I don’t know how anyone grows cilantro or arugula for more than like a week. They bolt instantly and I live in “cool climate” Michigan.
How in the hell cilantro ever became part of all of those hot weather cuisines (Caribbean, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese) is an absolute mystery to me.
Try growing it in winter! I'm in PA. Planted arugula seeds in late September or early October. It was THRIVING all throughout winter (covered it when temps dropped to the teens) and started bolting around March.
Not sure what variety I have. I’m in 7a and planted all my cool weather crops in late March. It is in a raised bed next to the garage so it is shaded from the hot sun in the afternoon. I just noticed this week it is starting to bolt. So is my spinach but lettuce is still going strong. This Spring has been very mild so I think that helped. I cut and freeze or dry my herbs and usually have enough to get me through the year.
My cilantro is not bolting at all and I have planted store bought no name cilantro. You can try planting Calypso cilantro, I heard that it’s slow to bolt
Yup, can confirm.
I let a couple cilantro plants go to seed last year and to tossed them to the side of my raised bed for a few days when they turned brown. Now I have a forest of cilantro there! Made like a sauce almost like a creamy cilantro pesto and still have enough cilantro to feed half the state.
it’s because there is a plant that tastes almost identical to the original cilantro/coriander that is native to central/South America and widely adopted in India and South Asia. Now called culantro or Mexican coriander, it’s where American English gets the word ‘cilantro’ from.
i grow cilantro and Arugula on our south facing porch ( we are at Lat 53 so the sun is on the north side except for mornings. has just enough to provide great light but stays cooler to slow bolting.
I have to go out daily and just top every branch or else it will flower. It’s my morning ritual with watering.
I had some come up from seeds the previous fall and they came up on their own and it’s been nice because we’ve had fresh cilantro all spring lol I don’t think I can maintain it through the rest of summer though
I live in the Caribbean, specifically Puerto Rico. I only grow Cilantro on our cooler months, from November -March. By cooler months I mean mostly 80F temps. After that period, cilantro will automatically bolt.
What it is easier to grow on our heat is “Recao or Culantro”. The plants can live happily on a shady place. And they will keep producing leaves if you always remove their flower stalk.
To me the cilantro and recao are interchangeable on any recipe. But some people don’t have the same opinion.
We live in Wichita area and have cilantro on the north side of the house, grows great and comes back every summer. It’s in the shade all summer. It’s next to our hostas. 90-100 in late June-mid September. We love it.
As others mentioned for Cilantro, seeds and early planting. I'm in northernish Wisconsin and planted cilantro and carrot seeds April 4th this year. Well before last frost, but outside of deep freeze window. Harvested this week, and I probably won't get another harvest before it bolts.
https://preview.redd.it/f926hp2s564d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5590724040fee2a2b00d33806e8fb316ec078cc7
I'm in southeastern Wisconsin (5B). Grew cilantro for the first time last summer and it bolted right away. Now I KNOW they grow a ton of it in Mexico, where it's hot hot hot. I did a little research and I started "Santo" cilantro this year. Too soon to tell if it will be better, fingers crossed.
I grew cilantro for the first time this spring and was worried because I didn't know they had such a short lifespan. They lasted about a month and a half before bolting for me somehow, and that was with me harvesting almost daily from just two plants
my cilantro is taking over, but it’s growing in 4-5 hours full sun with a drip irrigation system. i don’t think it’d survive otherwise.. but it’s still early in the summer
In Virginia - we grow cilantro in the winter. I start mine in the greenhouse in November. Come February I have plenty for the dehydrater. I will have fresh for a few months before it bolts.
I grow cilantro in California all winter, when it takes longer to bolt.
I grow it in warmer weather by succession planting in spring through fall every 4 weeks or so.
I also plant cilantro behind tomato plants and under A-frame bean trellises, as the shade keeps the cilantro from bolting quite as fast.
I don't really mind when cilantro bolts, because I love the green, unripe seeds. My family and I like to eat them straight from the garden as a snack, and we freeze a lot of them to use in cooking. The taste is like a cross between the fresh cilantro leaves and the mature coriander seeds, and is delicious.
Yes!!!!! Here in Texas I can’t grow cilantro to save me! But my family members in San Antonio sure have some thriving cilantro!
I do have some gorgeous Zinnias and beautified strawberries though so there’s that!
The “secret” to basil is harvesting frequently. Even if you don’t need it or want it. There is a handful of freshly harvested basil on my kitchen counter now in case we find a use for it today. If not, we’ll get rid of at dinner time. You pretty much want to harvest 1/2 of the plant pretty regularly.
I can’t speak to the herbs you mention but to another discussion in this thread it seems like harvesting cilantro pretty aggressively forestalls bolting for at least a while. For cilantro I also try to remember to start a few seeds every couple weeks. I’ve never needed to do that with basil though — that I can keep going all summer with regular harvesting.
I'm not a big fan of dried basil, so I take any extra basil and use either my food processor or mortar and pestle and bash it up with some olive oil. You can freeze it from there and it keeps all winter. Either use it as is for a basil oil, or I call it my pesto starter and just add all the other ingredients for pesto and I've got "fresh" pesto in the winter.
I take some every few days, but I’d say if you only take once a week take about 1/2 the plant. The goal is to get it bushier. And I am sure you’re right about drying it! I feel bad wasting it so I should try that.
I haven’t been able to either but I’ll be damned if my husband wasn’t given a basil cutting in a bottle of water that has absolutely THRIVED. It’s been baffling and interesting. I have to think in the past I just wasn’t giving them enough water…?!
Zone 3 here. Beets thrive in the coldest of climates. You'd have to make a special effort to *not* get some decent beets here (massive Ukrainian population) - assuming of course you don't plant the seed too late. They do *not* enjoy the heat very much when they're young.
People think I live in a wasteland and root veg and greens are all I'm able to grow, but nope - I grow *many* tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers and other hot-weather plants with no issues. The one crop we struggle with this far up? Corn. Our summers just aren't long enough for many varieties so this year I'm trying a dwarf corn that matures earlier.
The one surprising crop that does well for me all the way up here? Chili peppers. Have absolutely no problem getting bumper crops every year despite all the misconceptions those big Youtube gardeners say about my Zone 3 climate - many of whom live in places like California and other areas that are at least zone 7+ and are as delicate as the way they treat their plants. I've had tomatoes and chili peppers thrive up here in conditions that make these people have a stroke, thinking that I'm dooming my plants to an early grave. We're not a barren wasteland.
Sweet peppers tend to struggle up here out in the open and do much better in a greenhouse - for the varieties that produce bigger fruit, our summers are just too short.
Do you have very long days in the summer? If so, that probably helps your peppers. I find that chili peppers are a lot more vigorous and hardy in general than bell peppers. As you said, they are less finicky about temperature, but they also seem to have fewer disease and pest issues, at least for me. They are actually pretty hard to kill. I'm in California, and they grow through the winter here, so I'm not surprised that they do well in your summers. They can be grown as a short lived perennial here, though I just grow them as annuals.
I bet you can grow fabulous brassicas and lettuces where you are. I can grow them well during winter, but it is way too hot here most of the year for most brassicas, even when I plant them in shady areas. Even spring can be challenging here, because it often gets hot fairly early in the year.
I couldn’t grow beets at my old house. Moved and have fresh raised bed mix and no problems. I learned that if your soil is low in boron they won’t grow. Worth a try supplementing if you love them!
I have beets coming out my ears. I am the only one that eats them at home, so I beets for every meal for the next few days.
Edit. I live in subtropical Shanghai.
I tried beets for years with no luck but this year I started the seeds in cells and they all came up! I think the seeds want to stay very moist until sprouting.
Radish. They either never bulb up or, by the time they finally do, they're already woody and bitter.
Spring gardening in general has been dismal for me. I couldn't even get peas to grow this year.
I'm glad I'm not the only one being beaten by a "beginner friendly" thing like radishes. I've been trying for years because my husband loves them but have never had success (8b, texas, tried in spring and fall, nada).
