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.