Potted tomatoes

I potted up 12 tomato plants today. 6 are in the greenhouse, 3 by the summerhouse and 3 around the conservatory. All were potted very deep with lower leaves removed.

Basil plants are growing well. I removed all the tops today to make them bush out.

It was sunny and all the bean plants had a day outside, hardening off.

Beans are started

Last week of April. Sow beans my calendar said. So I did. 10 Hestia, dwarf runners; 10 Boby Bianco, dwarf French beans and 6 Meraviglia di Venezia, climbing French beans. They all went into the conservatory and the Hestia are up today. (The others followed in the next couple of days.)

I planted one tomato Principe Borghese out in the plot three days ago and a couple of purple basils went out next to it today. Six garlic chives were potted up, one gardeners' delight tomato went out in a pot next to the conservatory today and one Verde d'Italia courgette went into the squash bed. Broad beans are just beginning to appear and the apples have an enormous amount of flower just opening.

I bought two cucumber plants this week and potted them up into small pots in the greenhouse. Pak choy and salad greens have gone out into the shady plot and chard seedlings are just showing.

Squashes and courgettes

Last week I sowed squashes and courgettes. 2 seeds to a 3 inch pot. 2 pots each of 8 varieties! Golden Zucchini and Butterpie were seeds left from last year and new from Seeds of Italy are zucchino Verde d"Italia and Custard White, zucchetta Rugosa Friulana and Tromba d'Albenga, zucca Marina di Chioggia and Butternut Rugosa. The Verde d'Italia were first up but they are all up now and the weaker seedlings are being discarded from each pot.
	My basils had their first potting on last week and are sitting with the tomato plants in the conservatory.
The tomatoes have been up a month now and are doing well. The new Italian varieties are about 6 inches tall and the old seeds are about 3 inches.

A sunny spring day

Sowing seeds was my first job today. Radishes and garlic chives in the plastic bed, lovage and parsley in small modules and left outside, two types of basil and pak choy in modules in the conservatory and nasturtiums in modules outside again along with some chard.

Pak choy up on 26th March, basil on 28th, radishes on 1st April.

I also prepared bed 1 for this year. The seaweed and leaves was raked in, the whole bed was forked over to disrupt the tree roots which had grown. It was nice to see a few worms this time. The bed was dressed with 150g of lime and 200g of BFB, raked over and fork-smoothed.

Cosmos and larkspur out.

Planted them in the garden today. Now to see if they can survive all the beasts of the garden. Little fences should keep my greyhound off but it's the slow, slimy ones I'm most concerned about! But good news! 6 out of 8 of last week's larkspur are still there!

Basil plants are about a foot tall now and five are in the greenhouse as companions to the tomatoes. The other one is still in the conservatory and provided the herbage for tonight's dinner. The second sowing is nearly ready to pot up now. I think we are going to be overwhelmed in basil!

Planting and potting

On Tuesday my kale was planted out into a bed (6).

The basil was potted up and stays in the conservatory for now, with the module reseeded.

The recent sowings of rocket and mizuna are already up. Just three days!

Two cucamelons were potted up and moved to the greenhouse.

Another warm day

And in the greenhouse first seedlings of basil and coriander are up. In the veggie beds swede and carrot seedlings are up.

The cucamelon seeds have not germinated - so I sowed another 2 pots today, 3 seeds in each. These are in the conservatory in a covered tray.

The second rocket plant is out in the bed, covered by half a tonic bottle.

Big sowing day

Warm weather and things are getting moving. The beetroot are all up in the greenhouse.

Today's sowings:-  Basil 6, Coriander 6, Kale 12, Squashes 3 ea of 3 types, Courgettes 6, Cucumber 1, Cucamelon 2, second sow of Rocket 6.

First outdoor sowings Carrot 1x16 square, Swede 2 x 9 squares.