Planting out

It's nearly May and really feels like summer is round the corner. Daytime temperature is getting up to 18 degrees C & no sign of night frosts.......yet!
Been a busy few weekends down at the lotty which has seen me sowing herbs; corriander, parsley and thyme. Also planted out sweetcorn, squash and pumpkin but it may be too early for these tender crops...time will tell.
French beans are being grown in modules and will be planted out in the next week, I'm having two rows of dwarf french beans and two wigwams of climbing beans.
I've also sown some more mixed lettuce in our 'salad bar' area....can't wait!

Green shoots

Its been a busy week down on the plot and the weather has been glorious these past few days. I tested the soil temperature on Sunday and was surprised to see at 10 degree's (about 5" deep)& 12 degrees near the surface. Good to see that the Red Barron onion sets are making an appearance.

The fruitcage is waking up and the goosberries have popped their leaves, I need to get some manure around the raspberry canes & strawberries soon. You can just make out the strawberry runners that I was kindly given by a neighbour.

Finally, here's a full shot of the plot

Indoor planting

Now is the time of year to start planting those seeds that cannot be sown directly into the cold soil at the allotment! I don't have any fancy greenhouses, potting sheds, conservatory or even a heated propagator but I do have seed trays with lids and a nice warm floor! This year I've decided to go for some easy veg including dwarf sweetcorn, courgette, squash & pumpkin plus I've also done a tray of sweet Basil.

Sweetcorn and basil can be sown directly into a seed tray with about 1.5" of potting compost & then covered with 1/2" of compost or vermiculite. With the squash and pumpkin seeds, I've gone for a biodegradable home made pot that I can simply drop into a hole when the time comes. Making these posts is easy, fold a piece of A4 paper and tear in half. Wrap around a broom handle or larger cylinder (depending how big you want the pot) & leave about 1" of paper at the end. moisten the paper to stick it together (spit or water works well) and fold the excess paper back inside to form the pot.

You little sow and sow!

The soil is warming up and its time to start sowing some of the vegetables we will be eating in the summer/autumn. I've already sown some parsnip seeds in the bed with the Pear tree and covered the row with some quick crop salad seeds. The plan for the other beds includes; Dwarf French beans, baby carrots,baby sweetcorn, herbs, maincrop potatoes, corgetts & loads of salad varieties.

Happy Easter!