Short week but it continues to rain!

   Due to a quick trip back to the UK I have only had half a week to work in the garden. Still, the shallots and onions are now mostly all showing leaves. When they start they sure do get going! The weather has once more turned against me and the ground is so wet again that it is impossible to do anything with it even if I could get out of the house! Rain and drizzle has been the order of the week. Nothing doing in the outside garden, however, the garlic is thriving along with the shallots and onion sets. I fear parsnips will be a failure this year.

   In the poly tunnel work moves up a gear. I have been busy transplanting tomatoes to pots and now have over one hundred done. Several varieties:- CDB Gardeners Delight (red grape), CDB Giant Yellow, CDB Galina (yellow grape), Coeur de Boeuf, Roma (plum), CDB Ethel Watkins Best (bush, red), Millefleur (grape yellow). CDB = Champeau de Bas, which means it is seed collected from last years plants grown in the garden or poly tunnel. Salad endive, red salad bowl and little gem lettuce has been transplanted within the poly tunnel. I have even picked some red salad bowl for a sandwich! I have a good crop of coriander which I have now split into thirds. One third picking, one third growing, one third cut back. This is my endeavour to prolong the crop. Only one cabbage in the poly tunnel survived the ravages of mould and more by luck than anything I managed to plant out four cauliflowers.

   In our little animal world the meat chickens have started to wander about their coop and it is noticeable that they have grown. The sheep have started to drop their lambs and up to today (2/4/15) three lambs (2 male, 1 female) have been born. Four to go. Here is hoping for better weather over the next week.

Lambs one (black) and two

Lamb number three