10 May - Brassicas Planted Out

Well, what a lovely early May Bank Holiday, the temperatures were literally record breaking in some places. It was hot here in South Wales which allowed plenty of work to done on the allotment. The main job was the removal of the covers from the last bed. Apart from the odd left over potato sprouting underneath the black plastic, the soil was pretty good if some what moist. I left it for a day to dry a little then I blasted it with the Mantis tiller. I raked in some general purpose fertiliser and there it will now sit until early June when the squashes will be planted out.

The bed next door will be the Winter bed with leeks, some roots and brassicas. Here a row of the Resistafly carrots I sowed around the 24th April have germinated, their small narrow leaves are showing well. No sign of the Gladiator parsnips I barred in at the same time though. I've erected the frame and nets for my brassicas, leaving enough room between the frame and the carrots to get a row of beetroot in and a couple of rows of leeks.

I sowed the brassicas on the 15th March in a heated propagator and raised them in a cold greenhouse. The seedlings were potted on into small individual pots. They have been hardening off for a week outside before being moved to the allotment for planting out. I've put in eight Bosworth F1 Brussels sprouts, spaced out with at least 2 foot between them down the outside. Right down the middle are a row of Tundra F1 Winter cabbages and the gaps are filled in with half a dozen Primo II Summer cabbages. The idea is that the Summer cabbages will develop first and will be finished by the end of September leaving the much slower growing Winter cabbages and the larger sprout plants much more room to develop just when they need it. To avoid root fly I have used rubber collars where possible.

As for the rest, the early potatoes have been earthed up for a second time and are showing strongly through the top of the mounds. The broad beans have put on new growth and will require some support soon. The onions and garlic are well underway and along with the Resistafly carrots in the ground, the Sweet Candle carrots in the barrel have germinated well.

The row of Mesclun mix I sowed at the start of the month have appeared and next door I've planted out a few Lollo Rossa and Little Gem lettuces. There are signs that the main crop Sarpo Mira potatoes are showing but as I've changed the direction of the beds there is some overlap in position where last year's spuds were grown so, I'll wait until I see three clear rows before earthing up or I might be encouraging a 'stray' from last year.

Well, that's it for this first post of May. Bye for now.