We had a very hot day on Sunday which was actually really enjoyable and productive if a little sweaty! We planted runner beans, courgettes, winter squash, celeriac and sweet peas.

The asparagus has picked up beautifully and I don’t think we’ve lost a single plant. Phew! The onions and garlic look great and set for a bumper harvest in July and August.

Some problems though. The soil is ‘capping’ in the parsnip, carrot and leek areas which means the seedlings can’t push through easily. A fine bracken mulch may help to cover the soil and protect from this blazing sun – not a common problem in May! There’s time to sow main crop carrots somewhere else but we may not have many parsnips this year.

As usual we struggle to get the beds prepared in time and are still needing to get the french bean area ready. Our new terrace would be really helpful as the first is pretty much full.

Doug’s divining has discovered a spring nearer the garden and he has done a fantastic job of installing a spring fed tank which makes filling the watering cans a doddle. We just need to figure out how to power a pump to get it up to the IBC’s now.

Thank you everyone for a lovely day.