It has been yet another perfect day for gardening or just for sitting in the sun.
I spent this morning in the garden at home, cutting the grass, pruning shrubs and generally tidying up. The temperature in the greenhouse reached 80 °F quite early, so the summer cabbage and cauliflower that are growing well in the greenhouse were put out on the patio to be returned to the greenhouse overnight.
We had a most enjoyable lunch on the patio, roll mop herrings with a salad.
When I ordered onion sets from Kings through the Allotment Association I omitted the code so they did not get delivered. When I discovered my error it was impossible to get delivery before we went on holiday and my recent emails are unanswered. So, after lunch I went to Toad Hall where I found very few packets of onion sets. These were supplied by Taylors: the only white onions were the variety “Centurion” and I chose “Karmen” in preference to “Red Baron” for no good reason. On the way to the allotment I diverted to cut some pea sticks. The buds had already started into green growth, but these will better than nothing.
I hand cultivated and raked the onion bed and planted the sets. The packets specified a separation of just 5 inches, but I set them at about 7 inches to give a total of four rows of fifteen feet, shorter than the bed. I decided to use the space for herbs:
- Supplied by Suffolk Herbs, Coriander, Dill, Basil and Garlic Chives
- Two other varieties of basil, one supplied by Thompson & Morgan the other by an Italian company Franchi. The reason for so many varieties is that Barbara finds that the variety I have been growing previously has an aniseed flavour which is absent in the pots of basil obtained from Waitrose.
- Parsley: Kings “Darki”
That seems to bring the allotment garden more or less up to date, at least for early season sowing and planting. There is of course plenty to do, with an immediate list of tasks:
- Cabbage bed to prepare
- Bean trench to dig and poles to erect
- Manure to move
- Shed to clear out, repair and stain
- Compost bins to turn
- Path edges to trim
