Poor Quality Crops

[Chipchopper]

This year, my veg crops look very poor.
Pale weak growth, and struggling to grow properly. The beans have lots of aphids and viruses, and the squash have hardly grown at all.
I just wondered if anyone has had similar problems.

[jno]

I don't have veg but the fruit trees seem to be booming - in fact a couple of dozen small apples have already fallen because there just isn't room on the branches.

[New Judge]

//...in fact a couple of dozen small apples have already fallen because there just isn't room on the branches.//

That's called the "June Drop" jno.

The tree can only support so many apples. The smaller, weaker ones are discarded by the tree to give the stronger ones a better chance. You can help the tree by thinning the fruit out so there is no more than two apples in a bunch. That way all your apples should be of decent quality.

My tomatoes are not particularly good so far this year. There were very few flowers on the bottom growth and they have only just started to set fruit now (both in the greenhouse and outside). Runner beans are, as usual, covered in blackfly and need constant attention. Peas have been very good. First crop almost picked out. Second crop doing OK. Lifted my first spuds yesterday. Going to have them with some lamb tomorrow.

[Togo]

Broad Beans, Peas, and Courgettes are doing very well. Tomatoes, Cucumber(both outside), and onions a bit slow but healthy. Cauliflower looking a bit wan and stunted but that could be the *&%@ing squirrels digging them up twice. I am a bit behind this year due to a late start after a hospital stay. Did not do spuds this year because of the uncertainty over when I was going to actually be treated. I do think that after the very promising start with warm sunny weather early, and then the weather turning dull wet windy and cold for a month I had a lucky escape. In previous years when those same conditions panned out, and I had got going early, the results were very much like those that Chip describes. Bleedin frustrating being a gardener sometimes.

[Tilly2]

Are you better now, Togo?

[Togo]

Very much so Tills, Thank You. Feeling grand. Consultant next week and get ready for stage 2. That will be fun ... not. Sorry to divert Chip.

[Chipchopper]

Hope you will soon come bouncing back Togo, and the vegies too!

[johnk]

I've had my usual mix of success and failure, peas, onions and potatoes doing well. Tomatoes outdoors all were all eaten but not by slugs!

[Old_Geezer]

My attempts have turned out awful this year, with just a few exceptions. That said I know why half of it occurred, but some kind of fly, in tandem with the slugs & snails, destroyed the rest. All rather disappointing.

[Old_Geezer]

Thinking about it, all my tomatoes fell to late blight last year, so it's been a disappointing 2 years I guess.

[Togo]

Ta Chip. The Squirrels nick my Tomatoes too Johnk, and when we had our dog she would snaffle them too when we weren't looking. There is an old remedy for preventing blight( as long as it is not Bottom End Rot which is caused by erratic watering regimes or poor soil) whereby you mix a few drops of Iodene with skimmed milk and water and apply it to the whole plant with a fine spray. Our Grandads knew a thing or two.