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.

Mow, mow, mow the grass....

   Ok, maybe I am a little obsessed with the grass. It seems to me that this year it is growing faster than before. Seems to me that every other day I am mowing the  grass! I am sure it is not true but certainly I am mowing every 5 to 7 days. Madness. The weather continues to be kind with cool sunny days and the odd hot one! Excellent for working outdoors and of course consuming the odd bottle of cold beer and glass of wine.

Asparagus in the outside bed

It looks like it is going to be a good year for the asparagus. In the outside bed and in the poly tunnel the asparagus is growing well. This is the first year where I have had asparagus growing inside and outside at the same time.

Thinning salad endive

   In the poly tunnel as one would expect with the warmer weather everything is putting on growth. The red salad bowl and salad endive is being picked with consumption just about keeping up with growth. I am continuing to sow small amounts of 18 Jour race Velox radish and so far my succession planing is working well. Famous last words there I fear. Basil (good chap Basil!) (lemon, Mammoth lettuce leaf, sweet Genoese) has been sown along with some flowers - African marigolds and nicotiana. African marigolds are good companions for the tomatoes in that they keep aphids away and attract pollinating insects. I have now transplanted cabbage (Precoce de Louvier) and aubergine (Barbentine and Harflinge Violette) to pots. The peas in the poly tunnel are proving to be a disappointment this year. Lots of growth, no flowers! The tomatoes in pots are now well established and starting to grown on and as always I have more plants to transplant than I know what to do with! So far over 140 tomato plants in pots.
   In the outside garden more lettuce has been put under cloches. Panic is starting to set in as I need more of the beds to be ready to sow/transplant in over the next couple of weeks. A number of the tree onions have gone to seed. That is annoying. Shallots and onions are growing well. They like the damp soil I am sure. Garlic looks good, parsnips I fear are going to be a failure this year.
   On the sheep front all our ewes have now lambed. We have six lambs, five rams and one ewe. That is disappointing as we will not be able to retain the rams. Some will have to eventually go to new homes.

Spuds, spuds and more spuds

   In the our world of sheep one more lamb has been born. We now have three ram and one ewe lamb.
   It has been a busy week in the garden. The weather has been very good. Frosty mornings, clear skies, lots of sun and not too hot. Ideal spud planting weather. Varities Charlotte, Desiree and Bintje have been planted. Elsewhere in the garden the onion and shallot sets are going well. The tree onions are well established and fingers crossed they ought to do well this year. I was a little disappointed with them last season but I think that they are one of these plants you multiply year on year until you get enough to crop. Grass mowing continues and as I write this I am thinking that I need to get out there and start mowing again!
   In the poly tunnel the asparagus has started to show itself and there is one spur ready to cut! Lettuce leaves are being picked (Red salad bowl and salad Endive). The Lisbon spring onions have once again proved to be a disappointment. I am going to give up on trying to grow this variety and just grow the french salad onions which have a bigger bulb and in my opinion are not as nice. I have a good showing of peas in the poly tunnel, no flowers yet though.Transplanted tomatoes are now well established. Up in the house I have celery, celeriac and Nigels green chilli all growing nicely. Time to get on and sow basil I think.
  The cherry blossom has finally appeared. The warm weather has helped to bring on all the fruit trees and the apple and pear trees are close to flowering. The daffodils have been really good this year and I have picked several bunches to display in the houses.
   On the chicken front all is well. The hens continue to produce eight to ten eggs a day out of eleven hens and that is very pleasing.
   So onward. Over the next week or so weather permitting I will be sowing haricots and first lot of outdoor peas.

Shallots and tree onions on the right

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