Every gardener, every year has a crop failure or two. It keeps us on our toes, but when you are starting out in gardening a crop failure can put you off for life.
Many new gardeners quickly believe that they can’t garden or aren’t any good. Well that is simply not true.

You have to take these things in your stride. Every year the weather is different and some plants really are so fussy that they just wont grow if they aren’t getting their every need catered for.

This year I’ve been having trouble with my greenhouse cucumbers. I sowed four seeds back in March, which germinated slowly, never a good sign, and then rotted away.
I then sowed another eight and they still haven’t emerged.
Recent excavations (I know I shouldn’t dig around them, but I just can’t help it) reveal that they are growing but just haven’t emerged at the surface yet.
Now I am in a quandary.
I’m off to Chelsea soon and I don’t want them to get too wet or too dry.
The weather has turned the greenhouse from a lovely ambient warm environment into a bright oven and I have no idea what the forecast is for Chelsea. I can place them on self-watering trays, which will be fine if it stays hot, but if the temperature drops again they will be too wet and too cold. I could also put up some shading, but light is so important at this stage of growth.

My fabulous neighbour, who comes in to water, errs on the side of caution and always waters with great gusto, which is brilliant when it is hot, but not so helpful when it is not. So I may just bring the little pots into the house in the cool until I return from my adventures in London.

Watch this space. . . . . . . . .

One Response to “Crop Failure”

Leave a Reply