First crops in spring

peastoplantThe broad beans and peas are in.

These are the milestones every gardener loves.  First crops. Had I been better organized I would have sown the beans and peas directly into the soil in February.

But two things made me hesitate: the mole rat which shares a few of my garden beds. He or she doesn’t need any more supplementary exotic feeding.  And the thick mulch I had put down (well, Nicolas had put down) this winter. I didn’t want to disturb it so soon.

So the peas and beans were sown into their root trainer pots in the aptly named potting shed.

I do so love seed sowing. It’s this magic alchemy which never ceases to amaze me every year.  Stick the little seeds in the pots, come back five weeks later and you have burgeoning plants. potagermarch

Well, that’s showing off. Seedlings. I have seedlings.

And for the first time I had a beautiful vegetable garden just waiting for some plants without a major spring weeding session first.

You can see I have some greenery there already. The rocket and swiss chard and sorrel and brassicas which overwintered well.  They shrugged off the snow.  And I find the rocket is the best snack while I work. I grab handfuls of rocket and munch as I go.

The mulch that is on the beds is mainly leaves and compost. So to mark where the crops have gone in, I am putting on a layer of the usual thick bought in mulch.  Well, it’s actually cheap potting compost which I buy in bulk.

I have nabbed twelve sacks from a supermarket near Andrew’s. Now I will need to keep my eyes out for more in other supermarkets. You have to be quick to swoop. Everyone seems to have cottoned on to this brilliant cheap solution to covering the soil and suppressing weeds.

Rain is predicted today (for the first time since I arrived) so I suspect it will be a potting shed and seedling work day. Graphic thrilling shots of trays and trays of teensy plants to come.