First pickings

Lots of lovely ripe strawberries ready to pick. I got about a half an ice cream tub full and a few raspberries as well. The raspberries aren't covered so I think the birds are picking them off as they turn red, I'll have to do something about that.

The first flowers are appearing on the peas, they're beginning to get a good hold of the net I put up as well.

I had a big plant out of things from the greenhouse for before we go away. Tomatoes, cabbage and broccoli are all in the ground. I running out of space to put things now but there isn't that much more I need to plant this year. The only empty spot is where I put the dwarf beans directly into the ground, they don't seem to have germinated yet.

Some of the broad beans are ready, I love them when they're young, green and tender. Paul prefers them when they get a bit bigger.

I picked enough for one meal but there will be plenty more to come.

Hoe, hoe, hoe

Here's the main crop potatoes in a row, the plants are still only smallish, I'll earth them up when they get a bit bigger like I already have done to the earlies. It was a warm sunny afternoon but quite windy, some of the french bean plants I put out have taken a bit of a battering so I'll wait until the others are bigger before I put them in the soil. They're doing well in the greenhouse, six leaves already.

The peas are coming along nicely, the first ones are just beginning to wrap tendrils around the sticks I put out.

The tomato plants are getting a little bigger too, proper leaves developing, they've got a fair way to go before I plant them though.

Likewise with the courgettes and squash, none of the later seeds have come through yet but the first plants are getting bigger.

The artichoke is starting to push up through the centre of the plant, it looks a bit like an acanthus plant, I guess they're related somehow.

I also spent today planting some dwarf beans left over from last year directly into the soil around the compost bin and also potting up some nasturtium seeds. I then had a good hoe around all the vegetables to get rid of the weeds.

It's a sign!

Plot 68 has two new signs, a birthday present from my Dad. He made them himself and painted them in several coats of bright green paint, the colour of the kitchen cabinets in about 1988. I saw one of the site inspectors as I was carrying them in, he said their ought to be a competition for the best plot sign.
The other thing you might spot in this picture down by the shed is my new mini-greenhouse. It cost £9.99 from Argos and is neither mini nor a green house as such, more like a plastic bag that goes over a few shelves. I had seen similar things for germinating seeds so looked online at Argos to see what they had, I didn't want anything too big as I planned to cycle home with it, the mini two-teir greenhouse was ideal so I reserved it and went to pick it up. I was rather surprised by the size of it, opening the box I found that it was the trays that made it so large as they were in one piece, there was no way to cycle with the box so in the end I took it to the plot on Thursday lunchtime by tube from Victoria to Putney Bridge and walked the rest of the way which took just over an hour in all.

Today I built the greenhouse and then went to the garden centre to get some compost and seed trays. I've planted up two types of courgettes, dwarf beans, french beans and some savoy cabbage all in trays which I've left to germinate. It was surprising how much warmer it felt in greenhouse, I do hope this works.
Out on the plot I could see that the weeds have been growing a pace, the seem to have done best in the area that I spread the horse manure on earlier this year, which begs the question were the seeds in the manure or has the manure enriched the soil to make the weeds grow? I don't know but it'll make me think twice before doing this again. When weeding I discovered that I have got some leeks after all, they are absolutely tiny like weedy bits of grass, I hadn't seen them before because they're so small and there are so many weeds. Also with closer inspection the parsnips have germinated as well which is good news as I was beginning to wonder if I'd done something wrong, the only vegetables that haven't come through are the carrots which I will give a bit longer and have some more to plant still anyway and the perpetual spinach. I'm giving up on the spinach I think, I'm not sure if I planted it too early or too deep but not a single thing has yet sprouted and they are in a very clear patch next to the radishes which are doing fine.
After all this weeding and sowing I then decided to start my herb garden along the top of the plot, I've planted seeds for lavender, thyme, rosemary, sage and flat leaf parsley. Much cheaper than buying plants, lets see if they grow.