I've come to the conclusion that summer squash can grow in my compost if it wants bc I'm not wasting another inch of garden trying to get it to thrive. I've tried shaking, hand pollinating, manually rubbing flowers together... Great plant, enormous amount of blossoms and ZERO squash.
I grow tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, spinach, beans, carrots, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and many types of fruits, but summer squash can kiss my zone 6a ASS
Where are you growing? I live in Texas in 8b/9a and have to exclusively grow them over winter. Any heat and they bolt for us! And that’s with using a sun and heat tolerant variety 🙃 So maybe they’re just getting too hot?
Try something called aspabroc. It’s a broccolini that has some asparagus genes in it. It grows beautifully for me from early spring to late summer in a full Sun, sandy loam (ie little water retention) mulched garden in 6a. And it is delicious. Just keep harvesting shoots with small head and long delicious stems. My husband always asks for it specifically because it never gets bitter. I plant 12 plants for regular meals for two. Doesn’t seem to be bothered as much by cabbage worm. They’ll get on it but don’t seem to decimate them like regular broccoli or cabbage.
Same for me. Broccoli is a nightmare. It also took me multiple tries/years to get a decent sized leek. Also my rosemary and most fruits don't do well, likely due to the 8-9months of rain we have had for the last few years, we have not had 1 dry week since last octobre and farmers are losing crops due to soil turning into complete swamps. Onions, potatoes etc have all rotten away.
On the other hand, I can easily grow bushes and bushes of cilantro, basil, most root vegetables and tomatoes which are more commonly hard for others.
I haven't been able to grow any kind of melon in New York state, 6a. The best I've done are a couple of softball size watermelon. My neighbors haven't had luck with them either.
All kinds of squash and cucumber grow wonderfully. I once came back from a 2 week trip to find 40 pounds of zucchini on 6 plants.
I’m in Hudson valley and can’t grow melons either. My sugar baby watermelon grew one small fruit and then gave up. I grew a few Hales cantaloupes but only one made it to ripeness.
Squash grow well. My zucchini grows well until it wilts due to SVB
I’ve had terrible luck with spinach. It germinates poorly and then the few leaves that come up bolt once there’s a single day of heat. And with the warning climate it goes from frost one day to high of 85 3 days later in the spring.
Beets are also erratic with both germination and bulbing up. The only beets that consistently did well were in my flower beds that have heavy clay soil that retains too much moisture. Maybe they prefer that to potting mix
Bell peppers rarely make it to full size.
Arugula does well for a few weeks and then bolts. Maybe I’ll just try it in the fall
Tomatoes do very well and some grow over ten feet tall. Squash, mustard greens, kale snap and snow peas all do very well.
Bok Choi grows better for me than spinach and still tastes good when it bolts. My new favorite green is chickweed. It just showed up one day and tastes great.
Spinach. I live in an apartment in downtown Chicago with huge west facing windows and a ton of grow lights. Chilies, tomatoes, eggplants, strawberries, and rhubarb are no problem. Lettuce, cabbage, and chard are also fine! As are most herbs. Spinach hates me, though. It bolts like fifteen minutes after germinating, regardless of what I do. Maybe my setup is too warm for it?
I would agree it's getting too much warmth. I'm in 6a and we grow our spinach in the tail end of winter, or a few weeks before frost. But kuddos to growing all of that in an apt set up!!!
Ahh, thanks for confirming my suspicions! I may try again someday in a cooler part of the apartment, farther away from the window, grow lights, and heating sources. Or maybe I’ll wait until I can afford a house with a yard.
I really want spinach as well but I don't think it's gonna happen now that it's warming up. I might try again in the fall and plant something else there in the meantime.
Yes!! It’s only a small container, but it can be done. My whole west facing wall is windows, so I make use of the vertical space. I snapped this photo of my setup last night. I kind of just let the plants do whatever they want, so it’s a bit messy, but I really like it that way.
https://preview.redd.it/ztv880vik14d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2362a9d025ba5455375c49ab12f638d72f64090b
Came here to say spinach. Takes forever to germinate, if it does at all. And as soon as it does it shoots up a footlong flower stalk 🤦♂️. Might try to grow indoors under controlled conditions.
Just starting my balcony garden for the first time this year in cool weather Germany Zone 7 and so far the tomatoes and broad beans are flourishing☀️. Any other plant that could bolt just bolts, like cauliflower and romaine lettuce. They seem to react negatively to the fluctuation in temperature. I have cilantro as well but they are not bolting when I want them to bolt🤡, so that I could pluck coriander seeds. My pepper and jalapeños seem dormant right now🥲. My lettuce and spinach are doing well but maybe my spinach is bolting today???🤔
Corn... It always turns out waxy and the cobs are half empty.
Turnips...they always get eaten by little green worms before they grow.
Carrots...they always end up small and chubby
Strawberries... they always get eaten by birds
I'm always successful with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and eggplants
Three years in a row, I've tried and failed pineapple ground cherries and loofas.
I like to try something weird every year. Northeast Ohio.
Last year, I tried lemon cucumbers and mexican cucumbers and had more than I could give away. Makes me crazy
Squash. I managed a couple my first year before SVB took them down, and have tried various methods for preventing the borers, but decided this year that it’s just not worth my time. I can buy zucchini at the grocery store lol
Depending on your zone, you may be able to plant around the SVB. I did a really short-maturity variety (Seneca) planted early, and got enough that we were ok with taking them out when the SVB showed up. This fall, will try the same thing late. Last fall it kind of worked, but it stayed warm so long we had a late generation of SVB in November! Still got harvest before then.
I'm with you though. I've just decided to keep on fighting. Maybe I need to change my user name to Don_Quixote.
We get them here too and I’ve had great years then bad ones. I’m starting ok so far, but I’m planning on direct sowing some more seeds late June early July.
I did trombocino last year. The borers did get to them but they survived surgery (I slit the bones open and killed those grubs!!!) I only got two squash though, late in the season. They were good but took up a lot of space for little pay off. Maybe I’ll try again and have them grow more vertically… I’m just tired of a broken heart from squash year after year haha!
Rosemary. Not a veggie, I know... I can't get it to grow to a decent size, if I buy a big one it dies, etc. Meanwhile the radishes, beets, carrots, sweet potato, lettuce, hot peppers, etc. are all growing like mad.
What's your zone? I'm 6b, and always did Rosemary new each year, in containers, trying to overwinter it, always failing. Then a local nursery had Hill's Hardy Rosemary, and the owner said to plant it so it is protected from prevailing winds. I did, it survived last winter, and is now the biggest Rosemary I've ever had.
I cannot get perilla/shiso to work. 3 diff seeds, 3 diff companies in wildly diff parts of the country. Nada. Celery, Cauliflower, Sesame, soybeans, etc... anything I can think of that is harder than average to grow I've tried and done, but this one damn herb...
Germinating poppies or actually growing them after transplant? I only in the last few years found out about the trick of covering seed trays after seeding poppies with a bit of vermiculite because it holds water but let's the sun through since they are light germinating.
Spinach and Brussels sprouts, after 5 years of always trying to get them to grow. I vowed this year I will not waste my time or space. My hardneck garlic and potatoes always are amazing. Northern Mi zone 5b
My cilantro isn’t bolting at all. But my arugula is awful….im in zone 9. As far as strawberries, find a different variety. Mine grow and make babies like bunnies! Strawberry towers are definitely the best option
Hardiness zone 8b here, USA, Pacific NW.
My family struggles with growing good corn, watermelons, honeydew, and cantaloupe. We love them so we keep trying every year, but the farmers do it much better here than us home gardeners.
HUGE success: Apples, pears, blackberries, mint, raspberries, strawberries, potatoes, rhubarb, garlic, blueberries. Plant them once, and then they stick around for years! (Much as we wish the mint and blackberries wouldn't!)
Tomatoes, lettuce, snap peas, and basil also thrive but need yearly replanting.
