It's mid-May and the month is moving rapidly on. We've had some lovely hot weather recently but it's been a bit cooler this week though everything seems to be growing on well. I put my bean poles up on the 12th May - four pairs for the French beans one way and two sets of four pairs each end at right angles for the runner beans. The poles resemble a squared off 'U' shape - hopefully this will ensure that they all get the best of the sun throughout the day.
The runner beans are currently in the root trainers hardening off outside. As soon as the weather warms up a little in the next week or so, they can be planted out. I've put a few French climbing beans at the foot of the canes already, unfortunately I had a few that didn't flourish in the root trainers as I think the runner beans just totally overshadowed them. Anyway, I planted what good plants I had at the foot of the canes and planted a few seeds at the bottom of all the canes - hopefully this will give me some succession in the cropping. If I remember, I think I'll put a few more seeds out in a months time in an attempt to prolong cropping further.
The Nautica bush French beans I put out some weeks ago have been largely replaced with a new batch I sowed recently. Some the early sowings were OK and I've left them in the ground but those that looked worse for wear have been replaced. Likewise the early sowing of peas have come up rather sparsely so I've sowed some more next to them and have gone on to sow another three rows of seed. These early sowings and plantings were really effected by the cold snap we had at the end of April but those are the risks all plot-holders take - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
The lettuce and radish are doing well though the spring onions I planted out from the cells in which I germinated them haven't really done anything since planting them out. Still, there's time for them to get under way. However, the Rocket early potatoes are thriving and I've earthed them up to their maximum height. I don't think I'll be digging them from the first week of June like last year but who knows? Still, they look great. (Pic - three 32ft rows of Rocket early potatoes).
The Summer cabbages, Primo II and the Brussels sprouts, Bosworth F1, have grown on well since being planted out, they've almost doubled in size. I was a bit slow with the slug protection and one of the plants got a bit attacked so I replaced it with a spare - all are fine now. Last season the broad beans started off really well then just stopped growing and, on closer examination, they had aphids and a touch of black fly on them. After one single spray they put on a growth spurt and went on to produce a very heavy crop of beans. So, this year, my Bunyard's Exhibition, received a single dose of bug spray a week or so ago, it's something I use very sparingly but, like last year, they really benefited from a bit of pest control as they have grown and produced a first flush of flowers.
Both the onions, Sturon, and the garlic are growing nicely - I've done nothing more than a bit of weeding around them. I'll give them a bit of a feed in a few weeks time. I've thinned the Gladiator F1 parsnips to two per station. They now have true leaves and I'll thin to one per station above their pre-bored holes when I'm confident they will survive. I've had a few more problems with the Sweet Candle F1 carrots though. Some of the stations above their pre-bored holes produced a nice growth of carrot seedlings, others nothing. I've thinned out the ones with too many seedlings and have re-sown a few more on the blank spaces. Now I have carrot seedlings at all stations and to protect them I have covered them with plastic bottle cloches to provide that little bit of protection.
The strawberries are covered in white flowers and some plants already have small green berries forming on stalks between the leaves. With a bit of luck and if the weather is amenable, there will be fruit in a few weeks time. Likewise the raspberries have grown well this year, putting up lots of new canes for next seasons fruit; this year promises a decent crop too with buds all over the plants. (Pic - raspberry buds).
Into the greenhouse now. The Winter cabbage Tundra F1 have germinated in their cells; I'll thin out to nine plants when the seedlings have established themselves; it'll be a few weeks before they need to be potted on as they haven't any true leaves as yet. The sweetcorn germination was a bit erratic as I used last year's seed so, where I had gaps in the root trainers, I popped in a new seed - at the last count I should have around 24 plants to go into the plot in a few weeks time which is fine.
The Winter squashes are largely doing well after a bit of re-sowing. I did two batches of Hunter F1 butternut and I've over a dozen plants, half of which from the first sowing have already been potted on to larger pots; the rest will follow in the next fortnight. The Turks Turban, intended as space-fillers this year, have done really well and will need potting on within the week. The disappointment has been the Crown Prince squashes, I initially only got three germinated from ten seeds, a poor ratio by any measure. I've sown a few more and I think I have at least another two. They do grow fast and the first three plants were potted on quickly. Talking of big plants, the pumpkins have gone mad! Both the Big Max and the Jack O'Lantern are already massive - I've two of each but I think I'll give at least one away. (Pic - pumpkin leaf at a few weeks old).
The courgettes Atena and Defender are growing well. They have been potted on into larger pots and are currently outside the greenhouse hardening off. They will be planted out in the next week or two. The tomatoes, Alicante and beefsteak Marmande now have their second truss of flowers on most of the plants. I've started a weekly feeding routine which they already seem to be befitting from.
Overall, I've had some ups and downs in this early part of the season but, difficulties can be overcome with additional sowing of seed as it's still relatively early in the season and there is a long way to go. I'm satisfied with progress so far and I feel I'm on track. That's it for now, see you next time.
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