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Apart from keeping things tidy down at the plot, this month we've
basically just been sowing seeds. Those crops already in the ground are doing really well. The Raspberries were pruned back
a few weeks ago and have been given a mulch of grass cuttings to keep down the weeds. The worms will take this all down eventually
and it will help to enrich the soil even more. We've placed a standing order with our neighbour Karen for all her grass clippings
as we can't produce enough. It will either be used as a mulch or added to the compost heaps.
The asparagus has produced some really early spears although not
in quantity yet. We ate our first crop of four spears with a little butter, salt and pepper and they were totally delicious.
You can't compare the flavour with anything you can buy in the shops. The taste is so much more intense, sweet and clean
- totally sublime.
Planting this month
Under cover:
Lots of flowers for the cutting garden including Cosmos and Morning Glory. We've
pinched out the Sweet Peas that are growing away in the cold frame in order to get bushier plants. It's still not to late
to sow some but it needs to be done soon.
For the first time, we're growing Celeriac which has become one our favourite
vegetables since we went out to dinner a while ago and it was served as one of the accompaniments. I had local Pheasant
in a Red Wine sauce and Sue had Salmon. The Celeriac went really well with both so it should prove to be a very versatile
crop. We've sown loads of these as they are one of those vegetables, like parsnips, that you can leave in the ground
over winter until you want to use them. That makes them really valuable for that lean time over the colder months.
Herbs - we've planted Basil and Parsley so far but plan much more for next
month.
Sowing direct:
We've planted out the Shallots and Onion sets alongside the Garlic so we
have a dedicated allium bed this year. We've put in both red and white onions, and round and banana shaped shallots. They
should see us through to Christmas with a bit of luck.
We've planted some salad leaves under a long cloche including Rocket, Mizuna,
Lambs lettuce and some mixed leaf so we're hoping for an early crop. We'll be planting salad succesionally all summer.
We still haven't managed to get the potatoes in the ground. It's either been
too wet or we've had other things on that prevented us from doing it at the weekend. They are looking fine however and still
chitting merrily away. Good Friday is the traditional day for planting and as Easter was really early this year we're still
on track.
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