Last week turned out to be one of those weeks.  After scheduling hours in at the allotment for most of the week, we didn’t manage to get there once.  Personally, I get really disheartened when this happens.  You start to doubt whether you have enough time to manage.  You see the plots around you slowly developing and growing and then look to your same old patch of dirt.  This isn’t even the busy season.  How will we cope when the sun is blazing and the plants need us every day!?  I keep having to remind myself that it’s only our first year and we are allowed to take our time finding our feet.

This being said, we did manage to get some bits and pieces done at home.  We were able to start off some more seedlings ready for planting in the ground in April.  We also potted on some of the seedlings that had outgrown their first pots;

 

The seeds we started were the sweet peas. Last week we made a mixed bag of sweet peas which consisted of 6 different varieties. Some are tall, some dwarf and some were climbers;

This is somewhat of an experiment to try and create a nice random mixture of blooms at the front of the plot.  Fingers crossed, these will help us gets a huge amount of pollinator visitors to this part of the site. Right next door to our beans and peas.

To help aid germination, we put small cuts into them opposite to the eye side of the seed. In theory, this should let some moisture into the seed without overdoing it.  As the seeds are super hard, people often soak them beforehand.  We opted not to as the soil was pretty moist when we were planting.  Now all we do is wait and see what wonderful scents and sights make an appearance!

 

Later in the week we potted on the somewhat leggy seedlings from our first sowing.  They were sown in late February indoors using a heat mat and a propagator.  Although the seeds were slightly leggy, I think we can save them. If not, we have some backups growing indoors which are doing really well;

 

Although it didn’t feel like we achieved much last week, this week feels different. It’s only Monday but it’s almost as if the official arrival of Spring has given us the motivation to work that little bit harder in producing and developing our little haven.  Some beds have been dug, another rhubarb planted and the second batch of broad beans have slowly started to appear next to their older brothers and sisters.

 

 

So, here’s to a successful, peaceful and sunny week down the plot.  If all else fails, we’ve got a double bank holiday to catch up.

Happy plotting

Danielle & Jon