This is what it's all about

At last I had a day off from work when the sun was shining and there was nothing more pressing than getting over to the plot and working.  And boy there was plenty to do.  It's nearly the end of May, my courgettes, squashes and cucumbers are all outgrowing their little pots, leaves yellowing and desperate to be released into the soil outside.  

First there was digging to be done, and help arrived in the surprising form of my eldest son Charlie, who heroically dug over a patch of soil in preparation for planting.  

Hooray for Charlie!  Just when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done!

I eventually got some courgettes in the ground (I think they're courgettes... unfortunately my plant labelling was a bit of a disaster this year and I'd forgotten how similar courgettes, squashes and cucumbers look...)  My friend Ed suggested that courgettes, sweetcorn and runner beans grow very well together in the same patch, so decided to intersperse my courgettes with some left over sweetcorn plants, with the option of runner beans later.

I know at least two plants are definitely yellow courgettes.  The rest are a lucky dip!  The plan I believe in this trio of plants is that the courgettes with big leaves trap the moisture into the soil for the sweetcorn which needs plenty of moisture, while the runner beans grow up the strong sweetcorn plants.  I'm slightly worried that I didn't get the plants out to harden them off for a bit before planting out.


Meanwhile I got the rest of the leeks planted in my leek bed.  Such a long job, and so frustratingly like planting strands of hair.  I tried to leave the holes I made by the sticks and just plonk the plants into them this time, as I've been told that this is the way to do it, though the little plants looked totally lost in the holes and I find it hard to believe that they'll survive in that environment.  We'll see.  
The carrots in the tunnel are up to my knees and desperately needed thinning out and I had the absolute thrill of discovering that the thinnings were proper baby carrots!

That is SO what I'm talking about!  

My crop of baby carrots - those that didn't get eaten raw made it into the best stir fry ever

Charlie samples the first carrot of the year straight from the ground

The peace of the allotment was soon shattered by a smelly noisy lawnmower being driven by none other than Mark Hutchinson.  I couldn't complain though as the paths were so crazily overgrown, and when he'd finished roaring about the place with his machine I had to admit that the plot looked tons better and so much more organised.  

Hutchbloke with his noisy smelly power tool...

He even tackled mounds with whopping nettles growing from them

So. the potatoes are up and need earthing, or piling more soil on top of their mounds since the potatoes grow up the stalks but only underground.

The mange tout are coming along nicely but I need to find some twiggy sticks for them to grow up or put up some netting.

The parsnips are finally up - they sure have taken their time and I'd almost given up on them, but, peering between the weeds it is now possible to spot an unmistakable row of them.  The beetroot is not so clear. 

Potatoes - need earthing now

Mange tout - want something to climb up

Parsnips - just discernible among the beastly weeds

Beauty crop from my rhubarb - will stew and freeze

The tunnel.  Right hand side, closest to camera, carrots, spinach, parsley, lettuce, chard, rocket.  Left side, tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn, cucumbers dotted about and everything heavily interspersed with healthy virile weeds!  Next job - weed the tunnel. 

I used to like buttercups...

I really did used to like them, pretty and harmless with that lovely golden glow under your chin if you truly DO like butter...
But that was before I was a gardener.  Now I hate them with a vengeance. Yesterday I noticed that I have entire paths carpeted in the flaming things, and they seem to very quickly encroach on the growing areas.  They also cling to the ground with grabby roots, and along with the knee high tough rooted nettles, I realised I was going to have to do battle with these virulent weeds.

My buttercup path...  they cling on tight with nasty grabby roots and if you dig beneath the surface of some apparently weed free soil you'll find smaller perfectly-formed versions of themselves, but white and magotty, lurking there, waiting to spring up when you think you've got em all!

My hand fork clearly showed it wasn't man enough for the job, so I decided to get another one from the ironmongers in Machynlleth.  As the choice was one for £2.50 which would probably have bent in no time or a Wilkinson Sword tough looking beast for £9.99, I found myself forking out a tenner on a little garden implement.  This gardening lark is supposed to SAVE me money!

So... how much would you 'fork' out to ensure this doesn't happen again?  

What a beauty - £9.99 worth of Wilkinson Sword craftsmanship.   Wonder how long it'll take me to lose it in the garden?

