Beans and Cabbages

The other week I sowed broad beans direct in the ground at the plot while also sowing some in pots at home too. Last year I got some eaten by mice or something and so I wanted to be prepared this time. As it happens, and maybe I might be speaking a bit too soon, all the beans have popped up and nothing has eaten them. I decided then to plant out the potted ones at the plot along with all the others. I can afford to loose one or two as I don’t need that many plants seeing as I’m the only one that eats them. These join the Grano Violetto broad beans sowed the other month which are now quite tall, and I did see one starting to flower. When they do flower, and hopefully not too soon, I can imagine they will be a purple colour, going by their name.

I had a similar story with spring cabbages in that I planted two out on the plot the other week while the others stayed at home. I felt bad about just binning these and so I planted four of the best ones out this week too, to join the two already there. I probably don’t need so much cabbage, but at least once again I have some spare if plants don’t all make it.

I planted the four cabbages in the old bed that had the white and red cabbage which was cleared last week. I’m deciding a bit this year that I’ve had a enough of not digging and so I dug this small bit of bed over, gave it a bit of rack to level off, and then planted the small cabbage plants. While I think I will still use compost as a mulch during the year, what I’ve been finding is on areas I had not dug it is nice soil for the top two or three inches and then it is rock solid. The choice is to lug up bags and bags of compost and make layers of compost for growing things in so that nothing cares about the solid earth under the thick layer – or to just dig in the compost. I like digging and so I’m all for that – I’ll probably change my mind next year.

Even though we had walked up to the plot after lunch, it was soon starting to get dark and so called it a day. We picked a lot of small bits of broccoli and noticed quite a number of strawberries, which at this time of year will come to nothing. A bit strange that we have more strawberries now than we did all year in the summer.

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