It's all beginning to happen

[steveB]

Thirty lettuce planted, the carrots, garlic, onions, leeks, French beans are all going well.  The runners have germinated, the toms are ready for potting on, the Evesham's are in the ground and the broad beans are two foot high.

I love this time of year.

[Si]

My peaz have stuck their heads up, raddishes are doing raddishy things and onions are cracking on.

But I think that I'll have to start again with the sprouts.....they've all sort of withered and are lookin very unhealthy.

Still maintaining the eternal wait for the parsnips to do something..

First day of summer like weather down on the plot today.  Brought plenty of people out.  even had a cycle mounted police man riding around the allotment.

[steveB]

Still maintaining the eternal wait for the parsnips to do something..

Someone gave me this tip regarding parsnips and their insistence on not germinating, I might try it with half a packet of seeds.

Put the seeds in groups of three on some damp kitchen paper that's been laid in a seed tray, put the tray on a windowsill, keep the paper moist by spraying daily, when (or if) the seeds crack, cut the square of damp kitchen paper out and plant out.

[Si]

I'm using the bog roll tube method so at least I won't go and weed them this year!

Might have a go at your kitchen towel idea with another lot...thanks!

[juliet]

Putting them under little plastic-bottle-top cloches works well as well for avoiding weeding them out, and encouraging germination.  (We use 1l fruit juice bottles - cut the top off where the shoulders end, & use them one-per-plant.)

I sat out on the balcony yesterday evening for half an hour - everything's all green!  And had salad from there to work this morning

[Si]

How do you get your bottle cloches to stay in place?  It can be a tad windy on my plot and plastic bottles tend to blow around a fair bit.  I spose that I could poke a stick down through the hole in the top but then the cloche could still move enough to hit the emmerging plant.

[juliet]

We just sink them into the soil a bit.  They're quite short (just to the shoulder of the bottle, so only maybe 4" high) and we haven't had any trouble with them.  If you have clay soil you need to be careful taking them out that you don't take a lump of soil with you & disturb the plant roots.

[steveB]

I have a few water dispenser bottles, they make great cloches when the bottom is cut off.  They're not flimsy either.  The plot I have is pretty windy but I keep them secure by putting a cane through them and tying the cane to the neck of the bottle with the string I have already tied to the bottle.  They are big enough to take two lettuce plants.

[nuttycyclist]

<looks in garden>

Cor what a lot of weeds, but nothing else.

<looks in fridge>

Loverly supermarket tasty salad, much nicer than anything grown to date.

[Si]

Really is starting to happen down my end now.

My potatoes are coming up - this probably means that either I planted too early or to shallow - I am now praying that frost does not strike again as I've not enough fleece to cover them all.

And.....big announcement.....my first few parsnips have broken the surface!!!!

Have also just lifted my first ever crop of spring onions.

[Fi]

I got so far behind due to sick me and then sick husband that I got my runners and french beans in pots last weekend and planted my spuds, onions and garlic this.  I've still got loads to do and it's a bit late now I think.

[Wowbagger]

I've been out this evening and sowed the parsnips (I'd normally like to get those in in March, but if I had they'd all have died) the Early Nantes carrots and some mini broad beans. I also fixed (bodged) the water pipe draining from the garage roof into the butt.

I now want it to rain gently all night.

[Si]

Blimey, that was wet today.
Made me feel sorry for people on clay: had a similar experience today trying to dig the claggy wet clumps of my normally fine tilth like soil. 
Only two beds left to plant and I'll have run out of room....just got to pop the courgettes in and the brochollis (or however you spell it).

[Polar Bear]

I got so far behind due to sick me and then sick husband that I got my runners and french beans in pots last weekend and planted my spuds, onions and garlic this.  I've still got loads to do and it's a bit late now I think.

Not for most things.  You just get a later crop.

[border-rider]

I've got 3 lovely raised beds, all cleared and composted. 

Nothing in them.  I hope the new people appreciate them