Getting up to date (again)

Well, a week on holiday from work and it feels as though we are catching up to where we want to be on the plots at this time of year! The broad beans are flowering, the blackcurrants, rasps and goosegogs look ready to flower, the strawbs are beginnning to flower, the rhubarb is already being harvested (loverly it is too), the spring cabbages are beginning to heart up, the first of our lettuces is almost ready to eat, the 1st early and 2nd early spuds are now showing, the tadpoles in the pond are growing apace and the plots are definitely coming to life!

This week we have so far -

Dug over another 2 beds (5' by 15') on plot 2 and planted out our chitted maincrop spuds (rooster and cara)

Dug over and planted out a bed (5' by 15') on plot 2 of 12 courgettes (3 varieties), along with catchrops of beetroot (bolthardy) and radishes (french breakfast III), then built a protective surround from plastic and covered with fleece - to protect from wabbits and frost!

Planted out another 12 assorted brassica seedlings into the brassica bed on plot 1 (total now of 30+ brassicas planted out)

Dug over and errected 4 pea / bean supports on plot 1, and planted up with more Mange Tout, 2 types of pea and 2 types of runner bean!

Dug over and planted up with dwarf french beans 2 beds on plot 1!

Turned over, fed and planted the greenhouse on plot 1 with 9 tomato plants, 8 chillies, 2 cucumbers, 2 aubergines and 6 catchrop lettuces.

Taken delivery of a trailer load (7' by 10' by 4' deep) of lovely sweet horse manure, and moved it into te composters on plots 1 and 2!

Hoed between all of the overwintering and spring planted onion sets!

Mr D has also made a darn good start at turning over the middle bed on plot 1 (last years brassica bed) that has gotten a bit weed infested over the winter, a nasty job, especially as it was well compacted for the brassicas last year! Our hopes are to use this bed for root veg this year!

Removed and given away to Mr D's parents (in Hull) 9 raspberry canes that had started to grow in amongst the strawberry bed!

Fed everything with Chicken poo pellets and blood fish and bone!

Checked and fed the 200+ strawbs and 84 raspberry canes we moved into their new beds / fedge last year, all of which look to be doing really well!

Planted up more seeds in the greenhouse at home, so we've now got sweetcorn, squashes, pumpkins, brassicas, more toms, more beans, more aubergines, more chillies and a few more bits n bobs growing away nicely in there, along with the now hardened off seedlings outside (leeks, 2 types of onion from seed, herbs, celery and carrots in 2 large tubs in tha beack yard)!

So, its shaping up to be a reasonable growing year so far, we both feel as though we are a long way behind where we were at this point last year, but after checking our notes, it doesnt look as tho we are behind at all! Hopefully the next few weeks will see us fully up to date, with all the beds planted up, follow on crops ready to go in behind the onions and spuds when they come out, and the first of our harvests ready to eat!

Hopefully there'll be some piccies of how the plots are looking in the very near future, keep checking back for updates!