Planting up the Allotment.

At the moment I have four rows of carrots; one row of parsnips, salsify and scorzonera; two rows of lettuce and one row of Swiss chard on the top bed.  I still need to sow some Hamburg parsley and beetroot.  The celeriac and celery plants need to be put out but they can stay in the greenhouse until the weather becomes more clement.

Two rows of early peas and  a row of broad beans has been planted in the pea and bean bed.  The climbing French beans have germinated in the greenhouse but it is far too early to plant them out.  Four trays of peas have germinated in the greenhouse and these will have to be planted out soon.  I still have two rows of winter cauliflowers and two rows of purple sprouting broccoli in this bed and will not take them out until I am forced to. We are eating the purple sprouting broccoli and the winter cauliflowers have not headed up yet.

Two rows of cauliflower, All the Year Round and Clapton, have been planted in the brassica bed together with one line of Golden Acre Primo cabbage.  I also have two rows of turnips as well.

There is something wrong with my sweet peas and they are not developing as quickly as I would have expected.  I have tied them up and weeded between them.   Hopefully they will perk up a little as the weather warms.  I am still eating the late leeks but I will need to clear this ground soon so that I can put up the runner bean canes.

On the onion bed I found a little room for the herbs.  They should be quite snug here because they are in full sun.  Two rows of Bedforshire Champion; two rows of Alisa Craig; and two rows of Mammoth onions have been planted on the onion bed. One row of shallots Jermore have also been planted alongside the garlic.  All these have been covered in enviromesh supported by blue water pipe.  I have taken out the American land cress and the rocket before they could set seed because I needed the space.

I will be constructing another hot bed to put the early tomatoes on.  I have some really good farmyard manure and this will be put along a shallow trench.  I will take out the trench because I need to soil to fill the ring culture pots that I will plant the tomatoes in.  The ring culture pots will be spaced along the hot bed on top of the farmyard manure.