On a lighter note, the first flowers have appeared on my broad beans and I was amazed to see they look a little like pale pansy flowers.

Although I spent a couple of hours fighting the buttercups today, it seems like I've hardly touched them, so tomorrow I'm going back, long sleeves and gloves at the ready to start a war on the nettles too.

First Home grown salad

It is with enormous satisfaction that I can report that tonight's tea was accompanied by salad leaves all freshly picked from the polytunnnel.

The salad consisted of mixed lettuce leaves, chard, rocket and the ubiquitous spinach. I also added chives, parsley, a few basil leaves and a sprig of coriander. Utterly scrumptious and such a fabulous feeling to be feeding my family on stuff I've grown from seed.  :)

Snow forecast? Is this some kind of joke??

Unbelievably, after a little bit of warm weather last week, temperatures have taken a serious dip, we've had rain and wind and now incredibly, in mid May, there's apparently a chance of snow!

Some stuff is coming on in leaps and bounds over the plot, mange touts are up, rocket and chard sprouting healthily and  onions and shallots looking great, while my cucumbers, sweet peas and pink banana squashes simply refuse to germinate.

This evening although it was raining, I popped over to do a bit of weeding in the tunnel, one of the pleasures of having a polytunnnel being that you can work in the dry and out of the wind.  Glad I bothered since the weeds were getting a bit over the top and the carrots seriously needed thinning out.  I couldn't resist trying to replant the carrot thinnings, and I'm sure a proper gardener would tell me I'm wasting my time, but I'm not a proper gardener so I've given them a chance.

Weeny little baby carrots... surely they'll grow into big ones if I replant them carefully....?

Planted 8 sweetcorn plants in the tunnel as they were looking lush and healthy, as well as my sweet pepper plants, which seem to have come to a growing halt since being potted on from their seed trays yonks ago.  We'll see if they have a spurt now they're in the ground.
Also got the rest of the tomatoes in the ground in the tunnel.  Am a bit mixed up as to which plants are which I have to admit, and it's the same with my courgettes and squashes, although I wrote labels, the pen wasn't permanent and has washed off entirely with watering!

Mental note to self: Next year buy a permanent marker or two.

Last I decided that since it had stopped raining I'd better get my leeks in the ground. Planted 50 of them, and have at least another 50 to go.  Used a stick to make holes, shoved the teeny plants in the holes, then gently let the soil fall back around them.

Rocket doing well

Chard looking lucious

Next time I'm going to have to plant the rest of the leeks, dig over another couple of beds ready for squashes, courgettes and green beans.

Warmth! At last!

Finally things have warmed up over the plot and my seeds are starting to germinate.

They sure have taken their time, and some are still showing no hint of life in spite of the incredible warmth in the polytunnel.

No sign of cucumbers, pink banana squashes or sweet peas, but life is springing fabulously from my turks turban squash seeds, sweetcorn and yellow courgettes.

The very first stirrings of the soil meaning the courgettes are about to spring out  of the soil.  I love it when they germinate, and squashes and cucumbers, so strong and vigorous.

First shoots of sweetcorn.  Amazing to think how vast these little seedlings will become and the fantastic fruit they will bear.

The first of  my tomatoes planted into the soil of the tunnel.  
The earliest ones I grew on my windowsill, beef tomatoes,  suffered from the cold when I first took them over and looked decidedly sickly.  Some of them have since improved but the ones my mum grew from seed which should bear little sweet cherry fruit are looking healthy and strong. 

The first of my salad leaves appearing.  I'm really going to try and keep these going all summer by resowing every fortnight.  Keeping my family in lettuce is already costing a fortune and I can't wait til we are eating salad from the allotment.

How the tunnel is looking at the moment.
Salad leaves closest to camera, last year's parsley still producing, 2 rows of spinach which I'm picking daily (spinach is in everything I cook and every salad I create at the moment!)  5 rows of carrots growing at the end nearest the door.  Just planted 4 tomato plants on the other side of the tunnel so far.  Sweetcorn to go in soon, more tomatoes and hopefully some cucumbers if they ever appear.

Leeks!
Definite job on my list - get these lovely little specimens in the ground as soon as possible.  Got a bed ready dug and waiting for them - finding the time to do anything at the moment is hard as work commitments seem to be taking over my life.