A super early start because it was forecast to be super hot all day, and because I thought could spend a couple of hours on the plot and still be back home in time for breakfast. The only real thing to do for today was to bank up the potatoes which had all started to show under the fleece. I’m pretty certain there won’t be any more frosts and so the fleece can come off completely, and after banking up there would be nothing to freeze anyway.

When planting these potatoes I thought I might try copying the no-dig method of just putting on more compost as the shoots show, but I didn’t have any spare so used the soil/compost already on the ground. The soil was is not too bad condition where things had been growing last year, but where it went over what was the old path it was a bit more hard going. Plenty of bindweed roots too in that part, which took a bit to get out and I am sure will all be back within a week or two.

They are still growing in pots at home but I thought I would prep the ground for peas. I sowed 14 to start with but only two came to anything in the greenhouse, while undercover round the side of the house had 100% success. This weekend I resowed plus also sowed another 14. Within a week I shall plant the first lot out. All I did today was to rack and level the bed, and put up some supports for the peas to grow up.

I was just going to leave when the plot holder next door arrived and said I could help myself to some of his cabbage plants. I already have cabbage seedlings at home but thought I would put some of his offerings in the ground too.

Normal harvest of rhubarb, chard and leeks. I am down the the smaller leeks now and come next weekend I’ll pull them all up in order to free the ground for something else.

Before I left I gave the onions and last week’s carrot bed a watering, along with the new cabbage plants and the lettuce and radish.

Checking on the seedlings at home, I compared the greenhouse seed tray with the one from undercover around the side of the house. Now the greenhouse is getting direct sun for a while in the morning, established seedlings are much further ahead. However, sowing made in darker colder days, I think the greenhouse was cooler and damper than the undercover ones which has caused a lot to not show.

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