Gardeners across the UK have been hard at work this year, facing a variety of challenges from the early heatwave to thunderstorms and even toxic caterpillars. Despite these obstacles, the first summer month has brought us closer to the rewards of our backyard efforts. Tomatoes, salad greens, cucumbers, and more are currently or will soon be ready to eat – if, of course, they grow well enough to begin with.
A recent post on r/GardeningUK by user JollyFunctions sparked a discussion about the one vegetable or fruit that gardeners would never try to grow again. The responses were diverse and varied, with some surprising results. Here are some of the most popular answers from fellow gardeners:
1) “Cauliflower. Way too much hassle.” Reddit user u/BeccaaCat shared their frustration with growing cauliflower, which seems to require a lot of effort for little reward. Another user, u/tubaleiter, agreed, adding that most brassicas (such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage) are not worth the hassle. However, they did make an exception for cavolo nero, a type of kale that they find to be worth the effort.
2) “Chillis. I tried last year.” User u/Thestolenone shared a tale of their cat destroying their chilli plants overnight, leaving only three to survive. Unfortunately, these plants were later attacked by slugs, and the gardener admitted that they didn’t even like chillis in the first place.
3) “Butternut squash.” While this vegetable is delicious and versatile, it seems to be quite a hassle to grow. User u/Retro_infusion shared their experience with huge leaves and only one decent fruit, while the rest of their plants went wrong.
4) “Aubergines.” Some gardeners seem to have a hard time with aubergines, which can be a bit temperamental. User u/JocastaH-B shared their frustration with their plants flowering but never producing any fruit.
5) “Carrots have never worked, cauliflower is always eaten, corn is too hard and takes too much space, cabbage gets eaten, peppers are not big enough.” This user seems to have had a lot of trouble with various crops and has narrowed down their growing list to just a handful. However, they also shared their success with potatoes, parsnips, courgettes, chillis, onions, tomatoes, pumpkins, chard, beetroot, and asparagus.
6) “We grew potatoes in the ground once. Rookie mistake.” Another user’s experience with potatoes turned out to be quite humorous – every year since, they have found random potato plants growing under their patio after missing some during their initial harvest.
7) “Sweet potato.” User u/watthebosh shared their experience with growing a beautiful plant but no potatoes. Sweet potatoes can be a bit trickier to grow, and it seems like this gardener unfortunately missed out on the reward.
8) “Sprouts.” These tiny veggies may be a Christmas dinner staple, but they can be quite troublesome to grow. User u/Hephaestus1816 shared their experience with sprouts being relentlessly attacked by pests and eventually abandoned to the bugs.
9) “Leeks or brassicas.” User u/Katbearwol shared their dislike for dealing with pests such as alium leaf miners and caterpillars, which often target these types of plants. They have chosen to focus their energy on other vegetables that they enjoy more.
Do you have any experiences to share? Whether they are successes or failures, let us know in the comments! Despite the challenges and frustrations that come with gardening, there are always new lessons to be learned and successes to be celebrated. Keep up the good work, and happy gardening!
