Rhubarb!

I picked my first crop of rhubarb today! Not the longest of stalks but they're okay. The main clump was forming a flower head which I pulled up and then thought I'd better pick some stalks seeing as they looked so nice, I also picked a few from the second clump, which were thinner but pinker.

The new rhubarb grew quickly but I don't think I'll pick any of it this year, it needs to build up some strength before it's ready to be harvested.

Above we can see the two rows of beans and the garlic, which are all doing well. The weather has been warm with a bit of sunshine, bees were buzzing about and I saw a few butterflies. I planted some tomato seeds and also some french beans in tray and put them in the cold frame. Some of the broccoli plants I planted last weekend had already sprouted, no sign of the cabbages though. They'll both have a long growing season before they're ready to eat.

I now have dozens of strawberry flowers, they weren't nearly so early last year but they might have been held back because I had only just moved them in February when I first got the plot. The beans have likewise produced a few more flowers although they need to grow a bit taller yet.

There was a lot of new growth on the herbs so I picked some sage (above), parsley, oregano and thyme. The rosemary seems to the only one that didn't survive the winter, I'll have to get a new plant.

Also some growth on the lavender, the new shoots are really minty green against the bluer old leaves.

A close up of that rhubarb - yum yum.