The weather has been extremely pleasant this week: perfect for ground preparation and making the first sowings of hardy vegetables. The radish sowed only a few days ago are already germinating marking the row of slow germinating parsnips. In the root vegetable bed I have added short rows of:
- Spinach: Suttons “Tetona”
- Spinach: Suttons “Reddy”
- Kohl Rabi: Kings “Green Delicacy”
Both of these are supposedly quick growing and will provide salad leaves in a few weeks, before going on to maturity. I have also, for the first time sowed:
- Salsify: “Sandwich Island”, which will not reach maturity until October.
All the Mypex sheets that suppressed weeds overwinter have been removed and folded except for the largest. For this I need two pairs of hands, or a calm windless day. As I rake out each bed I give it a light dressing of growmore. I have also sprayed the soft fruit, to control the scale insects that affect some of the redcurrants and a type of green fly that affects both black and red currants causing blistering of leaves.
The carrot fly barrier has now been completely recovered with fleece. A mesh tunnel has been put in place ready for the early summer cabbage and cauliflowers that are growing well in the greenhouse. The sweet corn cage has been erected: this year I shall add a wire mesh top to keep out rats and squirrels or whatever devastated last year’s crop.
Posts have been put in with wires to support the grapes which have been pruned according to the advice given by Alf, a friend from Australia who will be in the UK soon and will no doubt inspect my work.
The allotment has been transformed in just two weeks. There is still a list of outstanding tasks including collecting pea sticks and repairing the shed, but I also need to spend time on more mundane things like making a tax return, completing a census form.
