Almost there!

Spent another couple of hours digging this morning and have just about completed all that needs doing. The ground was really hard going where the brassicas had been planted and the soil isnt in as great a shape as it is elsewhere on the plot, but hopefully the masses of worms I disturbed will get on with breaking down the soil a bit further, along with the elements, and by the time I come to plant up in that area it wont be quite so bad.

The seedlings that I transplanted are doing well in the greenhouse, and the seeds I planted with my daughter the other night are starting to germinate which is great.

Some of my horticulture books have arrived and I really need to continue with the 4th assignment for my course as I have neglected studying over the past few weeks. It will be much easier to get on with that now knowing that the allotment is in a state ready to be planted in, rather than having lots of work to do.

even more digging!!

Another hard mornings dig on the plot, just over 3 hours. There was so much bindweed root that I managed to dig out so it was well worth doing.

This afternoon I have planted into modules (a la Monty Don on Gardeners World) beetroot into large plugs to give them a head start in the greenhouse before I would be able to sow out on the plot. Also moved on from their small pots that they were started in, the tall mixed cornflower and the red drumhead cabbage.

repotting and setting more seed

The Roma F1 tomatoes which were started at the end of Jan on the kitchen windowsill have been transplanted twice in some cases now and are now in the little greenhouse, inside the bigger greenhouse in the garden. Hopefully that should keep them warm enough over the next few nights while it remains coolish.

Also transplanted were the gardeners delight tomatoes as they had outgrown their little pot that they were started in and there are about 40 plants. Hopefully most of them will make it as tomatoes are one of my biggest uses in the kitchen and I've only just run out of last years from the freezer.

The peppers also started at the end of Jan on the kitchen windowsill have now quite a couple of pairs of true leaves, so they have been moved on into their own large ish plugs. They are growing on for the time being on the bathroom window sill.

Also moved on into plugs were the double blue cornflower, the bedfordshire filibasket(?) sprouts, and the dwarf dahilas.

This evening my eldest daughter has planted her seed packs that she bought

And I have sown Echinacea bravado, flat leaf parsely, wallflower, and more aubergine early long purple 2 (as the first lot has succumb to damping off - though the 2 very early sowings that I thought were doing nothing and moved to the exposed shelving in the garden have started to germinate outside)

More digging

Today was a digging day. I finished off digging where the squashes are going to go, and also the part of the plot set aside for roots this eyar got dug over again. There were patches of perennial weed starting to show through and I think I managed to get most of it out. I guess time will tell.

I also tidied up the strawberry beds and got the remaining dandelions out, mostly in tact.

I've netted them over now so that basically I dont forget to do it later on. The holes in the net are plenty big enough for the bees to get through.

The broad beans have finally made it through the surface, but something has been having a nibble at them. I dont know if its the pidgeons, or if its mice. I managed to save a few that had been lifted and I think next time I go down I'll put some kind of 'scaring' device (rustling stuff most likely) to ward off the pidgeons if it is them uprooting.

I feel very much on top of things at the plot right now :)

Parsnips

The parsnip seeds had germinated so yesterday was the day they got set out. Even last years seed had had atleast a 50% germination rate.

Drill made

Its a fiddly way to do things, but I've found it successful for the past 2 seasons. All spaced and there should be no need to thin anything.

Three rows of new seed went in here, to the left there were 4 short rows of last years seed. Each short row had about 10 seedlings, the long rows I cant remember how many. Will find out when they come up lol!!

The garlic I got from the greengrocer last week had spouted so I planted 2 rows of that

And look what is for tea tonight :)