Starting to feel like Spring

These potatoes are now well grown above the surface of the pots though they are still covered with the thick bubblewrap at night. The greenhouse has been below freezing on all but one night this week. The other potatoes have all gone in the ground in the past few days - most at home but some down Saccy - and should be ready to harvest from mid July. My large shrub tubs have also now been filled past half way so there'll be early harvests from these. I LERVE new potatoes!

This is a Tiger Tom - an orange and red striped tomato from the Heritage Seed Library. These have been potted up for several days and this morning I potted up the Sungold toms. Potting up sessions recently also included Swiss Chard into modules. I used about a third of a module tray with these so I used it up by sowing a seed of purple sprouting broccoli in each of the remaining cells. I'm hoping that they will be ready to go out when the early spuds are lifted. I did this last year - potted the EPS on into small pots. It seems a bit fiddly but for the sake of a bit of compost and some precision faffing I can get 2 crops from my spud bed. I'm still cropping the broccoli from last year's old spud bed - they just chase each other round the garden!

Still a few weeks' worth of cropping on these plants.

I planted out my Latvian drying peas at the allotment, with a framework of tough net to climb up and some bird scarers to attempt to keep the pigeons off. The climbing frame is an A shape with the peas planted just inside the legs of the A. I have strung black cotton across the gap too. I also put out some broad beans - variety The Sutton - from a module tray that's been in the cold frame for several weeks. Still more in the cold frame just beginning to germinate to give me some succession. I also have 10 Crimson Flowered broadies germinating - one eager beaver showing! - and have sent for a broad bean called Violetta with purple beans (thought I think you'll have to steam them to keep their colour on cooking). These were purchased with a £10 Thompson and Morgan voucher from Grow Your Own mag for tip which they chose to publish. I also sent for 3 tom plants called Black Sea Man to share with my son (I think he just likes saying the name!) which are supposed to cope with cooler climes. I was tempted (and succumbed!) by borlotti beans for drying and golden yellow climbing french beans for eating fresh and a purple brussels sprout. And why not?