Running around tearing hair out!

  I had managed to gain some time over the grass, however, as I type it is growing and will need to be cut again soon I fear. Fears are well founded. Sunday 26th April and the grass need cutting again.
   Progress in the outside garden. Pea trench dug and manured with Champion of England peas sown. Fingers crossed. I would love a bumper harvest of peas this year. I have been putting the Gigante runner beans out during the day to harden them off while I prepare the bed that they are to be transplanted to. That bed is now ready for the bean poles to be put up. Two loads of cow manure arrived this week from the local farm. A little late for the potatoes but good for the pea and runner bean trenches. It will come in useful for the courgettes, melons, squash etc. The potatoes are now poking their heads up and I am going along the rows covering them up and as fast as I do they reappear. The threat of frost is minimal and every day that goes by and gets us closer to May the less chance there is of there being one. The rhubarb is proving to be a disappointment. Last year I divided one of the plants and all the divided plants have failed leaving me with only one or two plants. Good excuse to get a new variety I guess. The asparagus continues to produce. One or two breakfasts of asparagus and dippy egg have been consumed.

Runner bean poles going up

   In the poly tunnel more lettuce sown and various varieties of sweet pepper transplanted to pots. Another ten Roma tomatoes also transplanted to pots. I think I will stop now with the tomatoes. I have some 150 plants in pots. Radishes are  going well as are the cauliflowers, salad bowl, salad endive and little gem lettuce.
   It is time to sow the cucumbers, melons, squashes and the such. That is a job for this week end. I am later than in previous years in sowing these. I decided that I would wait towards the end of April to try to avoid the damage that can be caused by the dip in temperature we get here in the middle of May. Hopefully the plants will not be too big by then! Still, have to sow them first! Since I wrote this the cucumbers etc have now been sown!
   On the animal front the lambs are growing well. The egg laying chickens have had a slump in egg laying down to three or four a day  but as I write it looks like they are coming back up to eight or nine a day. The meat hens are growing well and look like they will be some nice birds.