Salad days!

I’ve spent a couple of really enjoyable evenings at the Hill this week – how wonderful is this growing your own lark!

It’s just as well that I’m having such a marvellous time, as weeds stop for no man - & with just a couple of sunny spells, the plants – & weeds – have shot up! The runners all have flowers, & there are some green tomatoes formed!

At long last the peas have come down, after a final picking. Here’s a good example of learning as you go – the three metal posts & green netting & string have been utterly inadequate for the weight of the peas. In fact that green netting is appalling stuff – it has a mind of it’s own – springy & tying itself in knots & is the most annoying item. I can think of no redeeming features at all – & frugal as I am, it will be binned this weekend if I can’t think of another use for it!

The ground looks quite open now, & if only I’d put the dwarf runners in a more sensible place, there would be a good stretch for the brassica plants to go! I’ve got in mind a plan to net over the ‘cold frame’ to make a brassica cage - it won’t be tall enough for the Brussels sprouts, but I’m hoping that it will be OK for the cauliflower & the cabbage – on bricks if necessary. Hopefully that will be enough to deter the pigeons, unless they learn to limbo.

I've planted out some modules of SPRING ONION (white lisbon) in roots bed C. The ones sown & growing by the onion sets look really weedy – especially compared to the ones sown in the misc bed B a week later. Eelworm again, perhaps?

I pulled up a couple of BEETROOT (woden f1) which I juiced for breakfast this morning, & a couple of RADISH (white icicle), SPRING ONION (white lisbon) & a LETTUCE (mixed) which I have for lunch.

Apparently we are due more rain at the weekend, so I shall be making the most of the blue skies to keep the weeds at bay later…