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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May 4, 2008
Last week we endured the gale force winds and heavy rains, of which my mini greenhouse door snapped under the force of the wind and is currently being propped up. The heavy rain however did seem to help my peas, broad beans and cabbages put on a spurt of growth. I did manage to transplant a few of the tomato and calabrese seedlings that survived the onslaught of the weather and my clumsy handling.
I also couldn’t wait and sowed the rest of my tomato seeds last week and bought some more cucumber seeds (variety: marketmore) and sowed them as well.
Somehow in the wind I managed to tip up my tray of pepper seedlings, however I have saved most of them and sowed some more just in case the current ones don’t survive!
This weekend the wintery weather has continued with heavy snow showers here in Essex, it did settle briefly on my broad beans and then turned to slush.
Update on Raised Beds on Week 6
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March 23, 2008
Sowing seeds in the month of February is all new to me and I’m learning the hard way at the moment.
Outdoor Seeds
On 9th February I thought I would get a head start on the season hoping to having tomatos and carrots earlier in the year by sowing a few rows in my raised beds. However the frost and fog descended and now 2 weeks on I have no change in my raised beds and I don’t blame my seeds for not popping their heads above the surface in last weeks night temperatures.
Indoor Seeds
On the upside my seedlings have shot up and almost everything has germinated apart from the Sweet Pepper (romano). Mid week they were brought into the house due to the frosty temperatures and this has definately helped them germinate. See pictures below for updates. Today I have returned them to the mini-greenhouse otherwise they will get too ‘leggy’ (stems will grow too long and fall over), they need cool temperatures and high light levels outside to continue their growth. (more…)
February 24, 2008
Spring has sprung in our garden and this year I’m determined to get some early crops started. I have read on the internet this is sometimes a risky strategy to start sowing this early in February due to there possibly being more frosts before March. However the sun is shining and I feel I have enough seed in my packets to start some off to see how they go. Its all about trial and error after all. (more…)
February 10, 2008
Today I will mostly be pulling up my Pak Choi which has all run to seed. This means seed or flower heads are forming in the centre of the plant, so now the plant is no longer concentrating on producing leaves for eating, the taste will change as well so they are best composted as they have reached the end of their growing life.
I will add more compost to the Pak Choi area of Plot 1 to return the nutrients to the soil ready for growing the next crop which according to my plot diagram will be spinach, lettuce and radish in february.
My Broad Beans are growing strong and have a good stem and a few leaves after 10 weeks from seed. I firmed the seedlings back into the soil to make sure they continue to grow upright.
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January 26, 2008
Today I was mostly concentrating on sowing in Plot 3. I pulled out the summer lettuce which was running to seed, raked over the bed and sowed 2 small rows of ‘The Sutton’ Broad Beans. This dwarf variety is particularly good for the smaller garden, as it doesn’t require as much staking as other taller varieties.
I also sowed some Pea First Early Douce Provence Seeds in a small quarter in Plot 3 as well.
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November 17, 2007
