I came away with armfuls of little goodies, that I would never had dreamed of. Double headed hand tools, which include a hoe at one end and a claw at the other.
Another one had a slim trowel at one end and a kind of scraper at the other, which I use for making seed drills. Also a pair of very sharp garden shears, cloches, fleece and a long handled dutch hoe. All 99p each, so even if they break, it won't cost too much to replace. I used them all yesterday and they seem pretty strong.
The weather wasn't so brilliant in the morning yesterday, but it turned into a glorious afternoon. I managed to get some more broad beans in 'bunyard exhibition' and some peas 'serpette guilloteau', as well as sowing, spring onions 'white lisbon', beetroot 'soloist', parsnips 'tender & true', scorzonera 'duplex'.
The sweetcorn has been started in a propagator, 'double standard' & 'incredible' F1, as have courgettes 'striato di napoli', these now accompany the aubergines 'de barbantane' and all manners of capsicums.
In the greenhouse are bush bean creso, an Italian yellow bean, climbing French beans 'cherokee trail of tears', and 4 kinds of tomato, 'moneymaker', 'sub artic plenty', + 2 others I can't remember just now.
In the coldframe are, kohl rabi 'blusta', artichoke 'green globe' and more beetroot.
I love it now, when things start to take shape, and the sequence of sowing, potting on, and transplanting really moves on.
The trenches for the french beans keep getting muck added to them, so it will be nice and rich when planting time comes up next month. The frame is built and just needs bamboo sticks added. The forced rhubarb looks pink/purple and lovely, so it won't be long before that's in a bowl of custard.
Now I want to spend every available moment up there, but that's difficult with the hours I keep at work. Most of my free daylight time is spent sleeping, so I'm thankful for the clocks going forward which will provide extra evening light, for those all too important little jobs.
