More Seeds

This week I planted some more seeds; 2 pots(4 seeds) Yellow Patty pan -I hope- [Scallopini Squash], 2 pots (4) courgettes [All Green Bush]; 1 pot Courgette (2) [Nero di Milan]; 1 pot(3) Butternut Squash[Avalon F1 hybrid]. M planted 4 pumpkin seeds for the HT Pumpkin Challenge.

This weekend I planted more seeds:- Runnerbeans, dwarf [Hestia] and other[Kelvedon Marvel]; more pumpkins;Rudbeckia; Butterfly flowers[??!]. Also I have sown some carrots [Autumn King], butterfly flower and wild flower seeds in the trough by the front door.

Onions (heat treated) finally in

We ordered the onions [White Prince] from a different supplier, they are heat treated. Apparently this means they are delivered later and need to be planted quickly after delivery. Since the day they arrived it has been wet or we have been busy. We finally got up to the allotment on Monday, by this time several of the baby onions had gone mouldy, perhaps I should have taken them out of the jiffy bag they arrived in. Anyway, they are now planted, I think there were 7.5 rows of 13. I gently placed them in a light groove and then covered them with the fine tilth around to cover their prospective new shoots from the birds. R spent some time clearing around the raspberry canes and rescued a dozen strawberry plants. I planted them next to the redcurrant plants which I was given by Margot, I am not expecting many strawberries this year but maybe next year.

We went up again today and I put in the six strawberry plants I had in pots at home. I also erected the bean supports and planted the four plants that I started in the window at home. I hardened them off by putting them out during the day in the last few days. I also planted some seeds directly into the soil. I scattered a few slug pellets which are not organic but I hate the darn things when they eat my little babies.

The radishes we planted are coming and the beetroot. The weeds that are also coming are hard to distiguish from carrots at this early stage so I will wait to thin the two rows. No sign of the potatoes.

At home the gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes are both healthy but I am waging war with the ants which are busy stocking the tips with blackfly. It is Nippon for the ants and squishing for the blackfly.

Main Crop Potaoes In

We planted two rows of Cara Potatoes (23) . Mounded them up along the rows.

At home I put 5 peas [Sugar Rae] in special peat circles contained in netting. My hope is that this will allow me to plant them out without damaging the roots but protecting them from slugs until they are established. I have had no success before. As to the other seeds at home, the cabbage has come up, the runner beans also but they are a bit leggy. One butternut squash has just made an appearance. I have just moved them to a south facing window, very bright.

We picked our first Rhubarb, but we could have picked some before but we haven't been to the allotment for two weeks and it was just about ready then.

Parsnips and Carrots

Two weeks ago we prepared a patch just below where we plan to plant the main crop potatoes. We added chicken manure pellets and removed as many stones as we could. It was raked to a beautiful flat area, never done before, I have always been too rushed(lazy?). One row of parsnips [White Gem], interspersed with mixed radish. The next row was half carrots [Resistafly o?] and Beetroot [Boltardy o?]. Another extra was the two lines of orange string above each row to protect the seedlings from the birds. Today the radishes are showing through and we gave the rows a gentle watering. There are seedlings in the second row but I am not sure they aren't weeds.

Prepared another patch for Mk. We planted five old onions, three rows of carrots [Resistafly o] and a scattering of chives [own seed]. The smell of the onions and possibly the chives will hopefully deter carrot fly.