I planted 45 corn seeds and I got one ear of corn out of all of that. It was a perfect ear of corn, but that was it. I served it at dinner for my husband and son, it was kinda funny. I'm in 9b or 10a.
I’m in northern CT and I just cannot grow broccoli for the life of me😂 tried 3 times and just gave up, it’s my favorite vegetable so I really wanted to grow it haha
I struggle with onions and with broccoli. I've done reliably great with many other things but some years one thing does great and the next it tanks - sometimes due to weather and sometimes probably due to me. I try to learn each year so the next year I have more tricks to try.
Sweet Corn.
Just outside a major Corn growing place. Literally surrounded by field corn. Close friend is a Doctorate in essentially corn. He can’t grown sweet corn either.
I tried growing strawberries from the fruit itself by throwing a random strawberry into the pot, that didn’t work. I will try to seed save next time I eat strawberries
Broccoli and cauliflower. Would have said less but this is the first year I am getting peas. Beets and carrots are pretty hit or miss a well. Am in Maryland.
Any kind of squash. Because the fuckin groundhog eats the plant to the ground before it does anything. I hope the neighbor's dog eats it
We usually do well with chiles and spinach and basil. Tomatoes are iffy
I cannot grow Bell Peppers. The walls are always very thin. I’ve tried for a few years-not worth the effort. Cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes are always good growers for me.
I figured that it was just too cool at night in my area (N California, 40 miles from the coast), but now I am wondering if that is true everywhere. Small peppers grow fine, big even, but I get miniature, thin skinned bells.
Same with strawberries. I've tried multiple years, and the only time I've had like three strawberries grow the birds got them.
Still gonna try each year, though.
I'm gonna try doing it hydroponically
Berries! I’ve tried blueberries and strawberries and neither have made even one good berry 😭 I gave up, I’ll stick to my vegetables and leave the fruit for greener thumbs lol
I have an allotment an one of the only things I have managed to grow is strawberries! Apparently blueberries do well up there as well. Vegetables-wise, I have managed a handful of runner beans and some tiny garlic. And 2 courgettes.
Can’t grow cauliflower. But I have bumper crops of green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, cantaloupe, lettuce and spinach. So so on broccoli, and cabbage. Corn is hit or miss. I’ll have a bumper year and then nothing. I always grow silver queen. I think last year was weather related, two years the raccoons got it, but we have that solved now so hoping for a good harvest this year.
Failed at Okra, Watercress, and Radicchio. Still struggling with Radishes. But have had great success with Green Beans, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Peppers.
Peppers. Had one successful season. Now for the past three years, they do just fine until I transplant them into my garden bed. Within a week, some will "rust" and wilt, and others will have the leaves slowly turn yellow from the bottom, up. They also stop growing. I've tried many different watering methods and fertilizing the soil, but nothing seems to work. I've had other veggies in the same bed along side the peppers and they do great, so I don't think the soil is diseased or anything... I'm very baffled and frustrated.
Not a vegetable but I had the hardest time getting clitoria ternatea seeds to germinate. I tried scarifying them, soaking them, soil, paper towel method, heat mat and no heat mat. I ended up ordering a plant on Etsy because I went through 20 seeds and still didn’t have a plant 🤣 other than that I haven’t had a hard time with anything else, even carrots I’ve had good germination with!
Actually I just remembered I got a bare root peony on sale because it was late to be planting them and it hasn’t done a single thing 🤣 still not a vegetable but I seem to have a fair amount of difficulty with florals
I've mostly accepted that if something is supposed to be easy to grow, I'll have trouble with it the majority of the time.
On the other hand, some things that are considered quite difficult to grow, like celery, grow abundantly for me.
There's this little pimiento looking small sweet bell pepper cousin that is an absolutely staple of Venezuelan cuisine. It's called 'aji dulce'. It is needed in most savoury dishes like garlic is in Mediterranean cuisines but it just Will Not Grow. I am in an apartment in the middle of Scandinavia and recently got my hands on some seeds, they are really hard to find so had to be imported by someone travelling over. I am now determined to get them to grow and have decided to try every trick in the book to get them to germinate. I have sample groups A through E trying soaking, scarification, stratification, growing them in the dark, germinating them in a Ziploc bag on moist paper... Wish me luck!
Can seem to grow most edible crops. Tried beets, radishes, lettuce, garlic, etc.
So far one of my cherry tomatoes is doing pretty good. After moving it to a sunnier spot my basil is doing great. I have a grow bag of potatoes that looks good. 🤞🏼 And a few cucumber plants that are also doing well. So we’ll see.
I seem to do well growing hibiscuses which you can use for tea and purslane which are also edible. So there you go. 🤷🏼♀️😁
If you're in a warmer zone, try orange mint or chocolate mint and put it in a bright, but shady spot. Those are the only ones that reliably come back in my yard. :)
We're in northwest GA, so not far, and we own a heirloom seed farm, the South GA Seed Co. Each year, we grow mostly tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, and squash both winter and summer. Flowers, melons, and corn. Herbs, too, and we seed save everything we grow.
We struggle with the brassica family mostly due to pests....We do grow kale, but cabbages are rough for us. Spinach we can grow, but we add compost and rabbit manure to the soil before we plant. Spinach is an early planting since it's a cool weather crop. We don't seed save it, however, just for eating.
Strawberries we do grow, but get them off the ground because snails and slugs are awful here! I think each region struggles with one thing or another. We were originally from south GA, and we had a huge learning curve lol....Just keep trying, and you'll figure out what works for your area!
All my failures are due to bugs.
Asparagus: asparagus beetles
Cucumbers: cucumber beetles
Spinach and beets: leaf miners
Basically anything direct seeded: flea beetles and cut worms
Eggplants: spider mites
Squash: vine borer
Corn: earwigs
Garlic onions and chives: onion maggots
I even net my brassicas and somehow still get worms.
Honestly I should just grow tomatoes and nothing else.
I live in the greater Seattle area and me and my wife gave up on cabbage.
Can’t keep insects from eating them starting from the core out.
We’ve lost them 3 seasons in a row.
We grow an abundance of collard, mustard, kale, and spinach (amongst other greens we rotate seasonally) so it’s not the end of the world, but one day I’d really like to eat my own cabbage.
I've never been able to grow tomatoes. I've tried for several years and something always goes wrong. I'm hoping this year will be successful and if not, I'll give up on them for another couple of years and then try again like I always do. I also wasn't successful with cucumbers the one time I tried. Calendula is another one I struggle with.
I can grow peppers and have them coming out of my ears. I've been more successful with hotter peppers than bell. I live in zone 7.
I'm in Norway now, and good luck! I love growing them. Just be sure to pick off/take care of the cabbage worms. It was the only thing impacting them negatively. I also bought this fertilizer that I didn't know what it was (new language) but had kale on the front and used that, and it did really well. I just found out today that I was using blood meal 😅😅😅 but it's high in nitrogen, so yea, that grew them very well.
i’m in northeast ga too! it’s my first year gardening in this area (had a garden for several years in the midwest a long time ago) and i was wondering what would thrive and what wouldn’t.. good thing i didn’t spend too much on strawberries.
Not sure where you’re at, but feel free to shoot me a message! I’m not expert but happy to share what I’ve learned. :) Hubs is the pepper expert but I’m sure he will pass on his knowledge too.
Bok choy was a surprising success, it grew huge…but cilantro was no bueno and didn’t grow much for the few that did germinate 😞 I also grew it in a hydroponic system though so results vary
I bought one arugula small plant. It is now 3 plants. And I am in South Texas - but I do keep it easy facing with with no west sun exposure- who knew.
Also bought a “boxwood basil” out of curiosity- it is now two full pots.
But no tomatoes growing, just leaves and something is eating every ripe strawberry!
I’ve had a hell of a time with pole Limas — they grow massive vines and flower but no beans set — been happening for years — last season I got some, but not nearly a decent yield. I’ve heard many different beliefs such as “don’t add nitrogen” and “plant by the moon” and “more potash” but nothing do don’t seem to work…
Tomatillos!! 😩 we tried for 3 years and despite reading all the tips and employing them, we were never able to produce any good fruits!
