Potatoes and onions all planted

Potatoes and onions all planted, a little early maybe but we'll see. Mix of potatoes as usual...1st, 2nd earlies and main crop in the "new box" with very rich soil, so they should do well. Covered with glass or netting mostly as still pretty cold. Onions that had overwintered actually doing better than I first thought so just filled in gaps with need seed onions, plus half of big bed at back.

French beans

Planted some french bean seedlings, about 3" high in one of menure-full-bags. Possibly too rich for it as menure hardly composted at all but we'll see--layered a bit of soil of top so they can get started in that. Earthed up a few potatoes as they are 6" high or so.

Onions, carrots

Planted a few onion sets next to those I planted over winter. Plus tried sowing a few rows of carrots

Planted potatoes

First sunny, warm day of year so planted all potatoes in one go: Winston (1st) , Nadine (2nd), Lady Chrystl (main). A bit latter than previous years; ground still rather soggy and cold. 1st earlies under a cloche. Over-wintered garlic and onions looking a bit battered but seemed to survive.

Planted onions for over wintering

Large bed at back that had sweetcorn ... dug over and banked up, hopefully to improve drainage if there's a flood this winter, then planter with some onion seeds (white) and sets (red). Also some garlic (solent wight) - but not very nice looking cloves so might have to get more Only beetroot left now. Everything else dug up, dug over, cleared and some boxes green manured, which is growing well.

Just about all clear

All potatoes dug up and keeping them in hessian sacks, so we'll see if they keep alright. Last round of sweetcorn got attacked on plant -- pigeons or squirrels or something was eating them in situ. BUT probably got about 20 cobs previously, so not too bad. Only beetroot and french beans left in the ground. A green manure mix planted on a couple of boxes and that's coming up nicely. Courgette in a pot not very successful at all ... I guess it just didn;t get watered enough. Terry at the plot behind me has dug it over (with mechanical assistance of course - he got a mini-digger in).

Sweetcorn planted

3 rows of 11 sweetcorn planted -- between 4 and 6" tall -- all in back bed. 9 plants left over into large pots in case I need them of they do better than ones I planted in which case I'll swap them.

Earthing up potatoes

Earthing up potatoes, with soil piled up on rear box that I'll use for sweetcorn now it's nice and leveled.

Also digging out one spare box which will be this years to fill with compost etc... Currently that's got standing water below about 12" down -- remember we're in a drought!

Half of cabbage seedlings gone to seed so throwing them away.

Almost done with planting

Planted one box full of beetroot and a few carrots

Did most of the others with potatoes, and each of leeks and onions, 3 or 4 weeks ago. The potatoes are coming thru now.

Just the large one along back left -- try for sweetcorn there I think this year.

Cleared the bamboo by the shed and moved as much of the grass as mower could manage.

Mid-winter - planted garlic

All thats left now is 4 or 5 rather thin looking leeks, everything else is clear.

Filled in back-corner box with a little compost and covered with soil from another bed, in otder to level that one off and plant the garlic for next year. 4 bulbs to fill the box -- seem to be larger cloves than usual.

Was a little chilly, now suddenly warm again!