The Cottage Smallholder

As we're coming towards the end of the main growing season (well, here in UK at any rate), we're now taking stock of what went well, or didn't, and thinking about what we may grow next year.

We'll be doing all the mainstay stuff again next year.....carrots, onions, leeks, which have all done very well.  We gave red onions a miss this year as they didn't do too well last season, but may try again next year with a different variety, as I do like red onions.

Peas did phenomenally well, especially since it was our first attempt - will grow twice as many next year (and space them out a bit more, was hard to harvest them this year as they were too close and a bit of a tangled mess in places ).

Our yellow French beans, after a VERY slow start, picked up and cropped well.  We had a bush variety before (think they may have been called Waxpod) which had a lovely buttery taste, but the ones this year were a climbing variety and just don't taste as nice, so back to the bush ones next season.

We tried a variety of 1st early spuds called Rocket, cropped reasonably well but I wasn't impressed with the taste and they got massively tunnelled and munched (by slugs or eelworm I suspect, who clearly DID like the taste!), which may have been more to do with the fact that they were grown in previously uncultivated ground than the actual variety.  Will go back to Charlottes next year.  Our maincrop Desirees have done well, probably grow again next time.

Tomatoes.....hmmm.  3 varieties grown this year - a baby yellow plum, which have been quite prolific and are the only ones to have ALL ripened so far.  A 'normal' round variety - husband mislaid the label so we don't know what.....quite heavy cropping but only a few have just started to ripen.  And Roma - again, heavy cropping but still all firmly green.  We don't actually eat that many tomatoes raw, so don't think we'll bother with the baby plums next year (only really grew them as we bought the last 3 plants from a farmers market back in spring as we thought they would be a bit of a novelty).  I'd rather have more tomatoes that I can cook with - may either start them off earlier next year, or investigate different varieties.  To be fair, we haven't had as much sun this year which is probably why they're taking so long to ripen (the Romas are clearly missing the Italian sunshine!).

Rhubarb did well.  Planted 1 blackcurrant and 1 gooseberry this summer - no fruit (obviously) for this year, but the bushes have grown well so high hopes for next season (only one of each as I'm the only one who will eat them - husband doesn't like either).  Apples haven't done as well this year as last....however, as well as the lack of sun, the trees themselves are donkeys years old and probably need some TLC.

We're not going to bother with cabbage or sprouts next year....they take up too much space and for the amount we eat of them, it's not worth growing them - would rather use the space for something more useful.

Well, that's us......what about you?