More sowing and planting
After March’s wet weather, it was good to get a dry spell from Easter onwards. We have been very busy sowing and transplanting.
Lots of cut-and-come-again lettuces, like 'Salad Bowl', have gone into seed drills outside. Salad leaves are very popular with our cafe kitchen. To create the seed drills, we use the edge of a trowel to sow the seeds a quarter of an inch deep.
Also sown directly were carrots - 'Parano' and 'Maestro' both carrot fly resistant - and fennel. We grew 'Zefa Fino' and 'Perfection' fennel varieties last year so we’re growing them again, plus we’re trying the F1 'Tauro'. Later in the year we plan to sow 'Montebianco'. We have also sown Hamburg parsley, grown for both root and leaf.
We have transplanted the summer brassicas we mentioned in our March update. They are now under nets growing daily. Also outside, estate handyman Hari Limbu has been busy helping to build the runner bean supports. We attach birch branches (from the estate) to taut wire strung between posts. The branches were used last year and saved for re-use this summer. The finer shorter pieces are used to support peas.
The 'Enorma' runner beans that Hari has built supports for have been sown indoors awaiting transplanting. Alongside them are climbing French beans 'Blue Lake', 'Neckargold', and 'Borlotto' and dwarf beans 'Canadian Wonder'.
It’s weird to think about Christmas when we are waiting for summer, but the Brussels sprouts ('Montgomery', 'Cascade', 'Trafalgar' and 'Red Delicious') are doing well indoors and will go out at the end of next month!
Also inside, our tomato plants have been transplanted into border soil in our tomato greenhouse. We use string suspended from the roof structure instead of canes or branches to support them.
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