Sunday 25 March 2018

Summer time

Clocks went forward to summer time today 

and appropriately it was a warm sunny spring day. It's the first time we've been able to get out in the garden due to the cold and very wet weather this year. There's been snow even last week, and everything is behind schedule. But this weekend the birds have started singing and things are looking up.

Yesterday I planted 60 broad beans - saved from last year's crops - in 12 pots in the greenhouse, and today I planted 48 beetroot seeds, 15 Alicate tomato seeds (favourites - tasty and good croppers) and 10 "Gardeners Delight" tomatoes which I haven't tried before. I noticed from our planting diary that most years I've had the broad beans in by early March, or even February and the tomatoes and beetroots in too. But this year it's just not felt like it was time until now.

I have some big pots of Sante potatoes in the conservatory which are now shooting nicely and 3 pots of Desiree up in the greenhouse planted a couple of weeks ago. These are all saved from last year's harvest. I've ordered up some new Desirees (red) and some Pentland Javelins (whites).

Today I was able to get started on some of the jobs in the garden. I cut back the raspberries and took out the dead canes, hoed our rhubarb bed - which are all looking pretty good - and started digging over the veg beds. The soil is pretty wet still and the green pipe and waterfall are in full flow.

Lots to do!