Star performers despite the weather

[PLUMPUDDING]

I've had some plants, fruit and veg that have done surprisingly well this year and lots of others have eventually rallied round when we got a bit of sunshine.

The most surprising for me was a really good crop of peaches outdoors and my best ever crop of aubergines in the greenhouse. I've also just brought in an excellent crop of sweetcorn which had lovely full cobs, so I don't know how the pollen managed to blow on to them when it was raining most of the time.

Despite the torrential rain for the past two days, the rose bed looks beautiful with the Indian Summer tea roses glowing a rich apricot in the dingy light. They are covered with flowers and buds, have healthy bronze tinged foliage, and smell divine (on a dry day!)

Does any one else have star performers this year? and don't say slugs and snails.

[Diane]

My lavenders are still flowering...in the rain. They've usually gone over by now. And the rosemary has been the best ever.

[Colin Miles]

I've also just brought in an excellent crop of sweetcorn which had lovely full cobs,

Would be very interested to know what variety is was. I managed just three 3-4 inch cobs from my plants.

The only 'crop' that has really flourished here are the slugs(!) though the lettuce have been reasonable and I am hoping that the Parsnips will be good.

[Stephen]

The gooseberries and raspberries did very well.
Broadbeans (particularly the Aquadulce overwintering ones).
Runner beans are doing well, French beans less well but OK.

[Nature's Babe]

Broad beans, radish, chard, runner beans, cucumbers, butternut squash, lettuce, peas, redcurrants, black currants, raspberries, blackberries, jostaberries, cape gooseberries, tomatillos, and grapes all did well, chillies good, peppers not bad even tomatoes did alright after a dose of blight which seemed to fizzle out they still produced a lot of good fruit. most herbs did well and the garlic.
At the moment the kale spring greens, cabbage and sprouting broccoli look good, seeds of spinach radiccio, raab, and mustard greens are in, will risk overwintering broad beans and early peas, will tent them if it looks like heavy snow this winter, they did well before under a plastic tent the snow insulated them and just slid off when it thawed.
my frenh beans were a disaster, and the courgettes - well fed fat slugs though lol

[Monika]

Carrots were the star performers for us, probably BECAUSE rather than in spite of the weather. Because they are grown covered with fleece or dense netting, I probably don't water them enough in "normal" years, so this year's rain has produced some lovely specimens though I now need to watch the slugs.

Relative failures included peas and celeriac.

[vegpatchmum]

For the school I'd have to say the cabbages as they look and taste fantastic.

As for the home garden the runners have done pretty well, all things considered and I've had a good crop of Winter Festival squash as well. I've also had a large number of cherry tomatoes from my outside plants (spares which I planted into one of the beds).

In the greenhouse, my chilli plants have done amazing well despite the mixed weather - only need for them to ripen and I'll be trully happy

VPM
x

[PLUMPUDDING]

Colin, the sweetcorn variety is Lark - it isn't a large one, probably 5 or 6 inch long cobs, but is very reliable and is sweet without being too sweet and very tender. It also freezes very well. I've tried others but this is the best performer for me here in Yorkshire.

All your replies just show that whatever the weather it suits some crops even if others are a disaster. I'm trying to get my sister in law to see this. She seems to think that if something doesn't do well it is her fault and she can't grow it and refuses to try again next year.

[John]

Carrots have done particularly well here and I have great hopes for the celeriac.
The runners and french beans finally started cropping reasonably well. The big surprise has been the autumn rasp 'Joan J' which cropped well.
Other stuff has really struggled.

John

PS Lots of very heavy rain here now and the road outside is flooding but the water is just managing to get away. Sandbags across the front of the house - this could be a very long night! Much worse in other parts of the country though.

[Clive.]

Not many Pears....but one Williams is a star...and is HUGE...

Clive.

[Primrose]

My redcurrants fared well but the birds got them all while we were away on holiday. My Swiss Chard has done exceptionally well and produced leaves the size of rhubarb leaves. And only one of my leeks has gone to seed so I'm hopeful of a decent crop. Outdoor Hungarian Wax chillies have defied the mixed weather and also done well. tomatoes and beans very disappointing. For some strange reason this is the first year I've ever produced some decent carrots.

[Johnboy]

Hi Clive,
Sadly there are orchards around here that should be producing the nations apples and there are trees with one or if they are lucky two very large apples and that is the years crop. There are cider apple orchards without any apples at all. All the large fruits are not acceptable to the supermarkets or other retailers so there is no market for them.
There is a very large planting of apple trees due for the first crop for a juicing operation which has had to be abandoned and hope for a better season next year.
However on my home front my stars have been the runner beans that I planted as a trial. Wisley Magic is certainly magic and Fire Storm, the first red flowered self fertilizing runner bean, is really prolific with trusses of up to twelve beans per stalk St George performed well but had a very short season but was very prolific and was the first to produce anything but the season was over six weeks late due to the inclement weather.
Moonlight, the first self fertilizing runner bean has sulked all the time and the yield is way down on the other varieties and I am undecided whether to grow them again next year. I am saving seed leaving the option open.
We have had two frosts that frosted the cars up but thankfully didn't harm the beans.
The other star is the autumn rasberries. Autumn Bliss and Joan J and both have given me more rasperries than I can reasonable cope with.
To me Autumn Bliss has the finer flavour but that is my personal preference but both have performed brilliantly.
Any one for Raspberry Crumble!
JB.

[oldherbaceous]

I'll bring the custard, Johnboy.

[The Mouse]

Can I include my compost heap as a star performer? This is the first time in 12 years that I have managed to get anything out of it. In fact, I discovered yesterday that almost everything except the top layer is now usable compost/mulch.

All I can think is that its contents have been too dry in the past.

[Clive.]

In my post above I mentioned low numbers of Pears at work...but at home, just 5 miles up the road, here are cordons Concorde, Conference, Louise Bonne of Jersey.

Clive.