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I GIVE UP


valB
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My tomato plants, that went in four days ago and were very strong healthy plants, have all shrivelled up, my lettuce plants are being eaten big time and some have disappeared altoghter and my plum tree leaves are curling up and going wrinkly as well. What else can go wrong and after all my hard work I could scream.The only things that have gone mad are the strawberries and I must have picked at least 20lb by now, could be the wood ash I put around them at the begining of the year, Rhubarb not too bad either.
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I haven't given up, but feeling very upset that some creature, probably deer, has eaten the buds and shoots off the new roses. Our dog is having to sleep outside to keep the deer at bay.

The last few days, blight on the potatoes, and the slugs have at last found the lettuces.

But we had great broad beans, strawberries beetroot onions.

Val - what has caused the problem with your tomatoes? I'm hoping the blight doesn't spread to ours.

 

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last year we lost 21 plants to the dreaded Blight so this year I made sure I planted quite a way from the pervious years crop. Friends of ours have grown tomatoes in pots and they are great with little tomatoes on them already.  I will buy some more and see what happens but it is very disheartening. I know people scream NO NO NO  when slug pellets are mentioned but I may well resort to that if any more lettuce get attacked.  I have tried crushed egg shells but to no avail, I think the perishers have got used to that idea. The toms seemed to perish so quickly though as I only put healthy plants in a few days ago. I put on some gloves and picked all the diseased leaves off and burnt them so I will see if any survive but not too hopeful. Sometimes I think it is cheaper to buy toms in SuperU and a lot less stessful.

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It has been so rainy and damp that I am all ready spraying Bordeaux mixture on my Ferline (blight resistant) tomato plants. I have never seen such huge slugs and snails!  I bought 3 tubs of Feramol (eco friendly) slug killer when last in the UK and need to find some in France.  Being totally organic just isn't working here so I'm having to adapt to the local conditions. I would rather do this than give up .
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I am off out today to get some Blight spray and I may well buy more plants and spray them once in the ground as well as the ground around them as suggested by a friend of mine in UK who grows veggies all the time. I will keep you all posted. 
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I am organic, but have had to resort to some eco friendly slug pellets, all garden centres sell them/

Or go to your local supermarket and get a small cube of fresh yeast, 45c, by the bread counter. Dissolve  in some warm water, put in bottle , and place in garden so the slugs can get in and drown. They love yeast. I used to use a bottle of Hoegarden but this is cheaper and I drink the beer.

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valB

We had similar sorts of problems. First year we had every colour fly imagineable all over our brasicas and effectively lost the lot.

Last year we lost the potatoes and toms to blight so I grassed over half of the plot and bought raspberries, goosegogs, rhubarb and tayberries (loganberries).

Hardly any effort needed and we've masses of fresh fruit. That's my sort of gardening.  [:D]

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It certainly can be a bit disheartening and I wouldn't want to rely on it for a living. Our main veggie plot has now sold as a building plot so that saves most of the work. I still have runner beans,spuds,pumpkins and rasberries, and apples and plums which I suppose the buyer will get the benefit of if he completes in time.About 500mtrs from us is a farm shop with plenty of new spuds.various lettuce,radishes etc,very reasonable so it hardly seems worth the effort. How do they manage to keep their field virtually weed free and veggies looking like a parade ground,all up straight and in line?

Regards.

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[quote user="Russethouse"]

Perhaps you need a different supplier or variety of tomato ?

My courgettes have lots of flowers but most of them are on ordinary stems rather than courgettes, I think its to do with male/female - no idea what to do about it though ?

[/quote]

 

I think the male flowers often appear first followed by the female ones - don't forget you can also eat the flowers - deep fried -yum!!

 

 

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Mixed bag here,

 

Plums and peaches flowered early in february then winter returned and after, nothing. Apples and pears also took a heavy beating.

 

Grapes 2 varities are looking good and the other one producing leaves. Strawberries, rasberries, black and red currents over producing, wife making tons of jam and feeding the neighbourhood. melons, nuts, kiwi, nectarines all doing well, cumcumbers fed the snails, lettuce blasting away, onions, scalions and peas flying. Olives most have gone on holidays, figs gone to euro 2008 and left a few stragglers behind,  lemons just startting and bananas got 2 bunches developing. Toms coming on good, but still green.

 

ams

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[quote user="Gastines"]

 How do they manage to keep their field virtually weed free and veggies looking like a parade ground,all up straight and in line?

Regards.

[/quote]Gastines - I've wondered about this many times. But this year I've seen that even the french seem to have given up on their potagers. Around here anyway. Most of them are as weed-infested as ours, or even moreso.

But just wait for some good weather, possibly from today, and they will be out with their rotovators, digging it all in. Or spraying with herbicides.

I wonder if it's because most of them are farmers who have spent their lives planting in straight lines, and using pesticides and herbicides.

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[quote user="ams"]

lettuce blasting away, [/quote]

Yep, we have so many lettuces - could be the mix of rain and sun that we have had - that I have resorted to making lettuce soup - never done that before*; not something I would normally do but it has hoovered up the excess wonderfully.

*Friends and neighbours are awash with our lettuces too.

Sue [:)]

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 I must admit my lettuce, onions, carrots and even English runner beans are all doing well and the fruit is amazing, just my poor tomatoe  and my plum trees so far.  We have already halved the veg plot, mainly as just the two of us and there is a limit how much we needed. Even now I still give quite a bit away but I love growing it all, backbreaking at times but worth it. 
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[quote user="Russethouse"]

My courgettes have lots of flowers but most of them are on ordinary stems rather than courgettes, I think its to do with male/female - no idea what to do about it though ?

[/quote]

If you have 2 plants or more they should sex each other .... Make sure they are near enough to pollenate by bee etc or get a paint brush and brush the pollen from one to the other...... not well explained this time of night as im tired but Im sure you know what I mean[:$] 

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Slugs!!

Apparently an old and very good way of sorting them out is to put some large, outer cabbage leaves upside down around the plants you want to protect. In the morning just pickup the leaves and you will have a collection of slugs underneath. You can then pick them up and dispose (spelled 'kill') them at your leasure. It will take a few days to get the lot, but it will get them. No chemicals needed and your local welcome wild life will love you for it and survive because of it!!

Just as easy as stopping moles digging in your garden!! Just hide their shovels [Www][blink][kiss]

The only difference is that the slug thing works...

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