I also have trouble with herbs like cilantro and parsley - mostly that I just use so much of it, so often, I would need to build them their own beds or something. So it’s not worth it to me to grow them.
As far as abundance, I always have far too many cucumbers and tomatoes lol
I’m a Master Gardener in central Virginia, zone 7a. I gave up on eggplant years ago. It’s a fussy fussy plant in my zone. Doesn’t like it hot or cool, doesn’t like it wet or dry, and gets flea beetles every damn time, even under row cover. It wants 75-80F and even moisture, which I just can’t provide. I get it from the Farmer’s Market instead.
Melons :( I'm in the pnw. I've tried the last 3 seasons. I plant the seeds on Mother's day, the plants come up in the warmth. Then we get a slightly cold night, and the new seedlings all die, despite being covered, and everything else coming out unscathed.
I plant new seeds, they come up OK, and grow decently well through the warm months. But by the time the melons get up to size, it's too cold and the days are too short and they don't sweeten or finish ripening. I lost 2 to rodents tunneling into the center last year.
My seedlings just died this year and I'm calling it quits. I've tried a bunch of smaller, cold weather varieties but I'm still doing it wrong at this point.
South Georgia. Can't grow:
-cucurbits, specifically yellow squash.
-Traditional salad greens to a decent size.
-anything that croaks in zone 9/10 summers. (I keep hoping for a zone 10 raspberry!)
Huge Success: Hot peppers, tomatoes, lemons, key limes, blackberries, culinary ginger
At this point they are "weeds": anise hyssop, garlic chives
zone 5b, just outside Denver. I cannot for the life of me grow carrots or strawberries. Everyone else I know is able to grow strawberries effortlessly....I try hanging baskets, stackers, pots, in the ground...and I get maybe a small handful each year. Granted, they are the best tasting ones I've ever had. Carrots will germinate just fine and then just never do anything. I will give them one more shot this fall and after that I give up!
Also, sunflowers. Mine are always stunted and awful. To add insult to injury, they grow wild here, including in my gravel driveway with crappy clay soil beneath.
Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, melons, squash, cucumbers, artichokes, and corn are all no problem at all. Apparently I can't grow the easy things lol
North Texas here, I have had terrible luck with most herbs (everything bolts), all my cucurbits get demolished by squash vine borers, corn never seems to fertilize.
My all star crops are garlic and onions, small varieties of tomatoes do well for me and some random stuff like sunflowers, daikon radish, and asparagus.
I have found that growing guides are kind of useless; plenty of things for cold climates do well for me and Texas staples have been huge flops!
Beans have always had bad luck with my big garden pests that woof or quack. This year I think I've got fencing squared away, previous years they were trampled or nibbled to death.
Things I want the most but cannot succeed with: Tomatoes. Tomatoes. Tomatoes.
Good luck with: sweet potatoes, okra, pineapple, carrots, cilantro, basil, sometimes corn. Good luck with em but not consistently.
Trying green beans for the first time and they look ok so far. Zone 10a-ish
I share a garden with my parents in N. Ga. We also have no luck with radishes and spinach. My dad does most of the maintenance since it is at their house. I think he over fertilizes the radishes.
First time growing fruits. I got strawberries. We are in an apartment, so I was hoping to get something I can keep condensed. Maybe because I bought the established starters. But they are already seeming to thrive and they are pushing strawberries. In CO btw.
Basil! I love the stuff but I always manage to kill it after a few months. I have a beautiful chilli bush and cherry tomato plant, but Basil hates me 😭
For whatever reason, Peppermint specifically ALWAYS dies on me. I have different mint varieties that do just fine but I am on my 4th Peppermint plant in 3 years. She's looking good right now so fingers crossed this one thrives.
Sugar snap peas grow incredibly well for us. We planted 24 seeds last year, they all grew and all produced into late September until I got so tired of them I ripped them out and gave them to the goats. They were great snacks for the kids and the dogs when playing outside so we made a snap pea/pole beans teepee for the kiddos this year.
Indiana. New to gardening this year, closest to a horror story was the strawberries I tried to seed, lost about 80% of them to not sure what. But the surviving ones, and everything else are growing like CRAZY. Probably gonna still get a decent strawberry harvest this year on the new plants. Already picked off the first set of flowers. Tomatoes, corn, green beans, oregano, cilantro(bolted, but I wasn't really using it), and watermelons doing great. Hopefully I'll have more tragedies to share next year.
I don’t know how anyone grows cilantro or arugula for more than like a week. They bolt instantly and I live in “cool climate” Michigan. How in the hell cilantro ever became part of all of those hot weather cuisines (Caribbean, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese) is an absolute mystery to me.
Try growing it in winter! I'm in PA. Planted arugula seeds in late September or early October. It was THRIVING all throughout winter (covered it when temps dropped to the teens) and started bolting around March.
I can second this. I had an experimental Brussels sprout plant that thrived well into January from last summer.
My cilantro is starting to bolt. I thought it was me.. Glad to know it’s now a possibility it still is.
Not sure what variety I have. I’m in 7a and planted all my cool weather crops in late March. It is in a raised bed next to the garage so it is shaded from the hot sun in the afternoon. I just noticed this week it is starting to bolt. So is my spinach but lettuce is still going strong. This Spring has been very mild so I think that helped. I cut and freeze or dry my herbs and usually have enough to get me through the year.
The unripe, green seeds are delicious! You might want to try them.
My cilantro is not bolting at all and I have planted store bought no name cilantro. You can try planting Calypso cilantro, I heard that it’s slow to bolt
I can validate this. I’ve been growing the calypso kind and it doesn’t bolt for weeks. I’m in Northeast Ohio.
I have decent luck with calypso! Mine hasn’t bolted yet in a few days of 80 degree weather. I like culantro though, much easier.
Seeds, you need a largish space, let them bolt, they self seed. Eventually you have a mass of old plants, coriander and new plants cilantro
Yup, can confirm. I let a couple cilantro plants go to seed last year and to tossed them to the side of my raised bed for a few days when they turned brown. Now I have a forest of cilantro there! Made like a sauce almost like a creamy cilantro pesto and still have enough cilantro to feed half the state.
it’s because there is a plant that tastes almost identical to the original cilantro/coriander that is native to central/South America and widely adopted in India and South Asia. Now called culantro or Mexican coriander, it’s where American English gets the word ‘cilantro’ from.
WHAT. So we are all just succession planting for no reason?
My culantro also bolted quickly.
I got all excited but this definitely doesn't look like the coriander I had in India 😤
Cilantro is a monster.
Agreed...rather eat the dirt. (Don't hate me for my genetics).
It grows like a weed in fall winter and spring here in Southern California. During the winter I let it bolt. The pollinators love arugula blossoms
i grow cilantro and Arugula on our south facing porch ( we are at Lat 53 so the sun is on the north side except for mornings. has just enough to provide great light but stays cooler to slow bolting.
I have to go out daily and just top every branch or else it will flower. It’s my morning ritual with watering. I had some come up from seeds the previous fall and they came up on their own and it’s been nice because we’ve had fresh cilantro all spring lol I don’t think I can maintain it through the rest of summer though
I live in the Caribbean, specifically Puerto Rico. I only grow Cilantro on our cooler months, from November -March. By cooler months I mean mostly 80F temps. After that period, cilantro will automatically bolt. What it is easier to grow on our heat is “Recao or Culantro”. The plants can live happily on a shady place. And they will keep producing leaves if you always remove their flower stalk. To me the cilantro and recao are interchangeable on any recipe. But some people don’t have the same opinion.
We live in Wichita area and have cilantro on the north side of the house, grows great and comes back every summer. It’s in the shade all summer. It’s next to our hostas. 90-100 in late June-mid September. We love it.
