Peas are in

We were away last weekend so had a bit of a gap in gardening.  On the Tuesday after the Easter weekend I did sow some seeds into some outside pots: Turnips, Silverskin Onions, Spring Onions and Radish.  In the greenhouse, I decided to sow some other Leeks as back-up for those I sowed on the allotment.

On Wednesday, I noticed the Tomato seedlings looking quite desperate to be pricked out.  Despite it being an inappropriate day according to the moon phase, I went ahead and pricked them out anyhow knowing I’d likely not have time before the weekend.  There are 5 Quadro and 12 Sungold so I should have enough spare for my dad and in-laws.

Earlier today, I did get some time at the allotment despite earlier weather forecasts showing rain this afternoon.  It was quite pleasant and warm.  I focused on compost turning, having brought over some grass cuttings from the first mowing of the year back at home.  The contents of Bins 1 and 3 are shown below.  Bin 1 has a way to go, and Bin 2 is very similar.  I mixed some grass clippings into both and added some water.  Bin 3 looks almost ready so might be useful for the Cucurbits and Sweetcorn next month.

Mindful of a few colder nights coming up, I wanted to get some mulch onto the Potatoes though they are not showing yet.  I used the 4 half bags of compost mixed with the 3 bags of leaf mold for those.  Helps to tidy the plot up a bit.  

Before leaving, I planted out the 20 cells of Meteor peas into Bed 8.  

On the upstairs windowsill, the French Marigolds are flowering so I’ve nipped these out to push them back a bit and encourage some bushiness.  The Dahlias look ready to pot on.

Tomorrow is forecast to be wet and the rain has already started tonight.  I might go to a garden centre to buy some more of my favourite Melcourt compost.  I do plan to sow Sweetcorn and to prick out the few Brussels Sprouts seedlings that have come up.

Easter Weekend 2023

Friday

Am feeling under the weather so gardened gently (ish).  On Friday, it got quite warm (relative to Spring to far) so I pottered in the front garden, planting out some Sweet Peas.  These are the ones I sowed in Autumn and I believe to be Cupani.  While weeding the sunny border, I found 2 other Sweet Pea seedlings emerging near the front.  They could be Cupani or April in Paris.  Will be a nice surprise if they come good.

I also sorted out some of the pots on the patio in the back garden as it was all quite a mess.  I used some of the Ivy twigs and branches to line the bottom of some pots (hugelkultur style) - to save compost, to provide some more organic material to hold water and potentially to make the bottom of the pots less hospitable for Australian flatworms.

I filled up the pots further with the material removed from the pots in previous months and will top them off with fresh, shop-bought compost.  I plan to sow some seeds into them this weekend when I swap these with the pots of Potatoes presently in the greenhouse.  Nighttime temperatures are set to be above zero for next couple of weeks though down to 2 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday so will keep an eye on that.

Saturday

I spent most of yesterday in the greenhouse.  I pricked out salad leaves (Romaine and All Year Round), some Spinach, Baby Kale, Kohlrabi, Calabrese and Primo Cabbage.  I watered everything from the bottom  

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Sunday (today)

I set out some Jerusalem Artichokes to ferment in some brine (2tbsp of salt per 1l of water).  Let’s see…

Despite a gloomy start this morning, the sun came out and warmed things up to about 16 C.  T-shirt weather at the plot.  I managed to get my main jobs done - planted out the Potatoes (2 rows of 8 in Bed 5 and the remaining 11 tubers in Bed 6) and Broad Beans (Bed 6), sowed Carrots, Parsnips, Radish, Turnip, Beetroot and Leeks (last two in Bed 4 and the first four in Bed 3), and watered in the nematodes.  It is set to rain for most of this week so hopefully the nematodes will feel ok.

I sowed about 1 square metre each of Parsnips and Carrots and another similarly sized square half with Turnips and half with Radish.  

For both the Parsnips and Carrots, I did this with 5 short rows made with an onion hoe.  3 rows up and down - left, middle and right - then the 2 in between.  Two short rows each of the other two crops.

I made a similar set of 5 short rows (across this time) in Bed 4 to have one of Leeks in the centre and two rows of Beetroot each side of that.  

Unfortunately, when I lifted the fleece on Bed 4, I did uncover a single Australian flatworm.  That’s the first time I’ve noticed one at the plot, certainly since I discovered what they are.  I merely re-located it to the end of the plot as I didn’t have any salt to hand.    

The photo below shows the first picking of Rhubarb and, at the front, some Raspberry plants moved from Bed 5 (I had moved the wire cage for the leaf mould). 

With the rain coming in tonight or tomorrow, I’ll be focused on housework tomorrow although I may decide to sow some seeds into some big pots in the greenhouse.  Wondering about potting up 3-4 spare Strawberry plants in case they can provide an early crop.

Almost there…

Yesterday was a tad wet, though not need as much as forecast so my gardening was focused on today.  It is time for fruiting and flowering plants so I sowed the following:

Tomatoes - Quadro (just 5-6 seeds) and Sungold (11 seeds)

Melon (Emir F1 - trying for the first time) and Cucumber (Marketmore 76 from very old seed and La Diva)

Peas and what I think are Mange Tout saved from last year (harvested and put in a pot without a label - could conceivably be Sweet Peas but I don’t think so).

Several flowers - not sure if the Nigella will work as they were saved and seemed not to have been dried off properly.

Note: Mid-week, I also sowed Calabrese and Brussels Sprouts - bringing forward the sowing date by around a month.

Happily, some spud foliage is showing in each of the pots in the greenhouse.  I was worried the compost was too wet and the tubers would rot off.  I can move them outside when the weather warms up.

On the plot, I weeded the corner of new Bed 4 and replanted 3-4 thin roots of Horseradish and 7 Jerusalem artichokes there.  I brought home a rug full of tubers and I may try fermenting those.  

I then weeded around the Raspberries, moving 4-5 of the to give some more space for new Beds 5 and 6.  Lots of Nettles growing in that area so I willed what I could out.  I then laid down the path between new Beds 5 and 6 and between those and the Raspberries.  I could use the 4 half-bags of rough compost around the canes now they are starting to grow.  

It is set to get down to 0 degrees for the next couple of nights so I’ll hold off watering in the nematodes til the long weekend, along with planting out the main crop spuds and Broad Beans.  I’ll also sow some Carrots and Parsnips.