Well, we are almost in September and so far I have only two pods ripening and one of those was full of just mushy seeds. Weather has turned colder and still very overcast and threatening even more rain.

Bearing in mind that we have only had 4 or 5 days with ANY sunshine at all since May what are the chances of the remaining pods ripening?

Thanks, Guys

I can't say I've ever experienced a summer that extreme! I will say that the first 10 or so pods I harvested this year were all duds. I was seriously worried I'd ever get any good seeds. But the ones after have been fine for the most part. Maybe a few more mushy seeds than normal but plenty of good ones.

So try to be optimistic! If they flowered & set seed in that weather then some good pods should ripen. I will say that it would be a good idea to check the pods daily. If they start opening even a bit & it rains the seeds can get moldy (1st year I had this happen). I've also gotten way more sprouting seeds in pods this year & I suspect that is the cause.

I harvested a pod today with 27 seeds and 10 had already started to sprout! It rained most of yesterday & last night.

Thanks Elena!

I picked my first pod today. It was a bee pod on Alpine Mist. There were 10 seeds in it. I bought Alpine Mist as a blooming clump and there were a couple of bee pods already on it. I decided to let them mature.

My own crosses are probably a couple of weeks away from maturity. I wouldn't be too concerned. I pick pods up until mid-October.

@touchofsky

Hi Valerie & Elena,

Thank you both for your posts, I really appreciate it.

I really am a nervous ninny about these pods especially as they are forecasting frost this week for parts of Yorkshire!

I really couldn't have chosen a worse year weatherwise for learning how to pollinate with the almost constant, unrelenting rain and cloud cover---I really can't remember ever having a year like this one.

It seems to be very localised as well as parts of the south had a really sunny weekend that was hot enough to go to the coast whereas up here it was warm but still no sunshine. Today it is 58f/15c at the moment but forecast to drop to 48f/9c just after midday.

I've never had SAD (seasonal affective disorder) in 'Summer' before!

Your summer sounds like ours. We has constant rain all spring and summer, however, the last two weeks has been dry and sunny, with temps around 70 f./20 c. It rained last night, and we actually needed it. It is going to be cool today, only around 60 f./15 c. We will have a few nights this week just above freezing.

The pods should be fine with an early light frost. If you are worried you could cover them with a little tent made with some lightweight fabric.

@touchofsky

That is a good idea, Valerie.

I think I might ask DH to move Star Child, Honky Tonk Blues and Aquamarine (otherwise known collectively as 'The Holders of the Sacred Pods!) into the cat run on the risky nights--those have my favourite crosses and I don't have room to put all my pots in there.

I put an old sheet over plants I want to protect from early frost. If you don't want the sheet resting directly on the pods, put a bamboo stake or something similar in the pot or the ground to hold the fabric above the pods.