No.1 task was to get some of my chillis potted-up. I have been hoping to do this task for quite a while, but the weather has been against me. I have been bringing the chillis indoors each evening, because our night-time temperatures have been down to as low as 3C this past week. Once I put the chillis in their big 10" pots the bringing-in routine is no longer a viable option. Anyway, this is what I did:
The first task was to evict the potatoes from the plastic coldframe where they have been taking it easy all this while. They joined their colleagues al fresco.
I then transplanted 9 of the chillis from their 5" pots into big 10" pots, and put them in the plastic coldframe. Hopefully this will provide enough protection to allow them to survive the cold nights.
Right now they are looking extremely promising, and I really don't want to lose them, but I am hedging my bets and keeping the rest of the plants in small pots and I shall continue bringing them indoors at night until I'm convinced that the "main crop" ones are OK with being outside permanently.
Having taken care of the chillis I then turned my attention to beans. I planted out 14 Runner Beans (10 "Scarlet Empire" and 4 "Firestorm"), placing them at the feet of those canes I erected the previous weekend.
I plant my beans fairly deep, with the level of the soil just below the first set of leaves. This gives them good stability, and puts their roots deep down into the soil where they will find maximum moisture.
As with the chillis, I have some spare beans, which are spending their nights inside a plastic mini-greenhouse, just in case... I have not yet planted the Climbing French Beans, because they are more tender than the Runners, so I'm leaving it as long as possible. By next weekend I think they will be too big to remain in their pots, so they will be planted then, come what may!
Next task on the list was to add some more supporting strings for the Broad Beans. We had a couple of very windy days last week, yet my beans survived, so putting in the string supports was worth the effort. You can see very clearly in the next photo the difference in size between the beans in my three rows:
Notice the rows of Radishes in between the beans. I'm not sure if they will get enough light, but it's worth a try, because Radish seed is very cheap. In the Spring and Summer almost every gardening magazine you see comes with a free pack of Radish seeds!
The first row of Broad Beans (Aquadulce) has flowers on it now:
So bees, get to work please (if there are any bees left...)
You have been busy. Your chilli plants are looking very lush & healthy.
ReplyDeleteMy favas are flowering too. I can't wait to eat some of them. But it takes a while. I think I'll get peas before my favas even though I don't see flowers on my peas yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to plant out my peppers and tomatoes finally this week/end. So ready to see things growing in my garden allotment finally!
ReplyDeleteKK
www.preppypinkcrocodile.com
Hi Mark, the broad beans I sowed last October now have beans on them! those palnted this year are a little behind but I do feel there is a better early bean setting on the overwintered ones (I usually get only a couple of beans of the first trusses). I just wondered what you have planned for this bed once your broad beans have finished? Will you plant another crop? I am thinking of planting kale and PSB in mine and I would appreciate your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI was also interested in the Maskotka tomatoes you planted in your new raised bed. I have grown them as bush, determinate plants but have also heard about them being staked and side shoots taken off- what are your plans with these???? Thanks April
Hi April; Great minds think alike! I always plant PSB and Cavolo Nero after my BBs. As for Maskotka, I treat this as a bush plant, and just let it sprawl. I have never grown them as cordons. I find it a very productive variety, and it goes on producing fruit very late in the season.
DeleteSeems you and I had the same idea of the bank holiday - lots of jobs completed - but the things we have to do to protect our crops against the crappy weather eh! Sounds like it's going to be good this weekend, maybe I can take all the wraps off and actually see what I have planted.
ReplyDeleteIt's all looking very good, Mark! My beans badly need to go out and are looking a bit gangly compared to yours. I guess with the delayed seasons, it wouldn't hurt to sow again if things don't work out. Only three weeks to the longest day - I do hope that things will grow this year!
ReplyDeleteYou were busy. I'm sure the bees will home in on that wonderful bean flower perfume. They even look a bit like bees!
ReplyDeleteI see your soil in the garden looks very good, it's black and has a nice texture. I wish my soil was as good as yours!
ReplyDeleteI have lived in this property for nearly 22 years, and over that time I have done a lot to improved the texture and fertility of the soil. However, it is still basically sandy and too "free-draining" for my liking.
DeleteBroad beans have such beautiful flowers. I don't think I've come across people 'starting' potatoes in pots before, only putting them straight in the ground.
ReplyDeleteEsther, I don't just start my potatoes in containers, I grow them to maturity in the containers. I don't think they would tolerate being transplanted.
DeleteIt's such a pain to have to err on the side of caution as we do with the weather, it's nearly June for goodness sake. It's raining again here today and it's rather cool, I don't think the tomatoes I evicted from the greenhouse on Monday will like it one little bit.
ReplyDeleteMark, wonderful photos of your very productive garden. I laughed at the comment about the free radish seeds! Here it's tomato seeds and salad green seeds seemingly attached to every gardening maggo!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't even begin to imagine bringing in pots of seedlings at night during colder weather, but having lived my first couple of decades in the south of Engand I well remember just how cold it can get. Other than lack of rain, our biggest gardening problem is protecting the plants from scorching sunlight in Summer.
My beans and peas have taken off since our last, much needed overnight shower and so hoping that Winter, which starts officially on Saturday, will see more free drink for the crops in my garden.
Happy productive gardening everyone.
Your veg beds always look so neat and tidy, quite artistic really.
ReplyDelete