More rain, more spuds and some flowers

Its been raining solidly for weeks now. Today saw sunshine interspersed with heavy showers, crashing thunder and lightning flashes on all sides. I can see a rainbow out my window at the moment.


Last night we had some more fresh epicure new potatoes for dinner with quiche. They were really nice with butter and parsley. They just melt in your mouth!


Today I've found the first flowers on my peas....


...and my rocket which I guess means its gone to seed. The rocket has been a great success so far, we have it with almost every meal! It's really tasty and easy to look after.

With all the rain everything's been growing like mad. These Bolthardy beetroot are looking good.

Lush green shoots and blossom

Well I got back from Nottingham on Sunday to find everything still very much alive. My new seeds have all appeared with the warm weather, so now there are tiny rocket and lettuce leaves as well as the toms on the windowsill. (above) The big surprise though, was the spuds, which seem to have shot up out of nowhere to a fair size already. (below)

Meanwhile the existing radishes, onions, garlic and tomato seedlings have got even bigger. I'm regretting not planting the toms in individual pots! The biggest are a good 4" now and getting sturdier. (below) I'm concerned that the radishes are going to get too big for the onions they're planted with so tried to move a couple. they seeem to have wilted though. The ground is very dry (like the water butt still!) so I've been watering almost daily.

I've been impressed by the speed with which everything's grown over the weekend actually. My walk to work is now much greener, with all kind of dark greens bursting out the hedges, hundreds of flowers out - including bluebells and violets, the cherry trees in full pink and white blossom and oak, birch and chestnut sporting bright green baby leaves. All very lush. Looking forward to a walk at the weekend.

A Robin and a Pig

I bought some Organic carrot seeds on the way back from Rosie's on Sunday afternoon. When I got home, I raked over the patch again to make a seed bed for them and watered it with some seaweed fertiliser solution. I'll probably start sowing them in a week or so. Once I'd finished raking, my little Robin friend flew down to eat some worms I'd dragged up. He's been down before, but this time he came really close. No fear.


After raking, I dug drills for my first two spuds which have been chitting in the shed. One had really long roots, but few shoots, the other, longish shoots, but few roots. It'll be interesting to see which sprouts quicker, although I'm not too sure which one was which now.

I then thinned out my radish shoots which survived the frost and have got a little bigger.

Finally I filled some yoghurt pots with compost and put some tomato and sprout seeds in, before leaving them on a tray in the bathroom. Following instructions in my book, I placed brown paper over them and put them in a plastic bag (instead of under glass). No sign of life so far (Weds) so not sure if they're not wet/hot enough or just slow. Will have to see...

By the way, when I went for a walk with Rosie earlier in the day, we made friends with this huge pig!

Chitting spuds and radish shoots!

Found my first shoots coming up on wednesday night after work! Went out with Rosie and to find them just poking through in the torchlight. By Saturday they were this big and loads more had also shown up! Don't they look happy? :)


I used the morning to sow more parsnips and onions, as well as plant bits of garlic at the end of the patch. I'm sowing parsnips and onions every two weeks so they hopefully don't all come at once.


I also had a look at my potatoes which I got from Henry and have been 'chitting' in my shed since feb. Everyone looks at me funny when I tell them this, but all it means is that they're growing roots before I plant them. They look pretty happy too, but still need another few weeks.


We've got some frost forecast for early this week, I hope it doesn't kill everything....