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This years fruit performance.
I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay Red currants: Much reduced crop Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Slugs: bumper crop! Anybody else experiencing similar? mark |
This years fruit performance.
In article ,
mark wrote: I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay That was probably the late frost. Apples flower later. I don't know about pears. Red currants: Much reduced crop Mine were good - no blackcurrants, though. Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Mine were OK, but a bit watery and slug-ridden. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
This years fruit performance.
mark wrote:
I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay Red currants: Much reduced crop Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Slugs: bumper crop! Anybody else experiencing similar? Plum tree: absolutely nothing Cherry tree: absolutely nothing Apples: mixed, dessert apples seem to be ok, cooking apples are almost non-existant, but this may be a problem with one old tree. Red/white/blackcurrants: all doing extremely well Gooseberries: not bad, the early ones were huge but not big crop, the later red ones are still ripening but look fairly well cropped. Strawberries: hit and miss, but we didn't treat them well this year, so hardly surprising. Slugs: Bloody millions. :-( Got the nemetodes out now, finally, but so far they've completely killed off 3 separate plantings of beans (crawling right up the poles and munching the whole damned lot) |
This years fruit performance.
On Wed, 25 Jul 2012 mark wrote:
I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Ditto. Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Ditto but the greengages are doing all right. And last year I missed the crop through it ripening a good two to three weeks early. Cherries: very little Apples: Doing okay A lot of my eating apples are rotting on the trees. Haven't checked the cider apples yet. Red currants: Much reduced crop Ditto - and the birds have stripped what there was. Strange, because they normally leave them alone in my garden. Blackcurrants and gooseberries have done well even though the bushes are young. Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Alpines have done extremely well. I have a twenty-year-old black mulberry. For the first time most of the fruit withered instead of developing. Slugs: bumper crop! Ditto. Some VERY large ones seen! Which reminds me, we've seen thrushes for the first time in a few years attacking the snails. The above refer to my gardens in southern England and in Normandy where the weather is very similar. David -- David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK http://rance.org.uk |
This years fruit performance.
On 25/07/2012 08:51, mark wrote:
I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums No pears at all, few plums. Both normally very productive. Apples: Doing okay Some apples - but 10% of a normal year. Red currants: Much reduced crop Black currants are only just coming ripe - not so many either. (usually over by first week July) Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Strawberries and blueberries are OK. One blueberry bush has no fruit. Slugs: bumper crop! Add snails to that. I had to replant new bedding plants as the slugs & snails had completely devoured them (and all the slug pellets as well). Anybody else experiencing similar? Only plus side is the hanging baskets don't need watering so often. Tomatoes are struggling, early lettuces bolted before there were any warm salad days to eat them. Onions look small, weeds look big. Courgette plants are refusing point blank to grow at all! -- Regards, Martin Brown |
This years fruit performance.
"mark" wrote in message o.uk... I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay Red currants: Much reduced crop Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Slugs: bumper crop! Anybody else experiencing similar? mark Very weather related One plum loaded as it flowered during a brief few days of fine weather the Damson next to it flowered 10 days later and has hardly any fruit. Gooseberries loaded , Blackcurrants hardly any No straw berries at all Loganberries good, Blackberry loaded Pears poor, apples 50% poor 50% loaded Medlar loaded, Quince almost none. Don't mention Rhubarb, sick of the stuff, been pulling since late January and its still huge -- Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella and Lapageria rosea cvs http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk |
This years fruit performance.
David Rance wrote:
A lot of my eating apples are rotting on the trees. Haven't checked the cider apples yet. Didn't think to check that, I shall investigate. (the Really Nice Apple Tree is a communal one on the allotment) Red currants: Much reduced crop Ditto - and the birds have stripped what there was. Strange, because they normally leave them alone in my garden. Ha! That is because I covered mine for the first time, so they've obviously gone to you cos they're hungry. :-) |
This years fruit performance.
