6/4/26 - We Are Go For Launch!
To kick off this weeks update, I thought I would borrow a headline from some of the more positive news in the headlines at the moment, the launch of the Artemis 2 spacecraft. In fact, as I type this, the crew are preparing themselves to reach a point in orbit, around the far side of the moon, where they will be completely cut off from human contact for 40 minutes.
On such a glorious long weekend (apart from Storm Dave trying it's best to have it otherwise) there was never going to be a chance of 40 minutes on the allotment without contact from anyone else. It's been a brilliant few days, and so nice to see lots of plot holders putting in a few hours here and there to get their plots ready.
This diary entry is going to cover off 3 days of visits. So much has been going on, and it's simply awesome.
First off, I've now got the first things in the ground inside the main polytunnel. We now have 5 lettuce plants in place, and then two rows of spring onions. White Lisbon and Blood Redmate are the varieties we've gone with. A few weeks ago, I sowed some in tubs, and while they made a good start, they do seemed to have died off a little.
Also in the ground are the 4 aubergine plants. The seedlings have been living in the polytunnel for a few days already, so I've transplanted them into their positions, but added a bell cloche on over each one, just to give the extra piece of protection. We're still not out of the frost window yet, but we're getting close.
Still in the polytunnel, I've pricked out and potted on some Kohlrabi and Beetroot. I was a bit concerned about the lack of growth. I should actually be at the stage where they are almost ready to go in the ground, but they are still way too small. It wasn't until I pricked them out that I realised how wet the compost was that they were sitting in. I think they have struggled to grow because it's been too wet. Nevertheless, now they are in their individual cells, hopefully they will start to put on some strong growth, and then catch up. Similarly, the bunches of shallots also started well, but then paused and again, I think it was to do with over watering.
One more thing before we leave the comfort of the polytunnel, and that's the sowing of this years French beans. I'm going with climbing beans again this year, and have planted up a full tray of Cobra beans. I need around 16 plants in total but have planted up around 24 to make sure I have some spares. They will be left in the polytunnel to germinate and grow on.
This weekend has also been a weekend of moving things around. The main tomato plants that I potted on a couple of weeks ago, and have been spending the nights indoors and days outdoors have now been moved up to the small polytunnel. They will take some close monitoring this week, just to make sure that they don't get too stressed. Also on the move have been the pepper, cucumber and remaining squash seedlings too. They are now all in the main polytunnel, but under the added protection of the indoor greenhouse too. The night time temperatures are still in single figures at the moment, but the forecast is for 6/7/8 degrees, which should be OK for a few hours each day/night. We will see.
Stepping outside, there had also been some movement in many of the beds. The covers are now off all but one bed, and the mulch has been lightly raked to help it continue to break down. This week has also seen the main crop potatoes go into the ground too. It's a little early perhaps, as some people are still putting in their second earlies, but it will be some weeks before I expect to see anything from them above ground. After last years success with the Sarpo Mira variety, we've stuck with those and have allocated 2 beds to them, each with 2 rows in.
Today has also been another milestone in the growing calendar. The onions that were the very first thing to be sown in 2026 are now out in the ground. They have spent their time since being pricked out, sitting in their cell trays and putting on a lot of growth. So much growth that they were starting to go over a little. Onions can tolerate the cold and even light frosts, so there's absolutely no issues with getting them out now. For the main crop, I've gone with the Bedfordshire Champ variety again, but at one stage over the winter, germination and early growth wasn't brilliant. I even lost a load too, so I made a back up sowing of Ailsa Craig as well. So, we have 3 rows of Bedfordshire and 2 rows of Ailsa for this season.
The first 2 visits to the plot this long weekend, though dry, were also really windy thanks to the afore mentioned Dave. That meant trying to sow carrots was going to be a tad difficult, holding the seed in the hand and trying to pinch out a few seeds at a time to sow. Today though, there is little to no wind, so I've put in half a bath of Autumn King. The bath is now fully sown, but I did notice an issue too. Ants seem to have taking up residents in the bath as well, and I don't know how they are going to effect the carrot growth. They don't seem to be feeding on any green growth from the Berlicum 2 seeds that have already germinated, so hopefully all will be fine. If not, I will need to empty the bath of compost at the end of the season and get rid of the nest.
Along with the mowing of my plot, and all the main communal pathways, I've also sown a load more flower seeds too. These are about the only things that remain in the grow tent at home. We won't be too far away from being able to disassemble the grow tent and lights for another year.
So, I leave you, and this entry with a view from the bench overlooking the plot on a great day. Even though the job list for the weekend has been completed, that only means that there is a list waiting to be done this week. More sowing, plenty of watering for those things under cover, and 2 more beds to prepare. One bed is still under cover, and the other bed is still home to our sprouting broccoli plants at the moment. In a couple or few weeks time, it should be home to peas, so it's almost time to take the final harvest and get ready for the next crop.
