Not just a jar of pickled gherkins

The cucumbers got off to a flying start this year, which I was rather hoping for - growing the variety Flamingo F1. This is an all-female type, good in low light and suitable for pots, grow-bags or borders and resistant to powdery mildew, in other words, as cucumbers go, afraid only of kryptonite (apologies to anyone who missed Superman as they were growing up).

Last week, just before going away for a few days, each of the four plants had a couple, at least, of well-developing cucumbers and looked very healthy. I gave the greenhouse beds a good soaking and went away in happy expectation. On return I saw one plant so well-wilted I thought it was a goner, another looking a bit sick and the other two touch and go. The sickest plant had some part-healed damage at the base of the stem.

I will confess to having a plant-it and "wish for the best" approach to growing cucumbers, I don't maintain anything like the recommended level of heat in the greenhouse (supposedly about 20C, I keep it above 5C). I usually get away with it, even winning show prizes, I'm still hoping that Flamingo will let me get away with my easy-going approach this year also.

So, why the pickle? Well, I stripped off all the cucumbers which were on their way, sliced them and dropped them in a jar of vinegar - waste not, want not. Then I cut off all the wilted leaves and took some cuttings, which I'm hoping will root, from the two healthiest ones. Oh, and double insurance, I bought two more cucumber plants at the plant sale at the village pub on Saturday.

So, fingers crossed and here's to pickled gherkins.

Rain

Lots of rain, that's what we have come back to after a few days away to visit my Mum, and the vegetable beds seem to be loving it. All the salad leaves seems to be flourishing, and the beetroot tops now look happy under their net, safe from the nibbling birds which had given them a bit of set-back. The brassica crops are all flourishing, except for one plant which looks as though something may have lain on it (a cat perhaps?)

The greenhouses are doing well, with one exception. A cucumber plant has an unhappy looking base, (maybe slug damage?) and so the leaves, except at the very top are wilting, probably dead, fortunately the other plants seem to be OK.

The next job, when it stops raining will be, yes, weeding and lots of it! Then, now that the danger of frost should be passed in the south west if England anyway, I can get the climbing beans planted out.

The plot in early May

A view over part of the veggie plot and a trug of salad leaves, lighter than it might have been - I can't resist pinching some as I cut!

Photographs

I've just added to "Blogs I Follow" (down on the right) a link to my other blog - Views from a Village, which shows occasional postings of pictures taken in and around the village, hope you enjoy them.

Planting and weeding

That about sums up yesterday on the plot (having spent the previous day first making a saw-horse and then using it to cut up most of the first of 4 woodpiles accumulated from various tidyings - not all in our garden I hasten to add: next winter's warmth).

I had already weeded between the onions, garlic and shallots, but there the weeds were again, flourishing defiantly. last time was hoe between the row, yesterday was serious, hand weeding between the bulbs, not a weed left rooted. I always leave them on the soil surface a s a mulch to rot back in, so pleased though I am to see the rain today, we need it, I know it will save some of the weeds form drying out, so guess what ... more weeding round the corner.

Planting, always so much more satisfying. Two varieties of pea grown in modules and they've been sitting out hardening off for a while, so now they are nestling in amongst some of the pea sticks, with plenty of space left for successional sowings to come The two varieties are Sugar Snap and Norli, both good croppers in the past.

Which variety to grow

How to you make your choice of seeds, do you save from your own plants, take part in seed exchanges, get them from a nursery or catalogue? I mostly tend to buy them, and love wading through seed catalogues and reading up on different varieties. I have to admit to having a weakness for new varieties claiming resistance to various problems.

So it was with great interest that I read reports of a trial run by Garden Organic and funded by the European Union, which produced some surprising results comparing the cultivation and taste of some modern cultivars with some much older ones from the Heritage Seed Library

Here is an article about the lettuce trial.

Strawberry plants

I love seeing all the white flowers promising summer fruitfulness, so here's just a taste.

Busy Sunday

The weather was good, so lots done in the garden. 

I have a problem disposing of plants when too many seedlings survive, so I now have a row of tomato plants outside along a bank, left to take their chances (I love tomatoes too of course).

The smaller greenhouse is home to cucumbers this year - variety "Flamingo" they are meant to do better in low light, so hopefully should crop longer and will tolerate powdery mildew, which I think I've had (well, not me, the cukes) in the past.

More beans sown to replace the largely failed sowings (see below) I just left them too cool for too long, not this time, they are in the propagator - that'll keep them cosy, it was down to just a degree above freezing air temperature here last night, glad I earthed up my potatoes and put fleeces over trays and pots out for hardening off. 

Another way into May

I just read these lines from a poem on "Somerset Seasons"

....

Our life is short, and our days run 

As fast away as does the sun ; 

And, as a vapour or a drop of rain

Once lost, can ne'er be found again, 

....

Read it all here, it's an inspiration to waste not a minute of this precious life now bathed in May light.

The Darling Buds of May

Our apple and pear trees have been thinking of bursting out into full blossom, but not quite. Quite a few gardens I noticed do have the blossom fully out, maybe our's know something?

I have just posted (in the right hand column) the latest tips for the veggie patch as we enter May. The sun's getting warmer, the mix of sunshine and rain really brings things on. It is also a time to get tripped up by a late frost (apologies if you read this in Scotland and similar, I know we get it easy down here). We lost some Cosmos seedlings, left out to harden off -  a dip under freezing the other night hit some which weren't sheltered by the shed.

Don't forget your folding chair, upturned bucket or old crate, it's warm enough now to enjoy a cuppa outside, sitting and gazing upon the fruits of our labours isn't it?