At the end of last month I sowed runner beans, Firestorm, into long root trainers in the greenhouse. They develop so rapidly that sowing them too soon when it's still cold outside will leave you with large plants running out of nutrients and past their best. The end of April to early May seems right for runner beans; they are ready to go out the in late May.
Meanwhile their more hardy cousins, the broad beans, are getting away well in the plot; so too are the onions which are all sprouting green shoots. I've set out the frame and nets for the brassicas and have planted out Summer cabbage Primo II and the sprouts, Bosworth F1. Recently I've noticed that root fly seems to be a problem on the site with a number of site holders seeing their bassicas collapse and come to nothing. To help with this I'm putting rubber disks around the plants to provide some protection from the root fly.
Things are generally moving along, I've put out some lettuce in the plot, Little Gem and Lollo Rossa; I've sown a line of Bolthardy beetroot directly and have noticed that the parsnips, Gladiator F1, I sowed last month are finally germinating (I forgot to mention these in April). I've also sown a few rows of Resistafly carrot along with some Sweet Candle carrots in a barrel.
Earlier this month I sowed my usual Hunter F1 Butternut, Courgette and a couple of pumpkins for Halloween, Big Max. They have grown on well in the greenhouse and will be ready to go out next month. Just like the runner beans, sow too early and you end up with large plants, getting past their best stuck in the greenhouse but it's too cold for them outside.
That's it from me. Bye for now.
