No dig diary, 2nd May 2021

The tomatoes and calendula appear to have survived happily enough in the polytunnel over the last week or more, so I decided today to finish planting the rest out (I only did half the bed last time, “just in case”). These were all dibbed in, the tomatoes having a string looped under the root ball to support them once they get taller. I now have six plants each of Orange Paruche, Apero, Floridity, Olivade and Costoluto di Fiorentino planted out, plus a couple of plants my wife bought (a yellow-fruited variety and a striped variety) for a total of thirty-two plants. I have a few spare plants, so I’ve potted those on and will keep them in the greenhouse to replace any failures.

Whilst I was working in the polytunnel I also removed the last of the chervil and ruby chard that we harvested for salad leaves over the winter, as the plants are all flowering or trying to flower now. I put in some stakes to support the peppers once they’re planted out as well, though I still have more of those to do.

In the new “no dig” greenhouse I planted out all of the melons that have been in the other greenhouse for the last ten days. I’m sure they can survive in there if they’ve been happy enough as they are, and they’re reaching the point of needing the space for their roots. They are a mixture of Ogen and Emir varieties. I hope we’ll get some decent fruit, though I suspect they’ve been held back quite a bit by the weather, too. There’s still a bit of space in this greenhouse and I think it will probably be taken up by aubergines, but I’m not sure yet.

If the forecast can be trusted (probably not, given the lack of accuracy over the last month), things should start to warm up a bit after mid-week. I hope at that point I can seriously get into planting out the many other plants that are waiting to go into the outdoor vegetable plot.

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