End of dry April with a very wet May

 
Covered the squashes with a fleece layer rather than the plastic polytunnels things. Should let a bit of water through and not be as hot if it's sunny. However it hasn't been sunny -- lots of rain this week, especially this weekend. The photo is from last weekend.

Had covered up my "piles" of composting menure-straw mix, but removed some covers so the forecast rain can soak in a bit rather than just run off.

Started cutting up remaining wood from last years work on the house - will make some more boxes, probably to go at back, at about 5' by 5'.

Continuing hot and dry weather

 

Ground is quite dry and have been digging over and covering with straw/menure mix. Finished the back bed (previously sweetcorn) and one of the middle strips ready for more potatoes.

More work on my super-heap of compost mix in the large double-height box. The previous mix had sunk by about 9 inches, so added more menure/straw mix and two bags of pigeon poo from Brian. Watered well and re-covered.

End of the cold spell

Last week saw about 4 inches of snow; but its all gone now and back to mild damp waether.

The ground is very wet with pools forming easilly in any low spot, particularly around the shed.

Dug in 3 bags of Homebase compost (2 peat free and 1 non-peat free as they'd run out of the peat free stuff) into the far box, which will be for carrots and beet. Also started to dig out the middle box - the technique is to dig a trench around the outer edges inside the box and then drop the plastic liners into the trech and fill back in with the menu/straw mix and then cover back with the soil. the plastic liner, a small attempt to keep the crouch grass out.

First post of 2007

Very warm start to the year -- temperatures around 10 centigrade and higher. Ground is rather wet -- planted out some garlic, I think it may be too heavy soil but we'll see.
Made a large box by stacking two of my frames together. Fill the space with the straw/menure mix delivered to the site and added a bit of compost to help it rot down.
  

Sweetcorn about 1m high -- possibly a little too close together but we'll see if that affects the yield.
Mange tout past their best -- leaving them now to see how they come out as simple peas.
The weather has been very humid and now showery; the heat wave is finally breaking.

Harvested first potatoes, good yield, plus a couple of the larger red onions, an odd carrot or two and plenty more peas of course.


Waether very hot, over 30 C, but a bit of a breeze so not as bad as it could be.

Peas are in full flow and I'm now picking more than we can eat.
Potatoes are starting to die back, especially the large bed on the left; have been mulching over some of them with the straw/menu mix.
Got a single courgette from mum and planted that on far right between the squashes and leek seedlings.
The weather has been mostly cloudy, but very little rain and the ground is getting very dry.

The sweetcorn is growing well.

Planted my leek seedlings from pots plus some smaller ones from mum. They've gone into the bed next to the squashes, plus in the space next to the smaller bed of potatoes where the previous leeks ran to seed.

Levelling the ground in front of the new shed. Taken the lawnmower back home, pending repair.

Cabages being shreded -- presumably by pigeons -- so covered with fleeece over a frame made from some alu poles.
Remaining leeks all gone to seed, so pulled up and dug over their bed.
Started to mulch between sweetcorn plants, either with just grass or some of the straw/menure mix.
Peas coming on nicely although not much to support them so added another level of string between the poles over thier bed.