On 25/07/2012 10:44, Charlie Pridham wrote:
"mark" wrote in message o.uk... I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay Red currants: Much reduced crop Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Slugs: bumper crop! Anybody else experiencing similar? mark Very weather related One plum loaded as it flowered during a brief few days of fine weather the Damson next to it flowered 10 days later and has hardly any fruit. Gooseberries loaded , Blackcurrants hardly any No straw berries at all Loganberries good, Blackberry loaded Pears poor, apples 50% poor 50% loaded Medlar loaded, Quince almost none. Don't mention Rhubarb, sick of the stuff, been pulling since late January and its still huge Apples very poor, pears poor, strawberries dead in the water,Damsons total of three fruit, raspberries since the three days or so of sun have come on leaps and bounds with no mildew now. Rhubarb, loads, but ok with this family, we could live on it! Read recently that the wet weather has done wonders and brought the buds on enormously on the hard fruit, so with a lucky warmer Spring we may have a good year in 2013. Bound to be better than this year as the Olympics will have been and gone! ;-)) -- Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire |
This years fruit performance.
On Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:51:20 +0100, "mark"
wrote: I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Nothing on either of my 2 trees Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Plum tree's new so didn't expect anything this year Apples: Doing okay I have a grand total of 2 apples between 5 trees Red currants: Much reduced crop Don't grow them but blackcurrants and blueberries cropping well. Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Cropping really well but I suspect that's because I'm growing them in tower contraptions rather than on the ground so they don't get waterlogged and have plenty of air around them. Raspberries are cropping really well too. Slugs: bumper crop! Lost a couple of dahlias but generally not a problem thanks to hedgehogs, toads, frogs, nematodes and a nightly foray with a bucket of salt water. Anybody else experiencing similar? mark Cheers, Jake ======================================= Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes it's raining and sometimes it's not. |
This years fruit performance.
Oh, yes. No gooseberries at all. Plenty of rhubarb, but the deal
is that my wife has to eat or give away any she picks - I can't stand the stuff. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
This years fruit performance.
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This years fruit performance.
In article ,
Martin Brown wrote: Oh, yes. No gooseberries at all. Plenty of rhubarb, but the deal Snap. Is that actually no gooseberries or no decent ones? Mine succumbed to American mildew very badly but there are plenty of berries it is just that they are scarred ugly brown things that split. No mildew. No set. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
This years fruit performance.
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One surprising beneficiary has been my grapevine. It was delayed from flowering or even coming into leaf during April, then produced huge quantities of leaves and flower buds in May, eventually the flower buds opened only in July and I got huge fruit set, probably over 50 bunches. In fact I've been thinning them out, and cutting back leaves to expose the developing bunches to the sun. If it stays reasonably warm, we'll have a lot of grapes. The blueberries have been happy. |
This years fruit performance.
On 25/07/2012 08:51, mark wrote:
I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums none to speak of, after a bumper crop last year Apples: Doing okay ditto for Cox and James Grieve, but the Bramley that gave us a wonderful harvest last year has set just 3 fruit. Red currants: Much reduced crop Black currants one variety loaded the other bare. Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. 10 misshapen fruit out of the entire row. Lousey pollination, and many rotted off. The ones that did develop well were taken or ruined by mice, before they were fully ripe. The mice had stripped 2 or 3 of the goosegog bushes too, before I realised it. Set traps, and have caught 20 mice so far. (given up now - no more fruit for them to pinch).; Slugs: bumper crop! Amazing plague of slugs! I have tried for about 10 years to live in harmony with the wildlife in the garden. I have a large pond and actively encourage the frogs and newts etc. I leave areas of the garden suitable for hedgehogs and small beasts to live in peace. This year, the mice and the slugs have driven me to revise my approach. Traps and slug pellets have been deployed with only limited success. I have put in seedlings and they have been eaten off in a few hours! Neither I nor the neighbour have seen an increase in snails though. Anyone else find this odd, or are we exceptional? One bright note, I have been seen chasing around the garden like a loonie, driving off the cabbage whites, that have just appeared. At least this means we have some sun instead of persistant rain. Al. |
This years fruit performance.
"Jake" wrote in message ... On Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:51:20 +0100, "mark" wrote: I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Nothing on either of my 2 trees Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Plum tree's new so didn't expect anything this year Apples: Doing okay I have a grand total of 2 apples between 5 trees Red currants: Much reduced crop Don't grow them but blackcurrants and blueberries cropping well. Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Cropping really well but I suspect that's because I'm growing them in tower contraptions rather than on the ground so they don't get waterlogged and have plenty of air around them. Raspberries are cropping really well too. Slugs: bumper crop! Lost a couple of dahlias but generally not a problem thanks to hedgehogs, toads, frogs, nematodes and a nightly foray with a bucket of salt water. Anybody else experiencing similar? mark Plums - none Apples - a few blueberries (2 tubs) looking good Blackberries looking v. good Blackcurrants looking good tubs of various herbs v.good -- -- http://www.shop.helpforheroes.org.uk/ |
This years fruit performance.
