First strawberries of the season

Finally, look at these little lovelies that were picked at Stanley Road yesterday.

First few red strawberries

They tasted wonderful, and the girls enjoyed them straight from the plants, with no added sugar.  Amazing how they will eat things straight from the plant that they would never try on their own in the house.

There are lots more to come, as we have dedicated two full strawberry patches at Stanley Road to them.  My favourite crop by far…

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If in doubt, go to Flittons

Despite my efforts to grow everything from seed, we don’t have a greenhouse, or a decent windowsill to propagate seeds.  Sometimes garden centres can produce such great value that it seems a waste not to take advantage.

Flittons were selling a whole tray of brassica seedlings for a pound today, so I had to go for 8 plants of each of:

• Savoy cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts

They have gone into the Warren plot alongside the sweetcorn and squashes.  Roll on Autumn!

Netted to keep pigeons away

The Savoy cabbage will have to wait until we have dug out some space, but the others have gone in.

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Frantic planting

Well into May, and lots to do.  The patches needed weeding, and a lot of sowing and transplanting to do.   Mind you, it’s not just weeds growing, the crops are coming on nicely:

Potatoes growing well

The potatoes are looking great, the peas are growing steadily, and the tomatoes seem to have benefitted from their early season cloches and are well advanced.

Tomato plants with a chilli in the foreground

Next step, planting more seeds.  It is now perfect soil for direct sowing.  We put in some parsnip, carrot and sweetcorn seeds, which should provide a late summer crop after the peas and beans have finished.

Peas and beans

Another pleasant surprise each year is always how well the flowers do.  This year we got our first peonies, and Eden’s rose is doing really well too:

Eden's rose

All the Dahlias were lost in the frosts, so we have put some more in, along with some lilies for late summer perfume.

Lastly a bit of maintenance was needed.  The tarragon looked as if it might bolt, so we trimmed it right back.   Incomplete harvesting has led to a profusion of ‘volunteer’ potatoes (that’s what you call potatoes left in the ground from the previous year that sprout in unexpected places).  These had to come out but left us with a handful of mini potatoes which will be an intriguing addition to a salad.

Tarragon destined for the freezer...

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