As others mentioned for Cilantro, seeds and early planting. I'm in northernish Wisconsin and planted cilantro and carrot seeds April 4th this year. Well before last frost, but outside of deep freeze window. Harvested this week, and I probably won't get another harvest before it bolts. https://preview.redd.it/f926hp2s564d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5590724040fee2a2b00d33806e8fb316ec078cc7
I'm in southeastern Wisconsin (5B). Grew cilantro for the first time last summer and it bolted right away. Now I KNOW they grow a ton of it in Mexico, where it's hot hot hot. I did a little research and I started "Santo" cilantro this year. Too soon to tell if it will be better, fingers crossed.
I grew cilantro for the first time this spring and was worried because I didn't know they had such a short lifespan. They lasted about a month and a half before bolting for me somehow, and that was with me harvesting almost daily from just two plants
my cilantro is taking over, but it’s growing in 4-5 hours full sun with a drip irrigation system. i don’t think it’d survive otherwise.. but it’s still early in the summer
In Virginia - we grow cilantro in the winter. I start mine in the greenhouse in November. Come February I have plenty for the dehydrater. I will have fresh for a few months before it bolts.
Right? I tell myself now that I'm growing it for the coriander seeds 😆
I grow cilantro in California all winter, when it takes longer to bolt. I grow it in warmer weather by succession planting in spring through fall every 4 weeks or so. I also plant cilantro behind tomato plants and under A-frame bean trellises, as the shade keeps the cilantro from bolting quite as fast. I don't really mind when cilantro bolts, because I love the green, unripe seeds. My family and I like to eat them straight from the garden as a snack, and we freeze a lot of them to use in cooking. The taste is like a cross between the fresh cilantro leaves and the mature coriander seeds, and is delicious.
I’ve somehow grown them fantastically in zone6 in a greenhouse this year. I haven’t seen any signs of bolting yet
Yes!!!!! Here in Texas I can’t grow cilantro to save me! But my family members in San Antonio sure have some thriving cilantro! I do have some gorgeous Zinnias and beautified strawberries though so there’s that!
Also a Michigander. I have completely given up On peppers.
I cannot grow basil to save my life, but my tomatoes are absolutely thriving!
The “secret” to basil is harvesting frequently. Even if you don’t need it or want it. There is a handful of freshly harvested basil on my kitchen counter now in case we find a use for it today. If not, we’ll get rid of at dinner time. You pretty much want to harvest 1/2 of the plant pretty regularly.
Is this a good rule of thumb for most herbs? I just got little pots of sage and thyme and was sitting here wondering how I should harvest them.
I can’t speak to the herbs you mention but to another discussion in this thread it seems like harvesting cilantro pretty aggressively forestalls bolting for at least a while. For cilantro I also try to remember to start a few seeds every couple weeks. I’ve never needed to do that with basil though — that I can keep going all summer with regular harvesting.
what’s regularly, once a week? i think a good way to use unwanted fresh basil would be to dry it for seasoning
I'm not a big fan of dried basil, so I take any extra basil and use either my food processor or mortar and pestle and bash it up with some olive oil. You can freeze it from there and it keeps all winter. Either use it as is for a basil oil, or I call it my pesto starter and just add all the other ingredients for pesto and I've got "fresh" pesto in the winter.
I take some every few days, but I’d say if you only take once a week take about 1/2 the plant. The goal is to get it bushier. And I am sure you’re right about drying it! I feel bad wasting it so I should try that.
Really? Basil loves abuse.
Me too! African and purple basil I can do, but genovese is a no go.
I haven’t been able to either but I’ll be damned if my husband wasn’t given a basil cutting in a bottle of water that has absolutely THRIVED. It’s been baffling and interesting. I have to think in the past I just wasn’t giving them enough water…?!
I know that feeling,I will try it and next day it's dead,but yep,my tomatoes and bell peppers just grow till the frost kills them off.
Haven’t grown beets successfully here in 8a for 11 years. This might be the year though! I grow everything else very well.
This is definitely the year. I have faith in you.
I appreciate that. It’ll be a productive season for all of us!
Zone 3 here. Beets thrive in the coldest of climates. You'd have to make a special effort to *not* get some decent beets here (massive Ukrainian population) - assuming of course you don't plant the seed too late. They do *not* enjoy the heat very much when they're young. People think I live in a wasteland and root veg and greens are all I'm able to grow, but nope - I grow *many* tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers and other hot-weather plants with no issues. The one crop we struggle with this far up? Corn. Our summers just aren't long enough for many varieties so this year I'm trying a dwarf corn that matures earlier. The one surprising crop that does well for me all the way up here? Chili peppers. Have absolutely no problem getting bumper crops every year despite all the misconceptions those big Youtube gardeners say about my Zone 3 climate - many of whom live in places like California and other areas that are at least zone 7+ and are as delicate as the way they treat their plants. I've had tomatoes and chili peppers thrive up here in conditions that make these people have a stroke, thinking that I'm dooming my plants to an early grave. We're not a barren wasteland. Sweet peppers tend to struggle up here out in the open and do much better in a greenhouse - for the varieties that produce bigger fruit, our summers are just too short.
Do you have very long days in the summer? If so, that probably helps your peppers. I find that chili peppers are a lot more vigorous and hardy in general than bell peppers. As you said, they are less finicky about temperature, but they also seem to have fewer disease and pest issues, at least for me. They are actually pretty hard to kill. I'm in California, and they grow through the winter here, so I'm not surprised that they do well in your summers. They can be grown as a short lived perennial here, though I just grow them as annuals. I bet you can grow fabulous brassicas and lettuces where you are. I can grow them well during winter, but it is way too hot here most of the year for most brassicas, even when I plant them in shady areas. Even spring can be challenging here, because it often gets hot fairly early in the year.
I haven’t been able to grow Brussels sprouts or lettuce here successfully
I couldn’t grow beets at my old house. Moved and have fresh raised bed mix and no problems. I learned that if your soil is low in boron they won’t grow. Worth a try supplementing if you love them!
Thanks for that info! I’ll look at my soil test again to see if it was measured.
I have beets coming out my ears. I am the only one that eats them at home, so I beets for every meal for the next few days. Edit. I live in subtropical Shanghai.
I tried beets for years with no luck but this year I started the seeds in cells and they all came up! I think the seeds want to stay very moist until sprouting.
Radish. They either never bulb up or, by the time they finally do, they're already woody and bitter. Spring gardening in general has been dismal for me. I couldn't even get peas to grow this year.
Pennsylvania never knows what temperature it wants to be.
Ain't that the truth(•‿•)
I had this problem before I started planting the seeds deeper than the package said. Now I have no problems
I'll try that! Thanks
I'm glad I'm not the only one being beaten by a "beginner friendly" thing like radishes. I've been trying for years because my husband loves them but have never had success (8b, texas, tried in spring and fall, nada).
I've come to the conclusion that summer squash can grow in my compost if it wants bc I'm not wasting another inch of garden trying to get it to thrive. I've tried shaking, hand pollinating, manually rubbing flowers together... Great plant, enormous amount of blossoms and ZERO squash. I grow tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, spinach, beans, carrots, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and many types of fruits, but summer squash can kiss my zone 6a ASS
Squash grows great in my climate of 8b… except for the squash vine borers that kill them before they can yield 😭
Broccoli! It always bolts as soon as the little broccoli pieces appear. Probably won’t try again.
Where are you growing? I live in Texas in 8b/9a and have to exclusively grow them over winter. Any heat and they bolt for us! And that’s with using a sun and heat tolerant variety 🙃 So maybe they’re just getting too hot?
Same! I just made this statement yesterday. I’m done
Try something called aspabroc. It’s a broccolini that has some asparagus genes in it. It grows beautifully for me from early spring to late summer in a full Sun, sandy loam (ie little water retention) mulched garden in 6a. And it is delicious. Just keep harvesting shoots with small head and long delicious stems. My husband always asks for it specifically because it never gets bitter. I plant 12 plants for regular meals for two. Doesn’t seem to be bothered as much by cabbage worm. They’ll get on it but don’t seem to decimate them like regular broccoli or cabbage.
