Taking it easy - yeah right

I was looking forward to a spell at the plot and I got 2.5 hours over there before I needed a break.  I dug over the patch right at the top on the left, next to the compost bin in the corner and nestled next to the broad beans which are continuing to flower nicely.  The mares tail is starting to come through and there were some nice fat roots in there.

For next weekend, I've uncovered the next patch to dig over having removed some carpet.  It looks nice and clear, apart from some bleached mares tail roots on the surface, though it is compacted.

I noticed some strawberry plants in what was the brassica bed last year, lost in among some keen weeds.  I was just going to hand-fork around them but decided to replant them in the bed I dug over 10 mins before.  Some of them look like there are about to start flowering so I gave them a feed and water.

The garlic looks good though there are some yellowing leaves.  I finally gave them a feed and water before snipping off a small number of slim broccoli shoots and going home for lunch.

Later this afternoon, I sowed the following:

• French beans (Cupidon)
• Mange tout (Golden Sweet)
• Pea (Meteor)
• Sweetcorn (Sativa Early)
• Calabrese (Waltham)
• Cabbage (Greyhound)
• Squash (Vegetable Spagetti)
• Squash (Patty Green Tint)
• Courgette (Black Beauty)

The Calabrese was a resowing as the previous lot got very leggy on the windowsill (lack of light I think).  On Wednesday, I also resowed some Brussels sprouts and red cabbage. The former had got leggy while the latter had failed to appear due to damping off.  I also translated the chilli seedlings into 10cm pots.

It feels like I am relatively early with my sowing but I need to look back at previous years.  

Fingers crossed I'll get some time next week to continue the digging.  I should also look at pinching the tops of the broad beans before the blackfly get any ideas. 

Another gorgeous day

After a chilly week, Saturday was a lovely warm but breezy day.  I had a couple of hours in the afternoon to myself so I potted on the tomato seedlings (5 of Moneymaker and 14 of Harbinger) and watered the sweet peas.  At the plot, I spent an hour or so hoeing around the garlic patch and the neighbouring soil around the gooseberry and blackberry bushes.

Four of the purple sprouting plants had a slim, central sprout and I asked one of my neighbours if I should harvest them.  We thought that perhaps I should.  Later, I read up on it and it seems that picking the central sprout will stimulate the side shoots to grow.  I'm such a broccoli-growing novice.

At home, I sowed some Brussels sprouts and some calabese.

I nipped over for just 10 mins this afternoon so I cut the sprouts and had the very modest pickings with my dinner.  I think I cut one of them too far so that one may not sprout any more.  We'll see.  No sign of any sprouts on the white sprouting plants.

I took a couple of piccies on my phone.

The broad beans are short but looking good.  There are flowers on a couple of the plants already.

This photo shows most of the right hand side of the plot.  The garlic is in the foreground with (starting from the bottom) 1 row of Lautrec Wight, 2 rows of Early Purple Wight, 2 rows of Solent Wight and 1 row of Elephant Garlic.  Beyond those is the rhubarb clumps, gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes.  Beyond that are the brassicas under the mesh.  Messy but productive for this time of year.

My next tasks are to feed and water the garlic and to dug over some patches on the left hand side.

Back at home, 5 tiny celeriac seedings have made an appearance on the windowsill.