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I took Friday off as a friend was coming to visit in the afternoon for a seed-swap and catch up. As it was so sunny in the morning when I waved the toddler and OH off to creche and work (sailing off down the road on his bicycle, the toddler resplendent in her sunglasses!!), even though the kettle was already boiled for my cup of tea, and the bed still warm enough that I'd conk immediately, I got dressed and went to the plot (and forgot to make my tea before I went - resulting in lack of food giving me a hadache by 4pm - stoopid me!).
Arrival: 08.15am. Blissfully quiet and peaceful, and sunny and dry (although very wet underfoot). First job - dig autumn sown onions that had flopped and put them on galvanised sheet to get the best of the sun to dry. Then started weeding. 20 large trugs later (and a few more armfuls seperate to that), I had found the tomato patch again, and the path around the brassica bed, and cleared the early peas row, and tidied up the worst of the fruit bed. The dalek was totally full after 2 tubs, so there is a fairly good covering of weeds over the actively growing ones up the back (hopefully that might slow things down up there and I can reclaim that in the next couple of months!!). The weed suppressant membrane from the old brassica bed was moved as I was going planting there, so that is now covering the area where we planted rhubarb that never came up (having cleared the weeds, this might give those crowns a half a chance to come up?). And I dug up a half row of spuds - between having some visitors for the weekend and also needing the space for leeks, it seemed reasonable to do that much.
I dug over the early peas row and sowed 1 1/2 rows of broad beans (there are some baby cos lettuces at the end of the second row). I sowed 3 half rows of turnips where the white sprouting brocolli had been (em, I know, brassica after brassica, but it'll be rested from brassicas for a couple of years after baby nips) - the radishes, spring onions and carrots on the other end of that space are all growing (some better than others). The old cauliflower space (where I took the covering from) now has 2 rows of peas sown quite densely (as lots don't seem to come up and I want a decent crop of something!!). I also planted out the last 4 butternut squashes and 70 leeks!!!! (That was just one pot, and I have another 2 (slightly less densely planted admittedly) at home waiting for space to plant out).
I noticed that the summer squashes are just starting to show signs of fruiting. And the yellow courgette has some tiny baby ones - although there were no signs of male flowers yet. The climbing beans are all climbing, but no signs of flowers yet. And the tomatoes are starting to have some flowers (but I need to pay them more attention this week to try and totally clear the weeds and to some side-shooting of the cordons in the middle).
I brought home a decent bag of spuds (enough for 4 adults for 2 dinners and a helping of baby ones for a chorizo bake tomorrow), 3 smallish but perfect brocolli heads, another 20 or so onions for drying, and about 15 raspberries in a tub (which the toddler found with great excitement soon after I got home).
After I got home with the toddler, my friend and her toddler arrived and while they played, we got to have fun looking at seeds and swopping some plants. She gave me a kale, while I gave her a couple of peppers (and forgot to give her some brocollis - oh well, might find some space for them yet!).
Nothing else much over the weekend, mooched around the garden a little, rescuing some pea and bean seedlings from drowning, but mostly entertaining people and cooking my produce!! (Oh and dealing with toilet training - at least the weather was ok enough to be in the garden a fair bit!).
Arrival: 08.15am. Blissfully quiet and peaceful, and sunny and dry (although very wet underfoot). First job - dig autumn sown onions that had flopped and put them on galvanised sheet to get the best of the sun to dry. Then started weeding. 20 large trugs later (and a few more armfuls seperate to that), I had found the tomato patch again, and the path around the brassica bed, and cleared the early peas row, and tidied up the worst of the fruit bed. The dalek was totally full after 2 tubs, so there is a fairly good covering of weeds over the actively growing ones up the back (hopefully that might slow things down up there and I can reclaim that in the next couple of months!!). The weed suppressant membrane from the old brassica bed was moved as I was going planting there, so that is now covering the area where we planted rhubarb that never came up (having cleared the weeds, this might give those crowns a half a chance to come up?). And I dug up a half row of spuds - between having some visitors for the weekend and also needing the space for leeks, it seemed reasonable to do that much.
I dug over the early peas row and sowed 1 1/2 rows of broad beans (there are some baby cos lettuces at the end of the second row). I sowed 3 half rows of turnips where the white sprouting brocolli had been (em, I know, brassica after brassica, but it'll be rested from brassicas for a couple of years after baby nips) - the radishes, spring onions and carrots on the other end of that space are all growing (some better than others). The old cauliflower space (where I took the covering from) now has 2 rows of peas sown quite densely (as lots don't seem to come up and I want a decent crop of something!!). I also planted out the last 4 butternut squashes and 70 leeks!!!! (That was just one pot, and I have another 2 (slightly less densely planted admittedly) at home waiting for space to plant out).
I noticed that the summer squashes are just starting to show signs of fruiting. And the yellow courgette has some tiny baby ones - although there were no signs of male flowers yet. The climbing beans are all climbing, but no signs of flowers yet. And the tomatoes are starting to have some flowers (but I need to pay them more attention this week to try and totally clear the weeds and to some side-shooting of the cordons in the middle).
I brought home a decent bag of spuds (enough for 4 adults for 2 dinners and a helping of baby ones for a chorizo bake tomorrow), 3 smallish but perfect brocolli heads, another 20 or so onions for drying, and about 15 raspberries in a tub (which the toddler found with great excitement soon after I got home).
After I got home with the toddler, my friend and her toddler arrived and while they played, we got to have fun looking at seeds and swopping some plants. She gave me a kale, while I gave her a couple of peppers (and forgot to give her some brocollis - oh well, might find some space for them yet!).
Nothing else much over the weekend, mooched around the garden a little, rescuing some pea and bean seedlings from drowning, but mostly entertaining people and cooking my produce!! (Oh and dealing with toilet training - at least the weather was ok enough to be in the garden a fair bit!).
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