I have started growing veggies but was disappointed tis year as all my cauli's, cabbage beetroot, have all sprouted straight up with no veggie's at the bottom, can anyone shed soe light what i have done wrong.. many thanks

Sorry, can't help it's our first year too. We can "do" radishes!

You might have done nothing wrong at all - we had a cold winter and a late start of spring, which delayed most things by about two weeks.... followed by a very long dry period. A lot of plants both wild and garden are doing weird things this year.

I lost some of my herbs this winter, some of which should have been well able to cope with the cold being native species - others have not done well, while a few have gone mental!

it sounds like your brassicas have bolted. That might be down to temperature, water, daylight or nutrients--effectively the plant is speeding straight towards fruiting/flowering as a last resort. Some of these things aren't always in your control, though you could try planting later, using fleece to guard against chill or look again at your watering routine.

You can check http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk for information--this is the Ryton Gardens site, the national organic gardening charity that focuses on fruit, veg and herbs.

i grow tomatoes,courgettes,strawberries,cucumber etc and they are slow this year
jo

I'm no expert - but only beetroot from your list will have veggies at the 'bottom'.  My beetroots have leaves but it will be some time yet before they are ready to harvest.

My hubby built me an 8ft veg trough so the dogs can't water it :) I am having a great time but my rocket rocketed and flowered, I'm learning lots, my tomatoes are really good as are the beans, My strawberries kept disappearing and I caught one of my girls carefully pulling them off and eating them.
A friend has created a facebook group "The veg patch" as I had asked some stupid questions.
Enjoy the experience, it's great watching things flourish.

We have moved tmporarily to a flat whilst we rebuild and Ive started off spuds in 3 bags, tomatoes in a grow bag and hanging basket and some garlic & shallots & onions in a decorative plant box. Plus sweetpeas in a bucket and lavender & rosemerry in a tub, its small but it keeps me in touch.

The gro bag toms are for people Im not keen on as Whistler waters those himself!!!!!! Im sticking to the hanging basket they cant reach that!

Generally overwatering causes veg to bolt even in this very hot weather I check with my finger stuck into the soil, if its wet just below the surface I don't water that night.  Newly planted veg need to be watered with a rose on the can to stop too much water hitting them in a concentrated area of their roots, many look like they're dying but its just the shock of transplanting.  Cauli's, Brocoli and Cabbage like to be transplanted and do better that way than being sown direct into the garden in my experience.

I have 15, 4ft square beds all full now, can't tell you how many I've had to start again with this years volatile weather changes, mostly salad stuff succumbed, didn't have enough fleece to protect them all from frost, that won't happen again lol.

You've got time to reseed, I've just put more babycorn, garlic, outdoor cucumbers, raddish, lettice, carrots, spinach and beetroot in 2 beds to keep my crops coming well into late autum/winter.

Probably a daft question but when I harvest my beetroot I have been told that I have to boil them, is this right? So used to going to the shop to buy things !!

Yep, you sure do - boil until you can easily put a knife in them.  Allow to cool and de-skin (comes off very easily) slice and  put in jars covered in vinegar.  Tastes so much better than shop bought.

Thanks, I look forward to fresh from the garden produce.

With beetroot don't cut the leaves too low either helps stop them leaching colour all over the place lol.

mmm fresh home grown beetroot but no vinegar please I love it warm and freshly cooked. You can peel and grate it and use it raw in salad too.
Anyone got any tips to stop coriander running to seed too quickly. I lost the first lot to slugs and the other is growing soo fast