I'll have a pea please bob.

The bank holiday weekend is now upon us with a forcast of rain on 2 days out of the 3 day weekend, so today was spent on the plot while it was dry.

The pea plot is coming on a treat so the bamboo poles went in today along with some string to support the peas and get them up off the ground.



The far end of the plot has also been taken over by weeds around the beds, so in an attempt to tidy up a bit I scythed them all down to ground level and started laying some weed matting on top weighed down with wood chips.



If I can do another strip like this each time I go to the plot then there will be a walkway around all the beds which should make getting to them much easier.

After finding some jerusalem artichokes on louise's plot next door, I could then pull everything out of the bed that didn't look like them. Previously it was less than obvious what was a weed and what was a choke. For reference this is them. They are the things with pointy leaves in the trench down the middle of this photo.



Finally, the tomatoes are looking on their last legs so I've given them a dose of tomatoe food to see if they pull through. If they don't I still have a couple of plants in reserve in the coldframe that can go out next month when the weather is a little warmer.

The Scythe man cometh

The plot next to mine has been designated as the disabled plot, but nobody has taken it on yet which has led to a jungle of undergrowth David Bellamy would be proud to wussle through.

For your delight and delectation, this is what it looks like.


Bearing in mind some kind soul strimmed this plot at the end of last year, it just shows what can happen if you don't keep an eye on things and how fast those pesky weeds grow. These weeds, now well established have been invading my plot so today I bit the bullet and gave them a good scaring when I whipped my chopper out. The scythe!!!!



I also covered the side next to my plot (on the left) with weed matting to again stop weeds spreading too easily.

Although it looks like a lot of work, the whole thing only took an hour to knock into shape.

The hot weather has also done cracking work on the vegetables in my plot which got a good old soaking to get them going again.

Fingers crossed for the upcoming bank holiday weekend and some canny weather.

Hi Hoe... Hi Hoe... it's off to weed we go.

Today saw me finally tackle the weeds in the beds at the end of the plot. These are the ones which had been hit worst so the job took several hours.

Now that the weeds are all out you can clearly see how many of the 300 leek seeds I planted actually came up.




The keen eyed amongst you may be able to see a couple of things that look like grass, which amount to about a dozen leeks. So this year I'm going to have to put my close harmony singing on hold unless I can get another lot of leeks planted out in time.

The brocolli bed, now depleted of weeds, fared a little better as there are actually rows of broccoli, although not looking too healthy at the moment.



The second lot of dwarf beans from the coldframe also ventured out today and got planted where the first lot were supposed to be. They are on the right hand side of this pic, and the peas are the two rows on the left. Next weeks job is to put canes in for these to climb up.



The cauli's also got planted out but were looking a bit wilted by the end of the day. Hopefully the good soaking they got should pull them through.

And the spud bed is coming on a treat now it's weeds are out.



Finally today all the plots got a handfull of chicken poo pellets hoed and watered into them, apart from the tomatoes which got their own tomato food stuff as they are looking a bit poorly (yellow leaves which I think is cured by tomato food).

How not to grow raspberries

Step 1. Take some raspberry plants from another plot and plant them in yours.
Step 2. Make sure they are watered, fed, staked out, and supported with string.
Step 3. Watch as they refuse to grow and shrivel up despite your best efforts.



The advice appears to be just leave them and they may grow again next year. So if you're planning to move things like this, don't do it when they are growing as they don't like it, not one bit :-(

The tomatoes from the coldframe all got planted out today as they've had a fortnight or so to harden off.



The second attempt at dwarf beans are also making much better progress than my last lot. These ones were grown in my spare room first rather than direct in the plot (where they had a 100% failure rate). They are now hardening off on the left hand side of the coldframe below. Next year this should save me planting them straight in the plot as I know they need a bit more fettling.



Finally, despite the rain, I spent an hour weeding another of the beds. They definately look better now the weeds are gone and you can see a straight line of plants all looking the same.
This bed is the Fennel, Spinach, and Swiss Chard that I did today.



And this is the carrot and parsnip one I did a couple of weeks ago which is now really taking off.