The spell of really lovely weather we have been having has worked wonders in the garden. I have more purple sprouting broc than I know what to do with, the broad beans are flourishing, the potatoes have pushed through and the seeds of parsnip and carrot have germinated. Yay!
The raised beds in the Rosebank garden are filling out nicely, the large pots are waiting for courgettes and squash, the smaller black bottomless pots have parsnips and carrots in and I still have spring cabbage waiting to be eaten
The garlic and onions in the left hand bed are putting plenty of growth on now - all we need is a bit more rain to get everything well soaked - I know, I know shouldn't be asking for rain, but it saves a helluva lot of walking backwards and forwards with a watering can.
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| Oriental leaves going to seed |
The oriental leaves that I overwintered in the greenhouse are now flowering and going to seed, I could eat the flowers of course, but I am going to try and save the seed for sowing next year.
One tray is still going strong though - I have picked over the leaves many times and they just keep on coming but I have been sowing successionally so that I have a constant supply. When one batch of seed comes through I then sow another batch.
Here is batch number one coming along nicely
Here is batch number two - together with all the other salad leaves I have growing I should be well supplied with salads for the summer.
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| runner bean plants |
I am growing five different types of runner bean and only one or two haven't germinated yet - I have sown more than I really need just in case there is some sort of slug-munching disaster or something. The French beans have been a bit slower to germinate and are only just pushing through
The pot in the middle of the top row is a courgette just showing. I won't be planting anything out till the end of May at least, so I may have to pot them on when they really take off.
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| Runner bean plant |
Elsewhere in the garden the strawberries in the greenhouse and hanging basket are now in flower
Hoping for happy harvests this year
The parsnips that I had stored over winter have started re-shooting so I tipped them out of their pots and prepared them all for the freezer before they became soft and unuseable. I don't fancy eating parsnips much during the summer but there should be enough to see us through to the harvest this winter.
I love this time of year - there is so much going on in the veg garden with so much hope resting on fine weather - no slugs, no blight. Well, we can but dream! How is everything coming along in your garden?
I have no garden as of yet but I'm doing ok ish on my windowsill, your garden is looking lovely
ReplyDeleteThank you Helen - it's amazing how much you can grow on a windowsill - I have had full grown tomatoes and cucumbers before I had a garden
DeleteI've only just sown my beans so none have germinate yet. I'm hoping that by the time they're ready to go out, all risk of frost will have passed. I'm trying a new variety of runner bean this year, St.George, it has red and white flowers.
ReplyDeleteI am growing St. George too it looks lovely growing up the canes.
DeleteIt looks very neat and tidy. I have all sorts of oriental greens sprouting in the garden at the moment. Plants gone to seed don't seem to compost very well.
ReplyDeleteOo I'll have to remember that - I wouldn't mind too much though - just regard it as free food.
DeleteWell, your request for rain has now been fulfilled, hasn't it? (Assuming the Weather Forecast was right...)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this is the best time of year for the garden. So much promise of good things to come! My runners are only just beginning to germinate, which reminds me I must put up their support canes very soon.
Sadly Mark we didn't get the rain as forecast, maybe tomorrow eh. I have got to sort out my bean canes this weekend but the beans won't be going out just yet.
DeleteYour post is so inspiring. I love the garden greens...such a variety!
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty tasty as well as decorative
DeleteI love greens and vegetables, so I must say that your veggie garden looks very tasty to me :)
ReplyDeleteMe too, it won't be long before everything gets planted out if the weather holds.
DeleteI've just sown my beans yesterday so am later than normal. Have transplanted my tomatoes into their next size pot, sown some new lettuce seeds and now have a whole raised bed of lettuces in various growth stages.
ReplyDeleteMy tomatoes won't be long before they need potting on - hope the slugs don't notice your lettuce just yet.
DeleteAll I can say is....Wow, looks amazing! x
ReplyDeleteThe crops that are in the beds are from last years plantings they will all be eaten soon so I can clear and start replanting.
DeleteThings are really getting going now. Your potager is looking most attractive Elaine and quite full already. Here I've only just sown my French beans on the observations that last year's May sowings fared better than those made in April. Looks as if we might be able to give the watering can a break over the next few days :)
ReplyDeleteThe rain and wind have finally reached us but not enough rain to make a difference.
DeleteYour garden looks so neat and organised - a complete contrast to mine, but I'm always aiming for something better! My beans are just starting to come through, courgettes too - feels like I've left it late this year, but maybe that's just because there's so much else to do now the weather is warming up. Hope you get your wished for rain.
ReplyDeleteI thought it looked a bit random rather than organised - the weather today is just the opposite of warming up it's bloomin cold - back to square one.
DeleteI love your raised beds... reminds me of Mr McGregor's garden! I still have seedling envy......
