve worked hard to improve it over the years, lots of leaves, seaweed, wood chip, rock dust, stable bedding, and I bought in some mushroom compost : all the best - Steve

@lynnpurfield9430 25 күн бұрын

Did you say to get garlic ready for planting in August sometime Steve?

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

not garlic, it was the elephant garlic rounds Lynn, which I dig up in July and replant immediately. I just dig them up to space them out evenly as they are often in clumps : All the best - Steve

@lynnpurfield9430 25 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards oh, I see. When for garĺic then?

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

@lynnpurfield9430 October or November usually, when space comes free

@nitelite78 25 күн бұрын

Very weird year it seems. Did your plum trees even blossom. We have a plum in our back garden and it fruited for the first time last year and we harvested a couple of hundred fruit. This year it didn't blossom and there's something like 5 fruit. I don't have any covered growing areas and I've not had a single courgette yet. My second lot of French beans just aren't growing (I pulled out the first lot which were all yellow and looked diseased). I will be upset if I don't get any French beans as it's my favourite veg. Seems so odd your peppers are doing so well to me. I don't grow bell peppers, I only grow chillis and mine had to all go outside due to aphids and they really aren't coping well. I have had similar issue with potatoes. A lot of very early die back on second earlies. Main crops (Cara, Sarpo Blue Danube, Pink Fir Apple) are still looking pretty good fortunately. Just hope we don't get and early late blight.

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

All of my potatoes are now blight resistant so I should be ok. Covers make such a difference, I’ve had courgettes for 11 weeks, probably at least 100 of them. My peppers always do well, but I keep getting better, my key insight was that the polytunnel was too hot for them, they love the low tunnels : all the best - Steve

@SteveRichards 25 күн бұрын

Loads of blossom on the plum trees

@phillipb6547 24 күн бұрын

Pigeons had all my Cherry and plumb blossom but left the apple and pears alone

@SteveRichards 24 күн бұрын

I need to watch out for them

@eirebarbers 23 күн бұрын

Do u uses bark between the beds

@SteveRichards 22 күн бұрын

wood chips

@eirebarbers 22 күн бұрын

@@SteveRichards do u find that better than bark

@SteveRichards 22 күн бұрын

@@eirebarbers it's free and I like the look of it, but it's not as consistent as bark and it often includes greens. You can pay for wood chip too of course and get better and more consistent quality and ask for no greens : All the best - Steve

@eirebarbers 22 күн бұрын

@SteveRichards where do u get it for free that be great

@SteveRichards 22 күн бұрын

@eirebarbers just ring around local tree surgeons and ask for it