Like many, I nurtured an interest in gardening over lockdown, and enjoyed it so much that this year I doubled my range of veg and even enquired about getting an allotment.
Currently all my plants are in pots safely tucked out of reach of my dog, who thinks he’s being helpful by digging and eating everything in his path. The pots contain a wide variety of plants and there would’ve been even more if my husband hadn’t stopped me from bringing a huge banana plant home. I guess you must draw the line somewhere.
I’ve nurtured my plants since early Spring, and it’s been joyful watching them grow from seed before finally planting them outside after the last frost. It’s nerve wracking letting them go, like waving your kids off to school and hoping they aren’t bullied.
Unfortunately, this is where my gardening expertise comes to a grinding halt, and while my potatoes, onions and carrots have made a valiant effort the rest of my plants leave a lot to be desired.
Last year my tomato plants were in shade and grew to 6 feet tall only producing about five tomatoes between them. This year they’ve been in the sun and seem to have the hump with that too. I’ve now ripped up the salsa recipe I wanted to try.
My pepper plants flowered but produced nothing. Seriously…nothing. I’m currently watering five pepper plants every day just to keep them alive. They are not appreciative in the slightest.
I almost blew a gasket when my first tiny broccoli appeared. Seriously, it was like Christmas! However, it now seems to have reached its full potential at 7cm across so I can safely say it won’t be winning any awards.
The courgette plants have been a blaze of colour with their bright yellow flowers opening like the sun. All very nice, but only one of them is following through with one very small fruit. Empty promises.
Finally, we come to the beetroot and the lettuce and well, I’d prefer not to talk about them. It’s almost as though they are holding a grudge against me for something I did to them in a past life.
So, I guess I’m starting to wonder whether an allotment is the way forward for me. Perhaps I’ve spread myself too thin and should maybe just focus on just one plant next year. I do like bananas.
Sherry x
