27th April

"I didn't know that vegetables could be bad for you"

That is a quote from a friend that stopped for a brief chat as she rode past the field earlier this week,. She was of course referring to all the pesticides, artificial fertilizers and preservatives that may be sprayed on non-organic vegetables.

Surely there should be a requirement to disclose all the potential harmful additives to all food?

My second quote is from myself in a blog a few weeks back....."I wish it would stop raining".

Be careful what you wish for Dave!

But isn't it lovely to see the sun even though the sprinklers are moaning that they have been called out of hibernation too early?

We need a third quote, and that has to be from someone else passing the field and having a chat. A lovely fella in an old Morris Minor (I think). He was very complimentary about what I was doing and I told him that most people say that I am either brave or stupid. His quote was...

"Interesting people do stupid things"

My family unanimously agreed that must mean that I am doing a brave thing 😒

Still really busy, and still playing catch up, but I'm hoping that this week will be really productive. It is vital that everything must be done properly though, especially as the cabbage whites are out and about!

I thought I'd share how I am planning to keep them off the purple sprouting broccoli I planted this week:

Firstly a picture of them freshly transplanted;

Next, I place a 3 metre steel rod in the ground on one side, every couple of metres

I then put irrigation hose over the steel rod to help prevent it rusting, and stick the other end of the rod into the opposite side to form a nice hoop. It's cheaper to try and invent your own method rather than buying the ready made hoops

Next, the net goes on. The picture doesn't tell the story properly but this was done earlier in the week when winds were gusting 25-30 mph, I think that people would have paid for the entertainment value of watching an idiot trying to do this in those winds!

But I got there, and those pesky cabbage whites are not getting in!

Jobs a good one!

I think that mice are cute, but just look what they did to the cauliflower seedlings that I had in the polytunnel:

They also had a good munch on the purple sprouting that I showed above. Fortunately, I had spares of both seedlings. A couple of mice had nested under the trays that I had on the floor with the seedlings in. They scurried off with their bags packed when I lifted the trays, which is fortunate as the polytunnel will be fully planted out by the end of this week with tomatoes and cucumbers.

My early planting experiment of tomatoes is doing rather well, and I have nurtured them this week. The main objective of this is to ensure that all the energy in the plant is used for growing. This means removing any flowers (it's too early for them to start growing fruit) removing the lower leaves, and pinching out any shoots that grow between the main stem, and a main branch - see example below

Here's what one of the plants looked like before it's manicure

And after

All the early tomatoes were then staked and they now have a string in place to support them as they climb

It is like a sauna in that polytunnel so I'm sure those tomatoes will be pleased to have had their trimming!

I sowed 150 Dwarf French beans and only 5 have germinated. I have sowed some more this week in the hope that they will do better, but it is really annoying as they are fast to crop and would have provided some beans in just a few weeks

The runner beans and climbing beans on the other hand are doing superbly, and I'll leave you with the frame I built today for the runner beans that are going to be transplanted tomorrow. The variety is called "Lady Di" and I have a feeling that they are going to live up to their name and be splendid!!