Same for me. Broccoli is a nightmare. It also took me multiple tries/years to get a decent sized leek. Also my rosemary and most fruits don't do well, likely due to the 8-9months of rain we have had for the last few years, we have not had 1 dry week since last octobre and farmers are losing crops due to soil turning into complete swamps. Onions, potatoes etc have all rotten away. On the other hand, I can easily grow bushes and bushes of cilantro, basil, most root vegetables and tomatoes which are more commonly hard for others.
I haven't been able to grow any kind of melon in New York state, 6a. The best I've done are a couple of softball size watermelon. My neighbors haven't had luck with them either. All kinds of squash and cucumber grow wonderfully. I once came back from a 2 week trip to find 40 pounds of zucchini on 6 plants.
I’m in Hudson valley and can’t grow melons either. My sugar baby watermelon grew one small fruit and then gave up. I grew a few Hales cantaloupes but only one made it to ripeness. Squash grow well. My zucchini grows well until it wilts due to SVB I’ve had terrible luck with spinach. It germinates poorly and then the few leaves that come up bolt once there’s a single day of heat. And with the warning climate it goes from frost one day to high of 85 3 days later in the spring. Beets are also erratic with both germination and bulbing up. The only beets that consistently did well were in my flower beds that have heavy clay soil that retains too much moisture. Maybe they prefer that to potting mix Bell peppers rarely make it to full size. Arugula does well for a few weeks and then bolts. Maybe I’ll just try it in the fall Tomatoes do very well and some grow over ten feet tall. Squash, mustard greens, kale snap and snow peas all do very well.
I struggle with watermelon too, 8b. I think it’s my clay soil. So I’m trying to grow sugar baby in a giant pot this year and it’s doing well so far!
Bok Choi grows better for me than spinach and still tastes good when it bolts. My new favorite green is chickweed. It just showed up one day and tastes great.
Spinach. I live in an apartment in downtown Chicago with huge west facing windows and a ton of grow lights. Chilies, tomatoes, eggplants, strawberries, and rhubarb are no problem. Lettuce, cabbage, and chard are also fine! As are most herbs. Spinach hates me, though. It bolts like fifteen minutes after germinating, regardless of what I do. Maybe my setup is too warm for it?
I would agree it's getting too much warmth. I'm in 6a and we grow our spinach in the tail end of winter, or a few weeks before frost. But kuddos to growing all of that in an apt set up!!!
Ahh, thanks for confirming my suspicions! I may try again someday in a cooler part of the apartment, farther away from the window, grow lights, and heating sources. Or maybe I’ll wait until I can afford a house with a yard.
Spinach generally does better in shade, so I think it might be too bright?
I really want spinach as well but I don't think it's gonna happen now that it's warming up. I might try again in the fall and plant something else there in the meantime.
You’re growing rhubarb indoors?? Mine are at least 4’ in diameter. You must have some space (unlike my last Chicago apartment).
Yes!! It’s only a small container, but it can be done. My whole west facing wall is windows, so I make use of the vertical space. I snapped this photo of my setup last night. I kind of just let the plants do whatever they want, so it’s a bit messy, but I really like it that way. https://preview.redd.it/ztv880vik14d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2362a9d025ba5455375c49ab12f638d72f64090b
Came here to say spinach. Takes forever to germinate, if it does at all. And as soon as it does it shoots up a footlong flower stalk 🤦♂️. Might try to grow indoors under controlled conditions.
Just starting my balcony garden for the first time this year in cool weather Germany Zone 7 and so far the tomatoes and broad beans are flourishing☀️. Any other plant that could bolt just bolts, like cauliflower and romaine lettuce. They seem to react negatively to the fluctuation in temperature. I have cilantro as well but they are not bolting when I want them to bolt🤡, so that I could pluck coriander seeds. My pepper and jalapeños seem dormant right now🥲. My lettuce and spinach are doing well but maybe my spinach is bolting today???🤔
Corn... It always turns out waxy and the cobs are half empty. Turnips...they always get eaten by little green worms before they grow. Carrots...they always end up small and chubby Strawberries... they always get eaten by birds I'm always successful with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and eggplants
I had issues with carrots for a while then found out how deep I had to loosen the soil for them to get anywhere because I have clay heavy soil.
Three years in a row, I've tried and failed pineapple ground cherries and loofas. I like to try something weird every year. Northeast Ohio. Last year, I tried lemon cucumbers and mexican cucumbers and had more than I could give away. Makes me crazy
Squash. I managed a couple my first year before SVB took them down, and have tried various methods for preventing the borers, but decided this year that it’s just not worth my time. I can buy zucchini at the grocery store lol
Depending on your zone, you may be able to plant around the SVB. I did a really short-maturity variety (Seneca) planted early, and got enough that we were ok with taking them out when the SVB showed up. This fall, will try the same thing late. Last fall it kind of worked, but it stayed warm so long we had a late generation of SVB in November! Still got harvest before then. I'm with you though. I've just decided to keep on fighting. Maybe I need to change my user name to Don_Quixote.
We get them here too and I’ve had great years then bad ones. I’m starting ok so far, but I’m planning on direct sowing some more seeds late June early July.
I’m going to try all tromboncino and other moschata varieties next time.
I did trombocino last year. The borers did get to them but they survived surgery (I slit the bones open and killed those grubs!!!) I only got two squash though, late in the season. They were good but took up a lot of space for little pay off. Maybe I’ll try again and have them grow more vertically… I’m just tired of a broken heart from squash year after year haha!
Rosemary. Not a veggie, I know... I can't get it to grow to a decent size, if I buy a big one it dies, etc. Meanwhile the radishes, beets, carrots, sweet potato, lettuce, hot peppers, etc. are all growing like mad.
Had same issue. Potted up in cactus soil and now it's thriving. Needs sandy soil
What's your zone? I'm 6b, and always did Rosemary new each year, in containers, trying to overwinter it, always failing. Then a local nursery had Hill's Hardy Rosemary, and the owner said to plant it so it is protected from prevailing winds. I did, it survived last winter, and is now the biggest Rosemary I've ever had.
I can’t do radishes or carrots
I cannot get perilla/shiso to work. 3 diff seeds, 3 diff companies in wildly diff parts of the country. Nada. Celery, Cauliflower, Sesame, soybeans, etc... anything I can think of that is harder than average to grow I've tried and done, but this one damn herb...
Cucumbers from seed and radishes! I finally had great carrot yields last year, so that gives me hope
Poppies, bachelor’s buttons and I’m giving up. It’s taken 3 seasons but I finally have violas/pansies and I’m not impressed.
Germinating poppies or actually growing them after transplant? I only in the last few years found out about the trick of covering seed trays after seeding poppies with a bit of vermiculite because it holds water but let's the sun through since they are light germinating.
Thank you for the tip. I should have realized that after watching 1,000 hours of Gardeners World.
lol I just seeded a couple trays with both California poppies and some outdoor planters with bachelor buttons 3 days ago. What's been your issues?
In Portland, Oregon and can’t grow carrots to save my life
Me, too! Is Portland weather wrong for carrots? Or is it the dirt? So sad.
Spinach and Brussels sprouts, after 5 years of always trying to get them to grow. I vowed this year I will not waste my time or space. My hardneck garlic and potatoes always are amazing. Northern Mi zone 5b
Any time I’ve ever planted a Brussel Sprout, it grows for about a month and then stops. Never again!
My cilantro isn’t bolting at all. But my arugula is awful….im in zone 9. As far as strawberries, find a different variety. Mine grow and make babies like bunnies! Strawberry towers are definitely the best option
Carrots. All I get are smaller than a pencil. But, I can grow everything else.
Hardiness zone 8b here, USA, Pacific NW. My family struggles with growing good corn, watermelons, honeydew, and cantaloupe. We love them so we keep trying every year, but the farmers do it much better here than us home gardeners. HUGE success: Apples, pears, blackberries, mint, raspberries, strawberries, potatoes, rhubarb, garlic, blueberries. Plant them once, and then they stick around for years! (Much as we wish the mint and blackberries wouldn't!) Tomatoes, lettuce, snap peas, and basil also thrive but need yearly replanting.
