May Daze

Tonight I had my first lottie tea of the season - stir fried cabbage, broadbeans, peas (munched as mange tout) with last seasons garlic and onion. Yum, yum, yum.

May has brought with it the April weather that we've been waiting for - finally my waterbutts are full again and even the pond has filled up.

My melons are now planted outside in the new melon bed ... worrying about them already - will the slugs eat them, will it be too cold for them, will the wind finish them off, will the pigeons think I've put dessert out ... cor sometimes I have to really stop myself from taking the tent up there and camping out !

I've also set up my bean frame and planted out my Scarlet Emperor Beans - so no frost please Mr Weather man. Under the beans I've put one of my butternut squashes, hopefully it'll run in the right direction.

The peas looked to be suffering under the net cloche, so I've set them free. Fingers crossed that the pigeons don't look down as they fly over. In between the two rows of peas I've set up four x three cane wigwams for my turks turbans. I am so out of space - really need to reclaim some of the jungle. I've got around 12 squash (1 pumpkin), 20 leeks, 22 sweetpotatoes, 7 sweetcorn (who made by heading for the compost heap) and 20 yin yang dwarf beans still to find space for ... gulp.

Couldn't believe it when I looked at the tomatoes today - a couple of them are already in flower. Transferred two of them to final pots and potted on the rest into larger pots, along with the aubergines and peppers. Need to have a trip to Wilkies to get some more of their plastic tubs and sort out the rest. OH has promised to visit the lottie tomorrow to finish laying the breeze blocks for the base of the greenhouse (which has almost disappeared in the jungle).

Transferred the Crystal Lemon Cucumbers to their final ring culture pots in the brick greenhouse.

The pots I sowed with purple basil, green basil, lemon coriander, mint and lettuce now all have seedlings appearing - the purple basil is gorgeous, the colour is really intense.

There are lots of strawberries forming, but I don't think I'll have enough for the jam that OH keeps talking about dreamily ...

My carrots look as if they are trying to start a jungle of their own - if the greenery is anything to go by I'm going to have a fantastic crop. Pulled one out (to check progress you understand) and it was a delicious lilac colour (must be one of the dragons). OH looked horrified when I wiped the dirt off it and started to eat it (he thought I should have replanted it)

First earlies have started to flower (Rocket) so I think in a couple of weeks we'll be having new potatoes with butter (and hopefully mint).

The foxgloves at the end of the bean bed are just beginning to colour up - one pink and one yellow / cream one.

I'll have to resow my beetroot and parsnip - only have around 10 seedlings of both from a full bed - I think its just been too dry for them.

I've finally advertised my spare plants (peppers, aubergines, squashs & pumpkins, beans, cucumbers) on freecycle as I just can't bring myself to put them on the compost heap and hopefully they'll be going to a new home tomorrow (responses in double figures and yet I've not been able to give them away).