Today I will mostly be growing

Today I was mostly planting out my dwarf beans (ferrari and borlotto) and creating the bamboo cane framework to support them in the raised bed.

Bamboo cane support for Dwarf Beans
I cut 4 x 6 foot canes in half and put them in the soil opposite each other in the shape of an X. I put four of these in with enough space to plant a bean to a pole or cane. I then put another 3 foot cane across the tops of all the X shaped canes to stabilize the structure. I then used garden twine to secure the two upright and top horizontal bamboo canes together. (See picture above for more details). I planted one bean to each pole or cane but you can plant 2 to a cane if you want.

Heres what it looks like now:-

Ferrari Dwarf Beans at the back of the plot and Borlotto dwarf beans at the front.

As you can see from the picture above, I have not left any room for my runner beans, big oops!

It’s a bit of a logistical nightmare this year as I’ve decided to grow new crops and haven’t quite researched the correct harvesting dates. I had planned to put the runner beans in Plot 3 after the broad beans and peas had finished their crops, however the broad beans and pea pods are only just forming in May and my runners are a week away from needing to go into the ground, doh!

Nothing came up out of the soil with my first sowing of brussels sprouts so luckily i’ve managed to squeeze my dwarf beans into the last scrap of space left so at least thats something.

Solution
I have decided to build another narrower raised bed plot just for the runner beans this year. This will be done next week so I can get then runner beans into the ground.

I’m still having some organisation issues with the lack of space in my mini greenhouse. I know its my own fault I have 13 cucumber seedlings potted on and I’m the only one who eats cucumber in my household however I can’t bear to give up any seedlings. Also I have let a few flower seedling trays creep into the greenhouse this year as our garden borders are in desperate need of brightening up. (they have had a distinct lack of attention due to my vegetable plot). So I have a bit of a juggling act on my hands!

This weekend I have planted out the 3 calabrese plants into plot 3.

Potted on 1st batch of february Tomato ‘unknown’ seedlings into larger pots.

Potted on Broccoli (tenderstem) seedlings

Somehow I think I have planted too many Broccoli and Calabrese seeds (this might be adding to my storage issues!):

The weather this week has been more favorable to gardeners with a mix of sunshine and showers. This is the perfect weather for seedlings to put on a spurt of growth and tender plants can be planted out without fear of frosts.

My lovely dwarf beans will be planted out soon on Plot 3. I’m growing varieties Ferrari (same as last year) and a new one - Borlotto. I can’t wait to see the mottled red and white pods on this variety. Then my runner beans won’t be far behind.

Below are some comparison photos of my plots so you can see the progress in just 2 weeks. The first picture is 2 weeks ago on 19.04.08 and 2nd is a current picture of my plots on 03.05.08:-
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These Broad Bean (the sutton) flowers are so stunningly different with black eye’s on white petals. If you have never grown them before, like myself, there is nothing quite like these unique flowers. They certainly brighten up my all green plot.

Whilst the excitement is flowing, I couldn’t help but show a picture of my first pea pods of 2008 which are just forming on my over-wintering peas (douce provence).

After 24 long weeks of growth over the winter season (sown back in November 2007) I can’t wait for the pea to form, there’s nothing quite like the taste of fresh garden peas and they usually don’t make it to the house as I eat them off the pod like sweets.

After the heavy downpours of rain this week, I should have guessed that the slugs would be out in force.

I can officially declare that the slug hunting season is now open and they are heading to a vegetable plot near you (please not my lettuces again this year) so this is the time to get out your slug and snail reinforcements a bit quicker than I did.

Whilst I was watering my cabbages plot, removing yellowing leaves and any leaves that were touching the ground I had the misfortune to touch a slimy creature, yes thats right the dreaded slug! This was a small baby slug which has got into my plot before I managed to slug proof it with copper tape. Perhaps it was just reminding me to be a bit quicker off the mark for next year!

Needless to say it met its bitter end under foot. Well I have to be ruthless if I’m going to get any lettuce this year.

Click here for some organic solutions to Slugs.

Just Added:
My official Slug Counter will be totting up how many slugs I encounter in my plots this year, see the right hand side bar just under the calendar for total count so far.