Busy times at the moment. This is the veg. plot as it looked at the start of March. It’s a big plot and in previous years has taken a very long time to dig over by hand, so this year I invested in a new (well, new to me) toy for the tractor meaning I could do the whole thing, twice, in a couple of hours one Sunday afternoon.
Since then I’ve been planting madly. First, red onions (Red Baron) and brown onions (Sturon), shallots (Golden Gourmet), garlic (Solent Wight), closely followed by my first outdoor sowing of peas and mangetout (Kelvedon Wonder, Hurst Green Shaft, Sugar Ann and Norli.
In the brassica section I have started off cabbages (Greyhound, Red Jewel, Tundra, Prestige), brussels sprouts (Cascade), purple sprouting broccoli (Red Arrow and Rudolph), cavalo nero and romanesco cauliflower, as well as planting some French Breakfast and Cherry Belle radishes and a mix of lettuces.
The roots bed has several rows of parsnips (Cobham Improved Marrow) and carrots (Autumn King and Amsterdam Forcing), beetroot (Boltardy) and swiss chard (Bright Lights).
Finally, the potato bed is now full of a mix of King Edward, Desiree, Charlotte and International Kidney potatoes. I used to plant Maris Piper instead of Desiree, but found them very susceptible to scab.
In the greenhouse I have tomatoes (Gardeners Delight, Costoluto Fiorentino, San Marzano) doing well, and my February sowings of peppers (Corno di Toro, Cayenne, Japapeno and Bird Eye) are also doing well. I’m also waiting for sweet corn to germinate as well as Okra, cucumber (Marketmore), Pumpkins (Orbit) and probably a few other things I’ve forgotten, as well as a selection of herbs.
The polytunnel is the one thing that’s been slow to get moving this year. Normally the peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers occupy it during the height of summer, but before they go in I have a few crops of lettuce, radish and other salad items. I’ve just not got around to getting it ready quickly enough this year though and the only thing in it at the moment is an early crop of peas. Hopefully this weekend, with the bulk of planting done, I’ll be able to get sorted there.