Bank holiday weekend

These are my Red Epicure broad beans (the beans themselves are red.) They are block planted in the garden veg plot.

Saturday started with much digging and hefting as I replaced the soil in the left hand side greenhouse border with garden soil. I did the right hand side last year - I alternate them as it's quite a tiring job. Several barrow-loads were shifted so the soil I'm growing the tomatoes in is fresh.



Meanwhile Himself was manufacturing mesh covered frames to keep the pigeon population off the crops at the allotment. I then painted them green (a bit twee but it's a preservative so they should last that but longer.)


All the shallots and onions seem to be doing well. This is one of the supermarket Echalion shallots that I planted last autumn. The feeling seemed to be that they would not grow and split but would just go to seed. I decided that if they did, then I'd sow the seed! They all seem to have split like this one and I look forward to a good crop. I love shallots and these are so much easier to peel and you get more flesh per shallot too.



I finished digging the garden plot and erected the first bean frame. I won't be putting the beans out yet (in fact, they are only just emerging from their pots/root-trainers) but putting the frame in place helps me to see what space I have left.


I planted out the Dwarf Borlotti beans that had been raised under glass. They've been hardened off for a couple of weeks by putting them outside in the daytime so I planted them under the cloche where they seem to have passed a comfortable night!

Sunday saw the planting of Red Cabbages and Black Tuscany kale at the allotment under the new frames. I also potted up more tomatoes and some California Wonder peppers.

The last of last year's Dwarf Curled kale will be part of Sunday Dinner and pud is made up of this year's rhubarb.