"Ophelia" wrote in message ... "Jake" wrote in message ... On Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:51:20 +0100, "mark" wrote: I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Nothing on either of my 2 trees Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Plum tree's new so didn't expect anything this year Apples: Doing okay I have a grand total of 2 apples between 5 trees Red currants: Much reduced crop Don't grow them but blackcurrants and blueberries cropping well. Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Cropping really well but I suspect that's because I'm growing them in tower contraptions rather than on the ground so they don't get waterlogged and have plenty of air around them. Raspberries are cropping really well too. Slugs: bumper crop! Lost a couple of dahlias but generally not a problem thanks to hedgehogs, toads, frogs, nematodes and a nightly foray with a bucket of salt water. Anybody else experiencing similar? mark Plums - none Apples - a few blueberries (2 tubs) looking good Blackberries looking v. good Blackcurrants looking good tubs of various herbs v.good -- -- http://www.shop.helpforheroes.org.uk/ Plums. So many on the tree we have had to support the branches, but still very small and still green Mike -- .................................... I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight. .................................... |
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This years fruit performance.
"mark" wrote
I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay Red currants: Much reduced crop Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Slugs: bumper crop! Anybody else experiencing similar? We only have Cherry Trees now, grubbed up the currants as we don't eat jam and strawberries are not worth the effort IMO so didn't bother when we changed sites. Got a few Cherries but they then all got eaten before we could. Can't be birds as they were well netted, muddy ground showed no footprints so it must have been wood mice. Gooseberries are looking good, some are ripe already, this sun should improve the sweetness too. Loganberry has a very disappointing crop and it may be it's last season as it's never fruited well. Boysenberry has a decent crop again, but what a thug of a plant. -- Regards. Bob Hobden. Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK |
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Rhubarb - two plants doing well, two plants completely obliterated by slugs. Last night I noticed the grass seemed to have strange black markings - looking closer, I realised it was slugs, neatly spaced out at 18 inches apart. |
This years fruit performance.
kay wrote:
Figs looking good (cross fingers). My fig was doing really well up until I noticed it this morning - the damned water dripped had fallen out, and I have no idea how long it's been sat in baking hot south facing sunny wall position with nothing to dampen it, but it looked /sad/. :-( Not dropped fruit yet, but it may only be a matter of time. |
This years fruit performance.
.... kay wrote: Figs looking good (cross fingers). My fig was doing really well up until I noticed it this morning - the damned water dripped had fallen out, and I have no idea how long it's been sat in baking hot south facing sunny wall position with nothing to dampen it, but it looked /sad/. :-( Not dropped fruit yet, but it may only be a matter of time. Never tried figs, always thought that they were too tricky ! My apples plums and pears are all very poor, my husbands favourite apple a local Tom Putt is the worst, must do better next year. When do we start a plan for improvement? kate |
This years fruit performance.
Kate Morgan wrote:
Never tried figs, always thought that they were too tricky ! We bought a Brown Turkey (recommended ok-for-UK) about 3-4 years ago and it is doing its first proper attempt at a crop this year, if I haven't killed it. |
This years fruit performance.
In article , wrote:
Kate Morgan wrote: Never tried figs, always thought that they were too tricky ! We bought a Brown Turkey (recommended ok-for-UK) about 3-4 years ago and it is doing its first proper attempt at a crop this year, if I haven't killed it. You won't have. Figs are very drought-resistant. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
This years fruit performance.
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This years fruit performance.
