Dee's Little Blog Space

I’ve been making good use of the weather were having at the moment; down at the plot. Mostly weeding and some digging. Some parts at the bottom are still too wet to turn over. A pitfall of being on a slope, though it has its advantages also. The soft fruit I grow at the bottom edge love it..

Picture of last years harvest of belle de fontenay – half a row “5 seed potato’s planted”

My potato bed is now “finally” prepared for planting after spending an hour forking over and adding manure. I don’t trench ” too much like hard work”  after all that prep .. I prefer to use a small pole to make a hole and pop the seed potato in.. I’m  planning on getting them in the ground in a couple of weeks, though if it stays this cold I will delay a little..

I’ve chosen all new varieties this year apart from one..

Belle de fontenay – early main-crop salad variety. I grew these last year and were a big hit producing huge amounts on a single seed potato…

This year I’m trying out…

Sante  early main-crop.. Good for boiling, dry pale yellow flesh that grows well in all soils, so should do ok in my clay soil..

Rooster early main-crop.. Good all rounder red potato from Ireland  with a floury flesh..

Golden wonder late main-crop.. Good for baking, roasting, frying, stores well..

Today’s sowing marathon..

Cabbage – Greyhound

Cauliflower- all year round

Brussels - Clodius

Fennel – ?  name escapes me

Squash - Barbara

Squash - Avalon

Courgette – Verde di milano

Courgette  - Yellow something or other?

Pumpkin – Jack be little

Pumpkin – Hooligan

Pumpkin – blue hubbard

Beans – Asparagus

Asparagus beans didn’t do well sown direct last year, so this year I’m starting them off in root trainers..

The first year I grew peas was a total disaster!

I started the seeds off in loo roll inners and everything was going well – nice little healthy plants at home, then the time came to plant them out and it was down hill from there. They slowed down growth wise and the pods were far and few between [ all that effort for a very small meal] The following year I sowed direct [  roughly the same amount of two 5ft rows] and was sick of eating them. I put down the previous years failure to the cardboard loo roll inners and heavy clay soil, even though the bed had copious amounts of compost dug into the bed to break the soil up. I’m convinced the two didn’t give ideal growing conditions – I also had a problem with my squash started off the same way, though in little peat pots [the idea of just plant everything pot as well just doesn't work on my soil]

I grow two types of peas

# dwarf- A early pea, enabling me to cover them until the weather warms up – they don’t need any support..

Followed by a main crop climber ..

Remember to soak peas overnight before sowing!

Early March through to April..

I sow my dwarf peas three to four weeks apart. – I completely ignore the spacing advice on the packet and grow in blocks close together so they support themselves

April

I put up the support for my climbing peas and fork in some bone meal

End of April/May

Depending on the weather I direct sow my climbing peas – delaying if the ground is too wet..

April/ May..

I sow my beans direct around the end of April/May

[runners,  broad, etc. ]

Adding compost and bone meal to the bed in March..

leaving the more tender varieties

[French beans asparagus beans ]

until June…