u/norik4

After a wet start it's been a pretty dry seasib so far in the SE. I'm interested to know how everyone else is getting on with various different crops. What has worked well for you, what hasn't?

• Last years overwintered leeks: overall good, netted prevented any allium leaf miner damage however there was a small amount of white rot on some plants, maybe 10%.
• Garlic: average yield, nothing spectacular, a small number of cloves had white rot
• Elephant garlic: good yield but some white rot on a few bulbs, probably still useable.
• Carrots 1st sowing: pretty good yield, no real carrot fly damage
• Carrots 2nd sowing: total failure, only a few have come up after several weeks. I blame this on the hot weather and wind despite watering daily.
• Caulfilower: they didn't look impressive on planting out but most have produced some very nice sized heads and haven't bolted yet surprisingly. Watered daily and used additional scaffold netting to shade a bit more
• Calabrese broccoli: good head sizes, no issues, they seem pretty easy and reliable
• Tomatoes: all outdoors, growing well although needed more watering than normal
• Courgette: Initially started to set fruit way too early in the extreme heat so I took them all off and now they have recovered and are starting to produce well. Deer had a go at them too.
• Squash: attacked by deer repeatedly early on but they are growing away well now.
• Beans (french/for drying/runner etc..): all seem to be doing well although I am watering daily at the moment through hot/windy/dry spells
• Sweet peppers: doing incredibly well in the polytunnel
• Aubergines: doing OK but possible verticillium wilt on some but not sure.
• Basil: outdoor basil has been poor/bolted quickly, polytunnel basil is doing amazing.
• Melon: stop/start growth, some on and off attack with blackfly, leaves seem a bit small/curled in some places
• Outdoor cucumbers: seem to be growing OK but no cucumbers yet.
• Potatoes: First earlies have done very well 1.6kg+ from each plant, second earlies seem like they may have early blight but not 100% sure.
• Broad beans: average harvest, early spring planting. No real blackfly issues.
• Lettuce: first sowing has been very good, second sowing getting attacked by slugs despite being dry
• Beetroot: Growing well no real issues
• Chard: Average harvest, some slug damage and now bolting, will probably take this out soon
• Fennel (bulb): has done amazingly well despite looking a bit pathetic when I first put it in.
• Parsnips: Seem to be doing well now, they had root aphids earlier but don't seem to have done any real damage
• Peas: Grown very well however for fresh eating they didn't last long. I'm just leaving them for dry peas now.
• Grapes: wacked by frost twice, pretty much a write off this year for fruit
• Apples: hit by ermine moth but not a catastrophe
• Plums: hit by frost, not much fruit and the fruit that is on them is infested with plum moth, pretty much a write off this year.
• Herbs: coriander/fennel/parsley/dill/chervil - average, not as prolific as last year, bolted earlier.
• Spring onions: Has done well but some white rot on a few.

I have quite a few brassicas to go out soon and with the dry weather continuing the main issue I'm seeing is flea beetles, they seem to be ravaging the alyssum at the moment.