Talkback: Wet weather on the veg plot

I went to dig up some spuds two days ago and from 4 plants I had approx 12 pidddling little pots.   Fed up.   Broad beans doing nearly quite well. Haven't been to my allotment yet this week hope I can make it tomorrow.  Garden looking quite lush with all the green leave with two lillies struggling to make themselves seen.  The geraniums are just romping away with blues and pinks.  But no really bright colours around yet.

WET WET WET Never witnessed my allotment with so many bare spaces at this time of year. Has anybody some info on how to grow rice?????

I grow small scale in three small raised beds, pots and bags and found it's not been alot different from last year (could be famous last words) it's looking like there will be some failures but also successes.

Seem to remember it was dryer and there was more sun this time last year and stuff in the GH did well. GH veg isn't doing as well this year me thinks due to the poor light and less heat in there.

Sweetcorn did well last year but so glad I didn't grow it this as it probably wouldn't have liked the wet and cold. Mouli didn't like the heat last spring but I've have had good results this spring and just finished picking it. Spuds in bags haven't needed watering as much this year and are looking good but I've yet to harvest so don't know whats grown in the bags yet and we've had a number of full smith alerts so the spuds in the ground may not fare so well with possible blight in the air.

Beans have been most disappointing to date some of them are looking a little yellow possibly due to all the rain, some varieties have reached the top of their canes whilst other varieties have yet to find a cane to run up and are only a ft tall.

Slugs have been a problem this year were as last I hardly had any slug damage.

Everything is late even here in the South of England. The ground was saturated for so long and is still very moist, I sat outside on a chair today and the legs sunk in grass. My runners have a couple of flowers but have been so battered by the high winds and torrents of rain that they are bit hit and miss in growth height. I think the tips have actually been torn off on some of them. Potatoes have been slow to grow as have my other veg but although my tomatoes germinated very late as it was so cool, they seem to be making up for this and have been romping away although I think that I will be harvesting them very late this year. Happy growing everyone.

I know I moan about filling the watering can on the allotment and spending hours going backwards and forwards and up and down to the water trough but seriously this rain is ridiculous. Nothing seems to be growing at all. Worst year ever for tomatoes, courgettes and beans-they are just not doing anything at all. On the bright side, peas and broadbeans are great and no black fly or pea moth in sight !

No sign of my peas, there were slugs all over the Broad beans on Monday, today it's black fly. In fact they are everywhere. I tipped the tops of  broad beans and that usually works, but not this year. I do have two courgettes on one plant. In fact one is about ready for harvesting. Thinking if we get a bright spot on Saturday I'll harvest the onions before they rot in the ground. I'm dreading digging up the taters. I've a feeling they might be slug ridden too. They're really testing my organic patience

Three times I had to set my parsnip, turnip, bean ,pea and carrot seeds. Not to mind the fact that my onions are rotting in the ground, my potato's are a joke and all my pumpkins, courgetts and marrows have rotted. I am sick sick sick of this weather. I spend hours minding my window boxes, from growing seeds to planting out and all I seem to be doing is dead heading flowers that havent even opened.I can't even mow the lawn its that wet.

Potatoes - no flowers at the top of my earlies yet (Pentlands) although they are the size of beanstalks!! (Can't even see if Jack is at the top) - seriously should I start to dig around yet to see if anything growing underneath - last year they were brilliant and had flowers and that was the signal..... help

Its been so wet i havent been able to get to allotment. I have raised beds as it helps the back with not having to dig so much. Last time i was there the weeds were beautiful but as for the veg.......... one minute the radishes weren't ready the next the next they had gone to seed. Have had a few strawberries and the rhubard has been great but everything else is either slow to grow or rotting. Onions were really good and waitng for a dry day to lift the garlic.

Finally got to allotment on thurs only to find 1 huge marrow, luckily the husband has a recipe for making it into a curry, good job he likes it is all i can say on that. Plenty of raspberries got a bit carried away picking them and edned up falling over. Managed to hurt my bad knee so have done very little since. Still getting lots of little cucumbers in thr greenhouse, just waitng for the right weather to ripen the tomatoes and chillies. Did manage to dig uo first of the new potatoes , grew pink fir apple this year. Delicious