Making Progress!

The soil is slowly warming up outside now, and although we have had a few cold nights in the past week things are definitely making progress. I bought a packet of this Runner Bean St George this year. I will start them off just for a couple of weeks in modules in the greenhouse just to prevent the mice and the slugs getting to them. I have prepared a lovely runner bean bed this year by emptying a whole compost bin into a trench, covering it with grass clippings and returning the soil over it.

Pumpkins, Squashes and Cucumbers are coming on a pace. Interesting to see that germination can be patchy. I planted 3 seeds of each variety and in all cases some have done much better than others. Most advice will tell you to plant 3 seeds on a mound and thin out to the strongest seedling. You can see rom the 3 on the bottom row that one is clearly head and shoulders above the other one and the 3rd didn't germinate at all.

I spent an enjoyable afternoon yesterday potting up my tomato plants into slightly bigger pots. They have spent quite a few days and some nights outdoors so far, they appear to be strong and sturdy.

I am just so pleased at the way my Isle of Wight garlic has grown. You might remember back in the Autumn I said this was going to be my final attempt at growing garlic because it had never grown well for me. Well, this Autumn sown batch have come up trumps, nearly doubling in size in just a couple of weeks. This one here is Early Purple and is almost as big as a leek! Splendid!

The peas in the background are Hurst Greenshaft, those in the foreground are Salmon Flowered Peas. The peasticks you see here are the tops of my Jerusalem artichoke stalks from last year! Just right for the job!