Tomatoes in the propagator & germinating

I was a bit worried about these fellas, but I think we're okay

Peas & beans - a day after planting

Weather: bright, mild & breezy.

Planted these yesterday, 9.30am, which is early for a Lisa.

Update on the tomatoes, rocket & salads

Came back from holiday to find a JUNGLE of rocket & salad leaves in my lean-to greenhouse, which were enjoyed with smoked mackerel and tomatoes (shop bought).

The rocket has been harvested and blitzed, olive oil added and decanted into a jam jar, ready for me to use as: pesto, pasta sauce, salad dressing etc etc.

The tomatoes I'm trying to grow aren't showing any signs of life, so I've taken an executive decision and put them in my heated propagator, in the house, as I don't think they were quite used to the variable temperatures of West Monkseaton.  I'm hoping I get some life in the next 7 days, otherwise i'll be a bit worried.

When I start my peppers and chills, I will be starting them off in the propagator.

Sowing: dwarf beans, courgettes, swede squash, gourd, leeks, tomatoes

Mr Lisa has been pestering me about our tomatoes, his dad is growing them already, but his dad used to live down south and IMHO isn't ready for the northern growing season yet.  I'm planting tomatoes, when I always plant them.  End of story.  And today that day came, we've got:

• x5 san marzano (italian, plum variety - makes a great tomato sauce)
• x10 Greek 09 (beef variety, picked out of holiday greek salads & subsequently makes great greek salads)
• x5 Spanish 10 (plum variety, picked out of spanish tomatoes bought on holiday last year) - nothing to compare against (fingers crossed).

I've also set off:
dwarf french beans: x15 Prince (green), x15 Purple queen (purple)
Courgette: x5 gold rush (yellow), x5 black beauty (dark green)
Swede x26
Squash x5
Gourd x10 (not for eating, more for decoration)
Leek oarsman x1 pot scattered seeds, spanish leeks (bought on holiday last year) x 2 pots scattered seed

I've also planted some random seeds I picked off some pretty flowering plants I walked past near Barx, Spain last year, I dont normally do this but thought I'd see what happened.

These are all in the lean-to greenhouse at home, out of all of them I'm a bit worried about my tomatoes as they tend to start in a heated propagator - so I might need to reconsider this if they don't show signs of life soon.

Update on the garlic



Remember when my garlic went in, way back in February?  Well it's 2 months gone and it's looking like this - tall, lush, green and poking out the top of my little cages!!




February 2011 - garlic IN

 





April 2011 - garlic BIG!















Planting: cabbages

I bought some cabbages from the Grainger Market, at the same time I bought my onion sets.  I've decided that it's probably more expensive for me to buy seeds when I only grow a handful of cabbages each year, and I end up having about 6 packets of seeds which last me about 3 years (well passed their 'sow by' date).  So I bought 2 polystyrene trays of cabbage, savoy and red - about 8-10 of each, for 80p a tray.  Which I think is a bargain.

They've been planted in the allotment, in the beds next to the rhubarb.  The rhubarb is going to get picked today - I feel a rhubarb fool for dinner...

I've also had a good check up and water of all the other plants too: those spring brassicas I planted in October (we've had a few casualties), but spring cabbages are nearly ready, kale is going a little bit wild, and broccoli is beginning to spurt.  I've taken out the last of last years sprouts.

Trifle/Fool type dessert

I did harvest rhubarb, and turned it into a trifle-esque type dish: poached rhubarb in dessert wine & water, strain (but keep liquid & rhubard).

In glasses put plain sponge-cake, pour over some poaching juice & another glug of wine, add some poached rhubarb, then mix icing sugar, whipping cream, rest of poaching juice until stiff, add rest of rhubarb & stir thorough, plop on top of glasses.

Planting: onion sets & first earlies

• x3 rows of charlotte potatoes (3 per row, the last row only had 2, 8 spuds in total)
• 9 rows of Sturon onion sets (7 sets per row, 63 sets in total)
• 12 rows of Red Baron onion sets (7 sets per row, 84 in total)

The onions were bought from the Grainger Market, and I've planted them quite near the top of the soil, in previous years they've been too deep and haven't grown very well (or got too wet and rotted)

The potatoes were bought from JBA Seed Potatoes - I've not bought from this supplier before, and I've got high hopes