2012 will go down as the worst vegetable and fruit growing year for me, and I suspect many others. I won't put it down to cultivating so far north, even trees in Cornwall failed to produce fruit. I think we can all see the problems in our local shops and, being optimists, we look ahead to the coming growing season determined to succeed whatever the weather.
After any season it is worth reviewing what did well, failures and gluts. Keeping a notebook throughout the season really helps when the time to assess comes.
Failures this year were potatoes (disastrous crop), tomatoes (mostly failed to ripen), french beans (poor fruit set), cabbages (bolted), butternut squash (not much fruit) and soft fruit and tree fruit (no apples, no plums, unripe strawberries).
Gluts were had in broad beans, cauliflower and calabrese, and peas, both mangetout and podding peas.
Lack of warmth and sun and fluctuating seasons (a warm spring followed by a cool summer), account for most of these failures and it is unlikely that any grower could have avoided the problems that such weather brings.
I am a firm believer in 'not putting all your eggs in one basket' and diversity may be more important than ever when growing under challenging weather conditions. Having a wide variety of crops should ensure that there is something tasty to harvest throughout the year, even if some of the crops don't do well.
Presently I am harvesting leeks, carrots, parsnips (small this year but unblemished), kale, salad (though there will be a break in supply now that the hard frosts have started) and stored potatoes (Pink Fir Apple did quite well), onions and shallots.
What I am really looking forward to are the spring cabbages and purple sprouting broccoli in the polytunnel (to keep them safe from the deer and ensure a better crop whatever the winter brings). Having a crop to look forward to is one of the pleasures of vegetable growing and all growers should endeavour to have something to anticipate.
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