Jack Frost

The late frost of the past week took its toll on our potatoes. But luckily only one row was affected. Some of the other plots near ours were much worse hit. Next doors courgettes were decimated. I hadn't put anything tender out so all my plants are ok. I have just put in some beans so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there'll be no more frosts. You can see the newly planted beans at the start of the video below.

Take a Leek

If you grow the right things there's always something fresh to take home, no matter what time of year it is. As the potatoes get planted and everything else gets started I'm always taking home a few fresh leeks. These were grown from seed last year. I started them in a seed tray. When they were about 9 inches tall I planted them out on the plot. This was in late July. They've been growing nicely ever since. The first ones were ready a couple of months ago and there's enough left for another few weeks.Leeks can be used to add flavour to lots of dishes. We've found that if they're chopped up and simmered in vegetable stock for about 20 minutes they make a really good acompliment to roast chicken. They are also superb in a risotto and even our children like them cooked like this.

The variety above are 'Musselburgh'. This year I'm growing 'Musselburgh Improved'. I'll be disappointed if I don't think they are better.

4th Year

Despite the lack of blog entrees, we have been busy on our plot. The last of the seed potatoes have just gone in. This is a little later than previous years but with the cold winter the soil has taken a little longer to warm up. April was very dry. In fact I don't think we had any rain at all in April. Luckily for the plot the Mayday bank holiday weekend saved the day. As often happens - it poured down.

We've put some onions in. This year we started the onions sets in seed trays at home and then planted them out when there was about 3 inches of green out the top. We haven't had much success with onions so far. They have never got very big. It will be interesting to see if things improve this year.

We've also got all the tender plants started in pots at home. The consevatory and bath room are full of seed trays and pots containing squash, pumpkins, beans and sweetcorn. The seeds have only been planted 10 days but have already germinated and are growing quite well. As I write the forecast is for a possible frost tonight but with it warming up as we go through the week. I won't be tempted to plant these out too early but also I don't want them getting pot bound. It's a balancing act which I hope I can get write.

I've also started off the tomatoes. I'm growing 'sweet olive' again this year as I was really impressed by them last year. The other variety I'm growing is the old tried and tested favourite 'moneymaker'. I've also got some lettuce on the go in front of the garage. This is the most slug proof location I've found. And I've put two spare seed potatoes in an old waste bin with compost.

This will be my 4th year on my plot. I'll try to post reguarly so you can follow how I get on.