ReplyDeleteAww that's nice Mr. McGregor's garden certainly conjures up a lovely picture - wish mine was a organised as his.
DeleteIt looks fantastic. Everything is further along than in my garden (although, I haven't seen my garden for a week, so you never know).
ReplyDeleteI bet you won't recognise your garden on your return everything has come on in leaps and bounds over the last couple of weeks.
DeleteGosh how well organised you are. Haddock's is bare other than some Rhubarb and my new Spring plantings; we now have nothing fresh edible, just bottled preserves from last year.
ReplyDeleteI am just finishing off the last of the stewed tomatoes that I froze last October - lost none of their flavour thank goodness.
DeleteAn enjoyable read, and good photos.
ReplyDeleteIt's all looking really good, you must be well pleased so far.
Fingers crossed that it'll be a brilliant year, making up for last year. Flighty xx
We could do with a bit of good luck this year - I think we all need medals for what we had to put up with last year.
DeleteYou're right about the rain - we had a very light fall yesterday and the plants appear to have grown considerably overnight. They would rather have rain than me throwing water at them. I love the sunlit brassicas in your photos!
ReplyDeleteI never noticed the sunlit brassicas till you pointed it out - if I had taken the photo today it would just have been a blur it is so windy
DeleteIt all looks to be filling up well Elaine.
ReplyDeletePlenty more where that came from Sue - not sure how I'm going to fit it all in.
DeleteWhat a fantastic array of crops, Elaine, your raised beds are looking great! My French Beans are doing well, along with the salad crops, but I've still to get on and sow a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of potting on to do now as the first lot of seeds are outgrowing their pots - onwards and upwards.
DeleteRaining here and headed your way..
ReplyDeleteI got my last seeds in yesterday, apart from the salad leaves that I'll keep on sowing to keep us supplied. The potatoes are beginning to come up.. hopefully I'm only a couple of weeks behind you!
My potatoes are finally showing too - thought I'd lost them for a while - the container potatoes are getting on a bit better than those in the ground.
DeleteEvery thing is looking rosy in the garden after last years debacle, the spring weather in Eastbourne is ideal at the moment rain and sunshine, I finished that book Elaine the end part where Queenie had lost her tongue was a real tear jerker, Rachel Joyce is an author to look out for, all the best David
ReplyDeleteThe weather has turned nasty here all the tulips are now horizontal. Glad you enjoyed the book - it was a bit different wasn't it.
DeleteI'm growing a lot more 'Oriental Greens' these days now. In fact I think one of the mixed seed packets is called exactly that - Oriental Greens. The mix looks similar to yours though I'm not sure of all the names for the individual plants.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I've found to disregard the packet instructions when it comes to sowing Pak Choi direct. Do you grow it Elaine? Apparently it's not recommended for sowing in modules first but I always do it that way and they come out just fine. Since you're growing in modules a this year I thought I'd pass that on.
Clever idea with the bottom-less pots! It must help keep those pesky carrot root flies at bay and make harvesting your root veggies much easier.
Funnily enough I bought some Pak Choi seeds the other day. I used to grow it but it always bolted so gave up. But I shall sow it towards the end of summer when it gets cooler and hopefully it will thrive a little better.
DeleteYour plants and garden are looking fantastic! I'm jealous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelli.
DeleteWhat a lovely garden you are going to have this year. I'm dreaming the same dream as you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen - fingers crossed for a slugless year - I'm not holding my breath
DeleteGosh, you've been busy! Everything is looking very gorgeous in your photos. Hope you haven't been too wind lashed, it was bad for just one day here but a bit calmer today. My courgettes and beans (sown in modules) germinated really quickly and need to be potted on. Like you, I won't put out for another week or two and I've paid the price in the past for being too hasty! PS Fabulous tip about the white plastic cups in previous post, thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt is hard work but rewarding but at the moment I seem to be in the greenhouse permanently - I will be glad when everything is planted out now. The wind has been really strong for a couple of days so my new windbreak has come in useful.
DeleteCan I just say how wonderfully well labelled your pots are!! Wish I was better organized in that department. Last night I was asking hubby to please eat another popsicle so I could have the stick for marking plants in the garden.
ReplyDeleteHa! I label quite religiously until I run out of labels then think I will remember what is what in each pot, until they get shuffled about to make room for other things and then all is lost, and I have to rely on my knowledge of what leaves look like - mistakes are made - by hey nobody's perfect.
DeleteVery nice to see the different stages of development and variety of your plants. I'm still waiting for my Parsnips to germinate, they are very slow this year.
ReplyDeleteNow all I need is for it to stop raining for five minutes so that I can start planting out. I just hope that all my outdoor seedlings haven't been washed away.
DeleteYour garden is beautiful, Elaine! It looks like something from an advertisement or a book. The first two photos take the cake! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Beth - that's quite a compliment
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