In article ,
Martin Brown wrote: On 26/07/2012 09:36, wrote: In article , wrote: Kate Morgan wrote: Never tried figs, always thought that they were too tricky ! We bought a Brown Turkey (recommended ok-for-UK) about 3-4 years ago and it is doing its first proper attempt at a crop this year, if I haven't killed it. You won't have. Figs are very drought-resistant. Mine died in the cold snap end of 2010 along with all my bamboos. That's unusual, unless it was in a pot that froze or your soil is poorly drained. Our fig got hit hard by the frost this year, but regrew from old wood; if they hit hit harder, they will usually regrow from the base. Figs aren't tricky to grow if you can provide them with good drainage - but they are definitely tricky to get a decent crop from. And only a few people will manage to get two crops a year in the UK. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
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So it will almost certainly regenerate, even if it loses all its leaves. On the other hand, mine dropped a lot of fruit last year after a dry spell, so I've now learnt that mine needs a bucket or two of water chucked at it if we've had a couple of weeks of sunshine. Not something that's easy to envisage at the moment. |
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I don't do anything with my Brown Turkey, apart from cutting back branches in the winter if they're in the way of the path or the dustbins, and making sure it doesn't get too dehydrated in long sunny spells. Brown Turkey fresh from the tree are lovely - much richer in flavour than the blue figs that you can buy fresh in the supermarkets. |
This years fruit performance.
In article , mark
writes I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay Red currants: Much reduced crop Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Slugs: bumper crop! Anybody else experiencing similar? mark Frost related: Walnuts - none (but kept its leaves unlike two years ago); Plums, Damsons - none; Sloes, Apples, pears - poor (variably so depending on where they are and when they flowered); wet related: Red currants - average to good; raspberries - very good; blueberries - looking good; strawberries - surprising (ours are quite early, usually at their best the week before Wimbledon. When we first went to pick there was only rotten or unripe berries but the weather was patchy and by picking just before each shower we did better than expected still below average but some jam was made.) slugs thriving, bring back the hedgehog. In Hampshire, west of petersfield, but still in the Weald. -- Ellis Morgan |
This years fruit performance.
"mark" wrote in message o.uk... I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Apples: Doing okay Red currants: Much reduced crop Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Slugs: bumper crop! Anybody else experiencing similar? mark No fruit trees in my garden but next door's Plum, Apple and Cherry trees are quite bare of fruit. In my garden: Raspberries, now fruiting well after a slow start. Blackberry (only one bush), very promising for a bumper crop with lots of unripe fruit and loads more flower buds still to open Loganberry, it's best year so far but not really worth the bother. Rhubarb, both plants doing really well, shall start freezing it as I'm a bit fed up with crumble now, lol! Kiwi, has lots of fruit but I'm not sure if they will ripen because according to everything I've read about growing them I'm doing everything wrong!!! Blueberry, absolutely nothing this year. Tomatoes, very poor about ten fruit on 24 plants though the greenhouse ones are doing better now. Slugs and snails, bl**dy millions of them, they've demolished my Beans and Broccoli, a couple of Dahlias, nearly all the French Marigolds I planted and my Hostas have more holes in their leaves than a colander....despite my resorting to using slug pellets and doing daily 'collections' of the slimy creatures. -- Shirley x http://community.webshots.com/user/s...host=community How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven. - Robert Heinlein |
This years fruit performance.
On 07/25/2012 10:37 AM, David Rance wrote:
On Wed, 25 Jul 2012 mark wrote: I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report: Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears Ditto. Here too. Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums Ditto but the greengages are doing all right. And last year I missed the crop through it ripening a good two to three weeks early. We got no greengages and no mirabelles. There will be a few purples but not many. Cherries: very little None on 3 trees (all different maturing). Apples: Doing okay We have a few but most trees are barren. The best is "Reinette Blanche d'Espagne" an heritage dessert variety. A lot of my eating apples are rotting on the trees. Haven't checked the cider apples yet. Red currants: Much reduced crop Ditto - and the birds have stripped what there was. Strange, because they normally leave them alone in my garden. Got a few red and black, but very reduced. Blackcurrants and gooseberries have done well even though the bushes are young. Only a few gogs. Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half. Alpines have done extremely well. None for us. I have a twenty-year-old black mulberry. For the first time most of the fruit withered instead of developing. Slugs: bumper crop! Ditto. Some VERY large ones seen! Which reminds me, we've seen thrushes for the first time in a few years attacking the snails. Ditto again. We have never seen so many slugs and snails. For other fruit, the early raspberries were OK, if somewhat rotten (lots of triage required) but the lates aren't setting well. Strangely it will be a good year for peaches if we get some heat to ripen them. Lots of cob nuts too although whether the quality and size is good remains to be seen. -E |
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