First May Bank Holiday

Saturday (Apr 29th)

Set to be the driest of the 3-day weekend, I did some gardening at home and at the plot.  At home, I set up some bean netting against the back garden fence near the greenhouse and planted out the (what I hope are) Mange Tout.  Saves so much space compared to using a whole pot and wigwam, or setting up a wigwam in the bed.  It might be that the spot is a tad sunny for the peas in late June/July but hopefully they’ll be done by then.  Maybe they could then be replaced by some late Beans.  Something to ponder…

At the plot, I weeded Bed 1 and planted out the Primo Cabbage and Cauliflower seedlings, adding lime as usual then netting.  

I also planted out Perpetual Spinach alongside the Strawberries in Bed 5 to nestle next to the Potatoes when they come up.  I also pulled out several Potato haulms and Jerusalem Artichoke stems from among the onions in Bed 4.  The single Red Onions are tiny so I don’t have high hopes for them.  Interestingly, the Spring Onions planted on the left of Bed 3 have all disappeared while the ones on the right look fine.

Sunday

I didn’t have much time for gardening except for an hour (timed) at the plot and half an hour at home.  I used the hour wisely by planting out some Lettuces between the Cauliflowers and weeding Bed 0.

The Garlic is looking ok.  The vigour of the Strawberries looks a bit mixed.

At home, I quickly planted out the remaining Lettuce seedlings, 5 or so Spinach plants and some Mizuna in some black pots on the patio.  I also planted out 2 Chard seedlings into the bed.

Monday

Today, was set to be wet but it turned out to be made up of very sunny intervals between heavy downpours.  I focused on pricking out and sowing.  

I pricked out a single Brussel Sprout, as the others seemed tiny and weak, 5 French Marigolds and 5 pots of Sorrel, and potted up the Cucumbers and Melons individually in larger pots.  There are 7 Melon,  6 La Diva Cucumber and 2 Marketmore.  Too many so I’ll need to find homes for many of them.

I sowed loads:

Just after sowing the old Cornflower seed, I realised I had some to prick up behind me in the greenhouse.  I pricked those out quickly before heading inside.

The windowsills in the house, particularly downstairs, and part of the kitchen countertop are brimming with seedlings waiting for overnight temperatures to rise a tad.  

[Note that on Friday, I nipped over with the kids just to remove the fleece on Beds 3 and 4, and the mesh over the Garlic in Bed 0].