Some of the Radishes which I sowed at the same time germinated a couple of weeks ago, but because of the incredibly cold conditions they have hardly grown at all.
I had said to myself that I would sow my second row of Broad Beans only when the first one had germinated, so that I could extend the harvesting period, and now I have sowed it. I have put in 14 "Witkiem Manita" beans.
The first row is under the cloches, and the second one is under the wire grilles - placed there to deter birds/foxes/badgers/cats etc from digging them up. There will eventually be a third row of beans too. They will be "Bunyard's Exhibition".
Just to be on the safe side I have also sowed some more beans in 5-inch pots, in the garage. This is by way of an "insurance policy" in case the outdoor ones don't germinate, or get damaged by something. This is the way I work: I seldom do just one sowing of anything. I like to have something in reserve, "just in case..."
I feel better now that I have got some seeds under way! However, most of the plot is still bare:-
Front: left-hand bed has only Shallots in it (under cloches); middle bed is the Asparagus (nothing showing yet); right-hand bed is the one with the Broad Beans in it.
Rear: left bed is empty (will eventually have Beetroot, Parsnips and Turnips); middle bed has the remains of the Endives, and some Parsley under bell-cloches; right bed has the PSB in it.
Not much to look at just yet, eh?
Actually, Mark, I'm looking at your beautifully prepared beds and can see the work that's been done! It's nice to know that your beans have finally appeared, I sowed mine on Easter Sunday into a bed that had been kept warm with black hort fabric. I really like your idea of sowing a row at a time. I sowed a whole bed's worth and will freeze them or give them away but will also take a leaf from your book and sow a few extras in due course.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks very neat.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very slow starter this year isn't it we haven't sown any beans yet
ReplyDeleteSome people sow BBs in the Autumn. I wonder how those will have fared this past (nearly past) Winter.
Deletenice to see the plot looking pristine Mark the blackbirds must have got the "your not welcome" message by now, will sow my broad beans this weekend
ReplyDeleteNo, the Blackbirds are just biding their time. They will wait until I do finally get to sow the seeds, and THEN they will scratch up the soil! I plan to deter them with nets though...
DeleteLooking good ;0)
ReplyDeleteI've just bought my peas and runner bean seeds today .. it's been (no pun intended) too cold and wet (then the snow) to do anything on my plot until now
Hi Lynda; I reckon that most things are about a month behind normal schedule - if there is anything "normal" these days... The forecast for next week looks a bit more encouraging though. What type of beans did you get?
DeleteLucky you! The weather here prevents us from sowing anything and my broad bean seedlings are just dying for the sunlight!
ReplyDeleteI've just sowed my broad beans too - but on the other side of the world. I must take a leaf out of your book and have an insurancd policy with some in reserve. I never have enough of anything. Although this year I have sowed many peas -not in rows though just haphazard all over the place... And they have all come up!
ReplyDeleteSo, there is still hope for my broad bean, four weeks in the ground and no sign of it! No wonder, the weather is terrible: cold, rainy, snowy... Luckily, here where I live there is not all flooded as in some other regions in Croatia.
ReplyDeleteI think it looks nice and tidy! The promise of beds yet to burst.
ReplyDeleteI have just three pushing through in the greenhouse and they were planted long ago when god was a lad.
ReplyDeleteMine have been sown five weeks now and after reading your post rushed out to see if they had appeared. No they had not - although I am confident they will! Unlike you Mark I have not waited for them to appear and have today gone ahead with my second sowing of Marshall's Jubilee Hysor. I will make another sowing next month, but I do find that the later sowings almost catch up with the first!. Thank goodness for the freezer (remember to blanch them) We are still eating last years crop which are as good as the day they were picked.
ReplyDeleteSorry to ramble on so!