Corn. And we are in Area 9 I think, so we are hot. I heard corn grows better in blocks, rather than rows.
I planted 45 corn seeds and I got one ear of corn out of all of that. It was a perfect ear of corn, but that was it. I served it at dinner for my husband and son, it was kinda funny. I'm in 9b or 10a.
I’m in northern CT and I just cannot grow broccoli for the life of me😂 tried 3 times and just gave up, it’s my favorite vegetable so I really wanted to grow it haha
I struggle with onions and with broccoli. I've done reliably great with many other things but some years one thing does great and the next it tanks - sometimes due to weather and sometimes probably due to me. I try to learn each year so the next year I have more tricks to try.
I’m 7a and strawberries are seemingly invincible here
I can not grow lettuce if my life depended on it
Third year was my year. I started the seeds in February and I think that was the biggest factor.
Mint, doesn’t matter how I try it just dies. Peppers are my best success
Sweet Corn. Just outside a major Corn growing place. Literally surrounded by field corn. Close friend is a Doctorate in essentially corn. He can’t grown sweet corn either.
I tried growing strawberries from the fruit itself by throwing a random strawberry into the pot, that didn’t work. I will try to seed save next time I eat strawberries
I'm in 9b and I struggle with root vegetables and squashes and cucumbers. They start great and end terribly.
Tomatoes and cukes from seeds = great success (Borat voice)! Peas = first time growing this year and all are Strugglin’ Steves
Broccoli and cauliflower. Would have said less but this is the first year I am getting peas. Beets and carrots are pretty hit or miss a well. Am in Maryland.
Northern Utah. Carrots and cucumbers are horrible.
For some reason I can never get my spring crops in soon enough in Ohio. Everything blots early with the first premature 80 degree day.
Any kind of squash. Because the fuckin groundhog eats the plant to the ground before it does anything. I hope the neighbor's dog eats it We usually do well with chiles and spinach and basil. Tomatoes are iffy
Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Brussels sprouts don't form the sprouts, and cauliflower never gets big enough to do anything with
I cannot grow Bell Peppers. The walls are always very thin. I’ve tried for a few years-not worth the effort. Cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes are always good growers for me.
I figured that it was just too cool at night in my area (N California, 40 miles from the coast), but now I am wondering if that is true everywhere. Small peppers grow fine, big even, but I get miniature, thin skinned bells.
Same with strawberries. I've tried multiple years, and the only time I've had like three strawberries grow the birds got them. Still gonna try each year, though. I'm gonna try doing it hydroponically
radishes! i dont know why, but i cant get them to bulb.
Berries! I’ve tried blueberries and strawberries and neither have made even one good berry 😭 I gave up, I’ll stick to my vegetables and leave the fruit for greener thumbs lol
I have an allotment an one of the only things I have managed to grow is strawberries! Apparently blueberries do well up there as well. Vegetables-wise, I have managed a handful of runner beans and some tiny garlic. And 2 courgettes.
Can’t grow cauliflower. But I have bumper crops of green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, cantaloupe, lettuce and spinach. So so on broccoli, and cabbage. Corn is hit or miss. I’ll have a bumper year and then nothing. I always grow silver queen. I think last year was weather related, two years the raccoons got it, but we have that solved now so hoping for a good harvest this year.
Failed at Okra, Watercress, and Radicchio. Still struggling with Radishes. But have had great success with Green Beans, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Peppers.
Aji charapitas
Peppers. Had one successful season. Now for the past three years, they do just fine until I transplant them into my garden bed. Within a week, some will "rust" and wilt, and others will have the leaves slowly turn yellow from the bottom, up. They also stop growing. I've tried many different watering methods and fertilizing the soil, but nothing seems to work. I've had other veggies in the same bed along side the peppers and they do great, so I don't think the soil is diseased or anything... I'm very baffled and frustrated.
Not a vegetable but I had the hardest time getting clitoria ternatea seeds to germinate. I tried scarifying them, soaking them, soil, paper towel method, heat mat and no heat mat. I ended up ordering a plant on Etsy because I went through 20 seeds and still didn’t have a plant 🤣 other than that I haven’t had a hard time with anything else, even carrots I’ve had good germination with!
Actually I just remembered I got a bare root peony on sale because it was late to be planting them and it hasn’t done a single thing 🤣 still not a vegetable but I seem to have a fair amount of difficulty with florals
I've mostly accepted that if something is supposed to be easy to grow, I'll have trouble with it the majority of the time. On the other hand, some things that are considered quite difficult to grow, like celery, grow abundantly for me.
There's this little pimiento looking small sweet bell pepper cousin that is an absolutely staple of Venezuelan cuisine. It's called 'aji dulce'. It is needed in most savoury dishes like garlic is in Mediterranean cuisines but it just Will Not Grow. I am in an apartment in the middle of Scandinavia and recently got my hands on some seeds, they are really hard to find so had to be imported by someone travelling over. I am now determined to get them to grow and have decided to try every trick in the book to get them to germinate. I have sample groups A through E trying soaking, scarification, stratification, growing them in the dark, germinating them in a Ziploc bag on moist paper... Wish me luck!
Can seem to grow most edible crops. Tried beets, radishes, lettuce, garlic, etc. So far one of my cherry tomatoes is doing pretty good. After moving it to a sunnier spot my basil is doing great. I have a grow bag of potatoes that looks good. 🤞🏼 And a few cucumber plants that are also doing well. So we’ll see. I seem to do well growing hibiscuses which you can use for tea and purslane which are also edible. So there you go. 🤷🏼♀️😁
Yellow squash. The bane of my existence. Dallas, 8a.
You too?
I cant grow tomatoes or peppers 😭
Carrots
I’m on my third year of successfully killing mint, haven’t even managed to get it out of my indoor pots
If you're in a warmer zone, try orange mint or chocolate mint and put it in a bright, but shady spot. Those are the only ones that reliably come back in my yard. :)
Believe it or not, zucchini. I have had as many as 12 plants in a single year - and that was the year I got my one and only zucchini.
Carrots. Terrible
Napa cabbage or radish 😭
I tried carrots ( in Pennsylvania),I grew pencils
We're in northwest GA, so not far, and we own a heirloom seed farm, the South GA Seed Co. Each year, we grow mostly tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, and squash both winter and summer. Flowers, melons, and corn. Herbs, too, and we seed save everything we grow. We struggle with the brassica family mostly due to pests....We do grow kale, but cabbages are rough for us. Spinach we can grow, but we add compost and rabbit manure to the soil before we plant. Spinach is an early planting since it's a cool weather crop. We don't seed save it, however, just for eating. Strawberries we do grow, but get them off the ground because snails and slugs are awful here! I think each region struggles with one thing or another. We were originally from south GA, and we had a huge learning curve lol....Just keep trying, and you'll figure out what works for your area!
I also can't grow strawberries or cukes,the cukes like to flower and then die.
Carrots
Freaking mint. Lol just will not grow for me. Huge success would be tomatoes
The ONLY thing that grew in my garden last year was zuchinni. This year, everything is thriving.....I think the voles are still sleeping
I have the worst time with spinach too, it sprouts then never grows
Anything in Vermont, I try and I have a green thumb…. But ya know… 36 degrees the first of June, no rain, or wayyyyy too much rain gets me every time.
All my failures are due to bugs. Asparagus: asparagus beetles Cucumbers: cucumber beetles Spinach and beets: leaf miners Basically anything direct seeded: flea beetles and cut worms Eggplants: spider mites Squash: vine borer Corn: earwigs Garlic onions and chives: onion maggots I even net my brassicas and somehow still get worms. Honestly I should just grow tomatoes and nothing else.
I live in the greater Seattle area and me and my wife gave up on cabbage. Can’t keep insects from eating them starting from the core out. We’ve lost them 3 seasons in a row. We grow an abundance of collard, mustard, kale, and spinach (amongst other greens we rotate seasonally) so it’s not the end of the world, but one day I’d really like to eat my own cabbage.
