Bean there, done that

It has been a few weeks since my last post but I have spent some time over at the plot.  I've cleared out the courgette plants and the sweetcorn (leaving the butternut squash ones behind as they have some small green fruit and I can't bear to rip them out yet).  There were still some patty pans coming but they were becoming moldy.  I've harvested half of the leeks as they look rusty and not very happy.  They taste ok though.

Last Sunday/Monday, we were warned of strong hurricane-strength winds so I nipped over to see what I could fasten down.  Winds were already picking up by lunchtime but I decided to leave the mesh where it was, over the Brussels, spring cabbages and sprouting, and just bring the tools I couldn't fit in the storage box home.  When I checked on things on Tuesday, nothing had budged except a couple of homemade wood and mesh frames from a neighbouring plot.  They had made there way onto mine.

I nipped over very briefly today with husband and toddler to quickly sow the broad beans where the courgettes and sweetcorn had been.  My toddler "helped" in her own way by throwing beans randomly into the shallow trench I had made.  It will be a minor miracle if any of the beans germinate.  Not just because of the hasty sowing but also because a large proportion of the seeds are from last year and had been kept badly in an outside storage box.  They even got rained on in their packet at some point.  For this reason, I sowed 2 per station in many places to hedge my bets.

My husband is quite impressed with the state of the plot.  It does look like I've dug over most of it though it is more like three-quarters.  Hopefully, I can get the rest of it dug over Christmas.

A quick check on the garlic bed showed that the Early Purple is living up to its name by being the first to send up shoots.