Up and at ’em

Surprisingly, the only thing that seems like it’s growing at the moment is grass. My baby plants are doing well though, but I’ve not planted many out yet. I’m far too afraid of frost, since there was one only 8 days ago. I suspect this week will see a lot more going in, especially when it’s a bank holiday week as well. I’m pretty sure there will not be another frost, since we are only eleven days away from the last frosts recorded in France.

Yesterday, I put in another row of red onions and some Swiss chard.

The ‘brassica’ bed has now got cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard and onions in it. Today, I’m going to put another row of onions in and then the Savoy cabbage and red cabbage. There are two rows of kale down now – I figure if I have too much, I can always give it to my kale-mad friends. It’s like a kind of kale fetish round here. I guess it’s a superfood with lots of positive habits concerning your insides. It’s also great as part of a detox diet.

In the main root crop bed, the beetroot are beginning to show their first leaves and the Brussels sprouts that Marcus transplanted are doing fine. I pickled a lot of beetroot last year and the vinegar was sharp enough to set your teeth on edge. I need some more gentle vinegar this year. I think I used cider vinegar, but it is so harsh it makes me cry when I eat them.

The baby leeks still look like small blades of accidental grass. There’s kale in there too that was transplanted. The other seeds and onion sets haven’t put in an appearance yet, but I guess they will soon. It’s been damp and warm – the best combination.

The potatoes have now all but broken through the soil and I’m going to earth them up today. In the bean patch, I’ve been putting lettuce seedlings in but the beans are a little disappointing this year. Funny that last year was such a bumper crop. It was so cold so long that even the broad beans didn’t fancy it. The runner beans I started off in pots however… wow! They’ll be ready to go out in the next couple of days. I staked them already and they are HHHHYYYYYUUUUGGGGE. I’ve made hazel trellises for them to grow up, but I seriously forgot how massive they get. I’ve got some hazel and willow that I’ve coppiced and I’m planning on building a couple of raised beds with them. I stole had an idea that will mean I can use more portable beds to house all the big things that take up a lot of space. I’ve also got to get a handle on some weed suppressant – I spend far too long on everything besides the vegetable plots.

A lot of the raised beds on the internet are just not very big. They’re more like big planters. That seems like too small a space to me. I need B-I-G! Today I’m going to plan out a quick bed and have done. It’s getting a bit crowded around there, but I need somewhere near the water, because there’s nothing worse than trekking miles up the garden with a watering can, like Jean de Florette. In fact, I’ve had a good idea as I’m writing and I will see how I get on with it.

Today, I’ll also be putting down some more seed – parsnip this time – and planting up my geraniums. I had cuttings from last year and I’ve put them all in pink pots. Nothing says summer to me like geraniums. It’s a lot cooler today, so I should be able to get more done. I did a bit on the big patch that’s going to have all the summer crops – tomatoes, aubergines and peppers – but I need to crack on with it.

Hope your day is as productive as I need mine to be!