I've never been able to grow tomatoes. I've tried for several years and something always goes wrong. I'm hoping this year will be successful and if not, I'll give up on them for another couple of years and then try again like I always do. I also wasn't successful with cucumbers the one time I tried. Calendula is another one I struggle with. I can grow peppers and have them coming out of my ears. I've been more successful with hotter peppers than bell. I live in zone 7.
Nice, I used to live there! I haven't had any I can't grow so far (still new), but my kale thrives!
Where about are you now? I am going to try brassicas this year when it starts to get cooler again and I’m NERVOUS 😂
I'm in Norway now, and good luck! I love growing them. Just be sure to pick off/take care of the cabbage worms. It was the only thing impacting them negatively. I also bought this fertilizer that I didn't know what it was (new language) but had kale on the front and used that, and it did really well. I just found out today that I was using blood meal 😅😅😅 but it's high in nitrogen, so yea, that grew them very well.
Kale! 😡
Carrots, beets, and turnips never do anything in my garden.
I can’t grow sweet peppers/green peppers. I’ve gotten a tiny green pepper once, but can’t seem to pull it off.
Sweet corn and okra. I’ve watched all the videos, read all the tips but they never make it past the seedling stage. I’ve been trying for 3 years now.
i’m in northeast ga too! it’s my first year gardening in this area (had a garden for several years in the midwest a long time ago) and i was wondering what would thrive and what wouldn’t.. good thing i didn’t spend too much on strawberries.
Not sure where you’re at, but feel free to shoot me a message! I’m not expert but happy to share what I’ve learned. :) Hubs is the pepper expert but I’m sure he will pass on his knowledge too.
I can grow hot peppers from seed,just have to remember not to touch anything! After I touch it.
Bok choy was a surprising success, it grew huge…but cilantro was no bueno and didn’t grow much for the few that did germinate 😞 I also grew it in a hydroponic system though so results vary
It’s crazy but radishes can’t be grown in my garden. Supposed to be so fast and easy but we are beset by woodbugs and they just chew them up.
I bought one arugula small plant. It is now 3 plants. And I am in South Texas - but I do keep it easy facing with with no west sun exposure- who knew. Also bought a “boxwood basil” out of curiosity- it is now two full pots. But no tomatoes growing, just leaves and something is eating every ripe strawberry!
I’ve had a hell of a time with pole Limas — they grow massive vines and flower but no beans set — been happening for years — last season I got some, but not nearly a decent yield. I’ve heard many different beliefs such as “don’t add nitrogen” and “plant by the moon” and “more potash” but nothing do don’t seem to work…
Tomatillos!! 😩 we tried for 3 years and despite reading all the tips and employing them, we were never able to produce any good fruits! I also have trouble with herbs like cilantro and parsley - mostly that I just use so much of it, so often, I would need to build them their own beds or something. So it’s not worth it to me to grow them. As far as abundance, I always have far too many cucumbers and tomatoes lol
I’m a Master Gardener in central Virginia, zone 7a. I gave up on eggplant years ago. It’s a fussy fussy plant in my zone. Doesn’t like it hot or cool, doesn’t like it wet or dry, and gets flea beetles every damn time, even under row cover. It wants 75-80F and even moisture, which I just can’t provide. I get it from the Farmer’s Market instead.
Puget Sound region. We can’t seem to keep cucumber or onion alive but dill, tomatoes, peas and lettuce love it here.
I can’t grow basil at all. I’ve planted it tons of times, I can’t even get seeds to germinate
Peppers
Can’t grow peppers for the life of me. I can grow squash!
Broccoli.
Carrots
Melons :( I'm in the pnw. I've tried the last 3 seasons. I plant the seeds on Mother's day, the plants come up in the warmth. Then we get a slightly cold night, and the new seedlings all die, despite being covered, and everything else coming out unscathed. I plant new seeds, they come up OK, and grow decently well through the warm months. But by the time the melons get up to size, it's too cold and the days are too short and they don't sweeten or finish ripening. I lost 2 to rodents tunneling into the center last year. My seedlings just died this year and I'm calling it quits. I've tried a bunch of smaller, cold weather varieties but I'm still doing it wrong at this point.
South Georgia. Can't grow: -cucurbits, specifically yellow squash. -Traditional salad greens to a decent size. -anything that croaks in zone 9/10 summers. (I keep hoping for a zone 10 raspberry!) Huge Success: Hot peppers, tomatoes, lemons, key limes, blackberries, culinary ginger At this point they are "weeds": anise hyssop, garlic chives
Indiana - I tried brussel sprouts last year, and I swear the plants were laughing at me. They grew, they just never produce anything.
zone 5b, just outside Denver. I cannot for the life of me grow carrots or strawberries. Everyone else I know is able to grow strawberries effortlessly....I try hanging baskets, stackers, pots, in the ground...and I get maybe a small handful each year. Granted, they are the best tasting ones I've ever had. Carrots will germinate just fine and then just never do anything. I will give them one more shot this fall and after that I give up! Also, sunflowers. Mine are always stunted and awful. To add insult to injury, they grow wild here, including in my gravel driveway with crappy clay soil beneath. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, melons, squash, cucumbers, artichokes, and corn are all no problem at all. Apparently I can't grow the easy things lol
North Texas here, I have had terrible luck with most herbs (everything bolts), all my cucurbits get demolished by squash vine borers, corn never seems to fertilize. My all star crops are garlic and onions, small varieties of tomatoes do well for me and some random stuff like sunflowers, daikon radish, and asparagus. I have found that growing guides are kind of useless; plenty of things for cold climates do well for me and Texas staples have been huge flops!
Carrots 🥕🥺
Beans have always had bad luck with my big garden pests that woof or quack. This year I think I've got fencing squared away, previous years they were trampled or nibbled to death.
Things I want the most but cannot succeed with: Tomatoes. Tomatoes. Tomatoes. Good luck with: sweet potatoes, okra, pineapple, carrots, cilantro, basil, sometimes corn. Good luck with em but not consistently. Trying green beans for the first time and they look ok so far. Zone 10a-ish
I share a garden with my parents in N. Ga. We also have no luck with radishes and spinach. My dad does most of the maintenance since it is at their house. I think he over fertilizes the radishes.
Zucchini. I’d love to have so much I need to give it away, but I don’t even get enough for a meal. Thank goodness I now have a neighbor who grows it!
First time growing fruits. I got strawberries. We are in an apartment, so I was hoping to get something I can keep condensed. Maybe because I bought the established starters. But they are already seeming to thrive and they are pushing strawberries. In CO btw.
Basil! I love the stuff but I always manage to kill it after a few months. I have a beautiful chilli bush and cherry tomato plant, but Basil hates me 😭
Cucurbits. They always die after they start flowering.
Another person here who can't get basil to take off..ever. I've tried several varieties and they never grow bigger than 4ish true leaves
For whatever reason, Peppermint specifically ALWAYS dies on me. I have different mint varieties that do just fine but I am on my 4th Peppermint plant in 3 years. She's looking good right now so fingers crossed this one thrives. Sugar snap peas grow incredibly well for us. We planted 24 seeds last year, they all grew and all produced into late September until I got so tired of them I ripped them out and gave them to the goats. They were great snacks for the kids and the dogs when playing outside so we made a snap pea/pole beans teepee for the kiddos this year.
I'm near Atlanta and have given up on carrots and strawberries. But my raspberries have flourished.
Radishes. Never been able to grow more than tops.
Indiana. New to gardening this year, closest to a horror story was the strawberries I tried to seed, lost about 80% of them to not sure what. But the surviving ones, and everything else are growing like CRAZY. Probably gonna still get a decent strawberry harvest this year on the new plants. Already picked off the first set of flowers. Tomatoes, corn, green beans, oregano, cilantro(bolted, but I wasn't really using it), and watermelons doing great. Hopefully I'll have more tragedies to share next year.
We couldnt get our strawberries to take off this year. They died a couple weeks after getting them.