But the two batches of dwarf beans and the squash/courgette/cucumbers can't live in pots in the courtyard garden forever, getting waterlogged, eaten by snails and going yellow with lack of feed in their compost, so I dodged today's heavy showers and set off to the Hill.
I was extremely pleased to see the peas zooming up their wigwams, and I had to spend a few minutes with ties making sure they stayed where they were supposed to be. Not so good (in fact terrible) were the French beans that I planted out a couple of weeks ago - the slugs/snails have had an absolute field day with one batch of beans totally disappeared, and only the runners just about holding their own.
It started raining, and I was very gloomy about the slug damage to the beans, carrots and - now I came to have a look - the row of decimated lettuce, so once I had planted out the last couple of batches of beans, I resorted to a sprinkling of slug pellets. Not loads - in fact a slaloming slug could pick its way through, if sufficiently determined, but if I want any beans at all, I can see no way round it.I still don't know if it is the slugs eating the carrot seedlings as they emerge, or if I have a dicey packet of carrot seed - I sowed a row of a different variety to see if it makes any difference. I am half hearted about carrots - by the time the slugs have had a go along with the inevitable carrot fly, there is very rarely anything looking like a carrot left for me to eat in any case.
I got my head down and weeded the onions, the beds for this years miscellaneous crops and the nursery bed whilst weathering another shower, then planted out the concurbits, and a dozen calabrese plants that I bought at the garden centre a couple of weeks ago.As always, I could have spend days just weeding, but it all looks better - and despite the best endeavours of weeds/slugs/weather, I will very shortly be eating broad beans and new potatoes, something I wouldn't swap for the world.
