Spring is Sprung

There is something so satisfying about planting out the first seedlings of the year.  Especially ones I have sown myself and carefully nurtured in the greenhouse.  I guess it’s all about renewal, optimism and generally looking forward to the summer.  But whatever, it certainly does gladden the soul.

First in the ground was rocket.  I’ve had variable success with this in the past as it often tends to bolt.  So this year I’m hoping to fare a little better by choosing a shady spot.  Next in was lettuce, a beautiful green and red ruffled variety (I’ll tell you the name when I pop down tomorrow).  I hadn’t really thinned them out as I should have done and so had to prise the roots carefully apart before planting.  They did look a bit battered as they flopped sulking onto the soil, but lettuce always seems to be one of my most successful crops, so here’s hoping they revive.  I have to confess I always scatter a good handful of slug pellets when the seedlings first go in, otherwise they just get razed to the ground – the slugs love those soft tender leaves. But once they’ve got going after a couple of weeks,  they tend to leave them alone (apart from this and the very occasional spray, I am almost organic, honest!).

I managed to prise Tony, my partner, away from his desk for a couple of hours ( I know it’s Easter, but he is a bit of a workaholic), to put up the bean poles for the runner beans.  Men are just so tidy when it comes to allotments, everything in dead straight lines and all the poles crossing at the exact same point.  I used to think my random haphazard planting was much more romantic, but now I too have become a bit of a fan for symmetry – a great contrast when edged by my blousy flower borders.  Unfortunately,  we then misread the seed packet and planted half the row with French beans instead of runners  – spent ages scrabbling away in the soil trying to find the seeds so I could discard them and put in runners instead (I usually plant the seeds straight into ground as they come up so quickly and they have such big distinctive leaves, you are never going to mistake these for weeds). Runner beans are our No. 1 favourite crop – they never fail to give us bucket loads of produce from July right through to October.   I had already started five French climbing beans plants off in the greenhouse & Tony erected a smart little wigwam for these.     

Another big job for the weekend was to fill up some of the raised beds with top soil, because I have to confess  there isn’t a lot that’s ‘raised’ about them.  Very flat, I’d say.  The eight bags we lugged up the path did a terrific job for one of the beds – but there’s another four to go. Maybe a long term project! 

Feeling very hot, dirty but satisfied, I started putting away my tools, when Jo, my neighbour but one, strolled by with the comment “beans in April, bit optimistic aren’t you.”  Of, course, beans shouldn’t really go in until the end of May, especially the very tender French beans!  I know this.  What had I been thinking!  I’d been persuaded by this gorgeous heatwave that summer had truly arrived.  But last year we had frosts right up until the first week of June.  So if you are reading this blog, please do as I say, not as I do!  The rocket and lettuce will be fine, but leave the beans for another month to be safe.  Fingers crossed mine survive.