Hungry gap

top potager hoedSo great to be up and into the vegetable beds at last.   We had almost an inch of rain yesterday, so everything is damp and perfect for seed sowing.

Actually there have been a few droozles of rain today; a case of taking on and off the rain jacket.   But it hasn’t hampered the work.   I decided to start off in the top vegetable bed. The neglected bed as it’s out of sight of the house.   And the first job wasn’t what I had planned.   But that’s neglect for you.

I had forgotten to stake the huge tall purple sprouting brocolli. and they were in the way of the trenches I needed to dig for the potatoes. staked psb

2011 rhubarbAnd I unearthed the rhubarb from the weeds.   They never do well here as it’s so dry on this unwatered area of the garden, but they look the right colour.   And I can take them to Leslie and Teo next week.   They are rhubarb fans, and theirs wont’ be up for a few weeks, being higher in altitude.

The soil here isn’t deep – it’s on the bedrock, so some of the stakes wouldn’t go in far. but once sorted, I could get on with what was going to be a long day of digging. detail staked psb

jean daniels potagerI had promised Jean Daniel some of my soft fruit bushes which had taken up residence on this part of the garden. These were taken from cuttings two years ago, and I must remember to take more this year.   He has been very diligent in digging and generally sorting his vegetable bed which abuts ours.   I planted three.

The weedproof fabric did the trick last year in suppressing the weeds. And I have moved it closer to the edge of the property to try and do something about the massive bramble tangle in the soil.

It’s so lovely to have it weed free early in the season; usually there’s a rampant climber that invades the fence between our properties.   And the brambles. And the ivy. And the chestnut seedling that became a tree, got cut down and continues to throw up shady branches.   It’s a great time of year when one isn’t overwhelmed. jeans soft fruit

jostaberries plantedThe day was overcast and muggy – and rain threatened. I did the dance of the layers – taking rain jacket off, draping it over the fence. Forgetting it, needing it, losing it. Removing fleece layers depending on how much sun was blazing in between fierce dark clouds.

But the soil was a dream.   Soft from yesterday’s rain.   And it never ceases to amaze me how gorgeous this free draining soil is.   I’ve been gorging myself on two of Monty and Sarah Don’s gardening books this week (Ivington Diaries and The Jewel Garden) and their endless fussing about mud, sticky clay, unable to walk on paths for months on end seems like another planet.   Did I really have a London allotment once? This soil is the gardener’s equivalent of dying and going to heaven. raspberries pruned again

I hoed the weeds, amazed at the quick germination of the peas and broad beans. And kept a careful eye on the asparagus.   There are two more spears that need cutting tomorrow.   I mulched and weeded and primped and preened.   This part of the garden gets so little attention, so I do lavish when I can.   And finally, with lunchtime looming, I had the first huge long row of charlottes in. Oh, yes, and a row of parsnips.   wild cherry vase

Artur the cat came for a visit. I think I’ve been forgiven.   He howled at me in a complicated way which sounded like dialogue, hung about a bit and then plodded off.

I plodded in to lunch myself, and then moved all the tools down to the lower vegetable garden for yet more potato planting.

I know people complain about the hungry gap – that time in April and May when there are no crops about.   But I have the opposite problem. The cabbages are still hanging about. Throwing out florets and just as juicy and tasty as ever. And in the way.   I have already moved the planned 2011 quadrants about once, swapping the beans for the potato areas.   but where on earth do I shoehorn the spuds in? first charlotte

I have to delicately dig between the rows of kale and cabbages and hope there’s enough room. I’ve over- invested in seed potatoes. There are Ratte and Juliettes to go and no real space for them.

I soldiered on, munching on raw cabbage as I dug. For some mad reason I decided to turn over the compost heap half way through. Thank goodness the euphorbia Wulfennii plants hide the bins. I must mow tomorrow, the grass is growing as I watch.

compost turnedThat done, it was on with another – dare I say it – bloody row of spuds.   Ratte this time. These were the most expensive seed potatoes and the titchiest.   I’m going to have to shoehorn them in elsewhere too.

And decided to get my revenge on the brassicas by planting two rows in that bed for now.   With luck they will be up and over before the bulk of the caggages grow. charlottes

It’s funny how veg planting becomes so automatic after a few years. I dont’ fuss about distances or depths.   And hopefully one day it will be the same for all my flower growing experiments in a few years as well.

ratte and charlotteAnd to keep up with my flowers for the house pledge, I have cut down a few branches of the wild cherry that grows inconveniently right beside this vegetable bed. It’s half out which is more exciting than just exhuberant white blossom.   So exciting to see it sitting in a big glass vase on the kitchen counter.

It’s funny that this tree’s blossom is out at all, the ones that flank the path all the way down the road (over thirty trees) are weeks away from blossoming and they are just fifty metres lower down the hill.

This is the first day of the amazing daylight savings and I couldn’t believe it was still light at 8pm.   To celebrate I spent a not so happy half hour picking stones out of the strawberry bed and placing them in buckets ready to be carried up to the top of the potting shed. collected stones

neat straight rowsI have called Nicolas and booked him up for the day on Wednesday.   And I have a few heavy lifting chores for him along with some mini wall builidng. It’s an indulgence I know.   But I really can’t build walls the way he does.   Or lift heavy pots of tulips or excess river stones.

Right. A bit of hoeing of the other quardants in the bed and time to go in and start blanching my man mountain of purple sprouting brocolli. Jane assures me that the veg freezes well. psb mountain