It's Easter weekend and the sun is shining. However, the necessary Covid-19 restrictions are still in place so hopefully the streets ought to be quiet. The plot is getting underway now after a late start and I've noticed a few members have started digging their allotments ready for the season.
I put in another row of Rocket early potatoes, I had intended to put them in a fortnight after the first row but this particular batch are beginning to look like a net of wrinkled prunes so I thought I'd bung them in rather than give them another week in a rapidly warming shed. Wrinkled spuds will grow, the development of the shoots via chitting causes moisture loss and shrinking. As soon as they go in the ground roots will develop anyway. I bought the other two bags of earlies a few weeks after the first batch and they have clearly been stored in a cool place by the supplier as they look in perfect condition. (Pictured - a second row of early spuds go in on the right-hand side with enough room for another two rows in the coming weeks).
I've finally got around to planting my Sturon onion sets, about a fortnight to three weeks later than usual. I haven't gone overboard in terms of numbers, just 60 odd, enough for us. I did similar last year and I still have a load left. Planting onion sets is straightforward, ensure that the soil is finely tilled, rake in some fertilizer and just push the mini-onion set into the earth. If it's dry, water the area to make the soil softer.
I know it's obvious but make sure you plant them the right way up, the flatter root plate goes downward, the pointy stalk bit upward. Plant 4 to 6 inches apart, leaving enough room so they are not crowded and so you can do a bit of weeding around them in the coming months. Give them a bit of water and push any back in that float away! Check regularly as the birds will probably pull the odd one up, just stick it back into position - the bird mischief will stop as soon as the onions are rooted.
In my garden greenhouse the Alisa Craig tomatoes have been potted on into single pots. I tend to sow seed into a single pot, wait for them to germinate and develop 'true leaves' then transfer them to individual pots. The Roma tomatoes I potted on last week are looking good. (Pictured - Alisa Craig tomatoes ready to be potted on and Roma tomatoes developing well).
As with the tomatoes, I'm late sowing my broad beans. I tend to grow Bunyards Exhibition as they provide large full pods of beans which I harvest in one go then blanche and freeze. If you want them fresh then sow in succession, every three weeks or so. I like broad beans as an addition to pasta sauces so freezing is the easiest option for me. I've sown into long root trainers and will plant out when large enough to handle. (Pictured - Bunyards Exhibition broad beans in long root trainers).
The next job done over the past few days was to do a bit of thinning out of the Bosworth F1 Brussels sprouts. The last of the seed, which was two years old, was sown into a 9 cell tray - given the age I was a bit concerned that germination would be poor but my worries were unfounded, I think every seed I put in sprang into life. Anyway, I've thinned the seedlings to two per cell and I'll eventually reduce to one per cell.
Lastly, I transplanted and thinned out my Musselburgh leeks. Like the tomatoes I tend to sow them thinly into a wide, shallow pot or tray to germinate. When they are big enough to handle I dib them out with a pencil and plant them into a deeper tray or pot, spacing them out to grow on. The leeks are usually planted out into the plot at the end of May to early June. (Pictured - transplanted Musselburgh leeks).
That's it for this update. Stay safe. Bye for now
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