Starting to warm up with the weekend promising to be a hot one. Still picking plenty of salad leaves. Pulled a row of radish and re sowed with the same, a few chinese cabbages and pak choi for stir fry. Planted some runner and french beans to replace lost ones.

Another Bank Holiday

The forecast was good and it didn't disappoint. Saturdays weather was sunshine and showers but by mid afternoon the clouds had moved away for a glorious evening. Usual mix of jobs, sowing, planting and weeding. I bought some more asparagus, connovers collosal to compliment my other varieties. So now i have two beds devoted to asparagus, 32 crowns all together which does seem quite a lot but considering how expensive and delicious it is, well worth it. I also ordered some artichoke, green globe. These came for weekend and have been potted up until i can deside where to put them. They will need somewhere sheltered because they grow quite tall.

All the beds in the veg plot were weeded and tidied up.

On Sunday it was very hot so we went for a bike ride first before relaxing in the garden allotment. Just tidied a few beds and moved things around a little. Time to chill out with family. Chippy tea with croque monsoiur and pineau. Fabulous.

Bank Holiday Monday was another hot day. An early start before it got too hot painting the fencing and sheds. Weather turned a little cool towards the end but another relaxing day with much done.

Friday was another day of rain. Whilst always welcome for watering the plants it is difficult to be motivated. However my first attempt at pak choi was a good success as this picture shows. These went into a nice stir fry with sweet chili sauce.

Saturdays weather was a little better quite sunny in the morning but then the rain came back. I try to work outside in the good weather and inside when it is not so good. It sounds pretty obvious but i try to save jobs for inside when the weather turns. So in between showers i cut some new pieces for the staging from old pallets. This gives me more work space and frees up a section of staging to make a complete section for the back of the greenhouse. The bottom photo shows the salad tray pricked out into respective pots.

The next job was to make a large cloche for one of the salad beds. Both the beds are the same size so the cloche can move from bed to bed depending on requirements. These will be handy for protecting early and late crops. The design is similar to geoff hamiltons from gardeners world. A rectangular frame is made from 4"x1" treated timber. Blue water pipe is then fixed to the insides with screws. A ridge of timber helps hold the pipes and rigid and supports the polythene which is then stretched and stapled to the wood. The cloche can be propped up for ventilation and access. The crops inside really do grow better under protection. Next step a polytunnel i think! The smaller square raised bed has a similar cover made from a timber square with a polythene cover. Finally i planted out some lettuces between to strawberries. It's good not to be tied to certain crops in certain beds, with salad leaves etc they can go anywhere there is a gap without affecting any crop rotation.

Sunday was a good planting out day. I put the green calabrese and dwarf kale in their permanent positions 12" apart and covered them with netting to prevent cabbage white butterflies and other pests. The sprouting broccoli's (Italian, early and late purple) are put into the nursery bed for transplanting later. Apparently the calabrese not good for transplanting. I also started off the compost heap properly. I got a load of fresh manure, grass, cardboard and materials from last years heap and built up in layers so there wasn't too much of one material. The compost heap was filled to the top but a few days later it was starting to heat up and the heap has settled down. in a week or so i will turn the heap over and mix everything up so that oxygen can get in and rot everything down quicker. The heap needs enough heat to kill weed seeds etc but not too hot or it will kill useful bacteria and worms.

On Tuesday i planted out the peas, celebration, alpine strawberries origen improved and the second sowing of delphiniums. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing well and the first strawberries. These are aromel which are an everbearing variety. The last picture is the asparagus bed. Most of the crowns have taken and are sprouting. It's just a case of keeping them clear of weeds, a little feed in summer and patiently wait

Sweetcorn and Courgettes

The weather has improved but still cool and windy. Did some sowing and pricking out on Monday. On Tuesday i planted the asparagus connovers collosal into the seed bed. Wednesday i planted out the sweetcorn, courgettes, squash and pumpkins. The courgettes are in a bed to themselves. The weather was very windy so i tip i saw was to place tyres around the plants to protect them. Not very pretty but they do the job. In the middle of the sweetcorn i have planted the pumpkins, later i will plant some runner beans to create a 'three sisters' companion planting.

Sweetcorn and pumpkins

Growing radishes in a pot was not a great success

Dad's little helpers. Matthieu and Elisabeth have sowed their first seeds of the seasin in a couple of raised beds i made for them. Here they are sowing peas mange toute as well as some carrots parmex and radish french breakfast In a couple of weeks they can some some more to keep them going. We only received some of the bbc 'dig-in' packets of seed through the post. They have carrot early nantes, butternut squash hunter, lettuce lollo rosso, tomato gardeners delight and beetroot boltardy. What the kids dont use i can!

These next three are from the garden plot. Alchemillia, Geranium and Eurphobia. Followed by poppies and aqualegia. Finally azalea and apple tree in full bloom

The recent windy weather has prompted me to buy some windbreak material to put between me and George's plot to try and protect the plants. Now that the border between our plots is finished off i can carry on planting up beans and some hardy annuals for colour and to attract pollinating insects. One plant that is doing really well is an honesty plant, grown from seeds found on a walk a couple of years ago. It has very dark purple flowers and the seed heads are round and flat like paper coins hence its nickname, popes money. The comfrey next to it is doing well and i may have a go at comfrey 'tea' to use as liquid fertilizer.

On Saturday the weather started out quite sunny tho still very breezy. The next few photo's show the raised bed i edged with leftover timber and how the rest of the allotment is coming on. The salad potatoes are doing really well from and earlier planting after warming up the soil with polythene.

The next shots are of the salad leaves in the greenhouse either waiting to be planted out or taken home to be eaten!

These plants are waiting to be planted out later when they have hardened off, mostly brassicas and some mini sweetcorn. The potatoes in bags are doing fine, i just need to make sure there is a enough drainage when it rains too much but also enough moisture because the leaves can deflect any water away from the soil.



These onion set are doing really well now. i may have to net them off to prevent onion fly. The herb bed looks well. It has a mix of mints, origano, tarragon, garlic chives, sage, thyme and lemon balm. I also have some pot marigold for colour and the attract beneficial insects to the plot

And finally look at the size of that! One of the asparagus spears is reaching for the stars. Most of the crowns have now produced one spear which means they have transplanted well. I do have some younger plants that are in the seed bed now but i am tempted to buy some more older crowns to get earlier crops.

First of May

So far May has begun with a mix of weather. Sunny but cool, persistant rain and high winds! The dryer days meant i could paint the fencing and tidy up the borders ready for planting first sowing of peas and beans. Unfortunatly the bad weather didn't help them get settled in but hopefully they will pick up. More time can be spent in the greenhouse sowing the next succession of crops mostly salads, beans and carrots. So far the salads have done well and i am now able to pick quite a bit for lunches. In the raised bed i planted out the turnips, spring onions and beetroot in modules as well as sowing a row of radishes and carrots.

The asparagus are doing well that were plante dout last month. Of 20 crowns planted so far 13 spears have grown. It is tempting to try one but they need at lease 2/3 years before they can be cropped so that the plants establish themselves. Picked the first stalks of rhubarb today so it should be something nice for pudding tonight.

Hopefully with most of the 'building' work nearly done i can concentrate on the plants etc.

Broad beans and peas
French and runner beans

Courgettes, sweetcorn and asparagus hardening off