May 09

May 09 Late Spring

What I should be doing in May.

Plant out chitted tates main crops 20 weeks ready, broad beans, leeks if pencil thick, spinach. At the end of the month after last frost date around 21st may plant out celeriac, celery, squashes, courgettes, zucchinni, sweetcorn and runner beans. repot any cucumbers for there final positon in the gh. Plant toms in grobags or baskets and start to harden off all the plants on warm days for 2 weeks and then leave out ready for lottie. Strawberries produce runners in may - nodes- is te new plant give it 3 weeks to root, cut the runner, and pot up. Start to feed toms, peppers, chillis and strawberries with tom feed every 2 weeks.

Sow - Direct sow of swede, turnip, parsnips. most can now be sown direct into the soil as it warms up. carrots spinach, peas, courgettes, sweetcorn, runner beans, onions, beetroot, spring onions, chives, letce, radish, celery, parsley, basil, rocket, toms, and coriander.

01/05/09 - All but 4 sweetcorn up from 23/4, and 10 runner beans. Bought 7 ft canes for beans 10 for 3.50. wk 5 and 6 parsnips up. everything dryng out fast still no rain. cloudy and sunny 30 gh.

02/05/09 - 3 out of 4 squash up 23/4. and 1 strawberry 21/4. sunny am. really hot pm cloudy.

03/05/09 - Repotted 3 courgettes in larger pots, pt 2 runnerbeans outside in pots still. celery showing 15/4, moved toms of floor propagator on to shelf in sun. 15 degrees gh,am windy and cloudy and sunny. strawberries in containers have more growth and flowers on since gave them a feed. 4 of 4 squash up and 2 strawberries.

04/04/09 - 4 toms showing and 5 straws, cold windy and drizzle 15 degrees.

05/05/09 - Set 28 x 2 = 56 parsnips true and tender, 2 per loo roll with lid gh.

06/05/09 - Lottie - set 9/4 spinach 40 cell 2 per cell at lottie, 3 rows (80). sown 2 rows of swede next to spinach, given some cabbage (19). Sown 3 rows of spring onion white lisbon next to carrots in seed bed, last 2 rows of peas have been eaten! cloches been pinched from shed! planted 15/4 mixed radish in our garden patch 2 rows and rest around the garden (1 pot) Put herbs near chilli. more sun. sown marigolds to go with toms. 1 21/4 peppers up and 13 moneymaker toms 25/4 for lottie.

07/05/09 - Harvested 4 garlic from veg patch, left drying in the gh. Put beans, celeriac, sweetcorn outside. Thinned swede in 40 cell, put 1/2 bottle cloches over spinach, sweetpeas in sink up, repotted a 23/4 squash, rain am light drizzle, 20 degrees. We all set a sunflower seed for competiton in garden!

08/05/09 - Sown 6pk basil to go with toms at lottie ruffles purple. 1 pot with 4 cougette zucchinni. sown 40 cell little gem to replace lotties. sown 15 sweetcorn incredible in 6pk for home. windy and sunny 20 degrees. Dig in seeds arrived.

09/05/09 - Dug swede patch at lottie, took decembers leeks planted near broad beans, and 4 rows left to put in seed bed. watered and weeded, put cloches 1/2 bottles over 5 spinach.

10/05/09 - We got beans in the garden! whooo! both pots strawberrys up. sunny and still 20 degrees am. Put celeriac, sweetcorn and beans out side and basket toms.

11/05/09 - Fed strawberries in containers, toms chillis peppers. with toms feed. 1 elephant garlic sprouting in pot 2 out of 3 grown 2 in pots and 1 in ground.

12/05/09 - Dads sunflower up! and 1 sweetcorn from 8/5. watered garden patc.

13/05/09 - Lottie - cloudy windy and cold, watered spinach, cabbage, swede seeds. Watered garden pm, rainied 6pm light drizzle, we got a bean on lotties beans!! from 19/1/09 beans.

14/05/09 - Sweetcorn and runner beans otside 12 degrees gh. rained last nite and am. good rain, 10 lettce up, k10 and sassis sunflowers up. cold and wet all day no rain though.

15/05/09 - Rained through the nite, still raining 10am, put peas in bathroom as to cold gh 10 degrees. Got our chickens 3 Rhode Isalnd red mix. Have an egg already! Chester, Rosemary and Thyme. Repotted 14 toms seedlings moneymaker, warmed and brightened up pm. Took dieseased leaves of toms, squashes and courgettes all yellowing.

16/05/09 - Jarens sunflower up! and mine just starting to show. Lottie - weeded beans, took netting of and transfered across to spinach, took 1/2 bottle cloches of spinach and put over peas thats been eaten! GH set Dig in seeds of lolla rossa in 1/2 seed tray. Set rocket and saladin leaves. 3 eggs today.

18/05/09 - Lottie - 6 rows swede 1 to thin out later, put up bean poles and planted 56 runner beans in, but sqished but should be ok, 7/4 are huge, 20/4 and 8 in pots. dug in some orgainc matter from home 30 litre bag. rained, gh set some spinach 40 cell (80)+. 1 egg today.

19/05/09 - Rain, lottie - already have 8 rows of 8 onion sets in, set carrots seeds in between rows (7). 10 swede up covered 4 rows with cloche from peas, weeded peas, set marigolds in sink. Dug turnip and parsnip bed, ready for seeds and loo rolls! Harvested an onion out of our veg patch at home! and 2 lettuces. Thunder and showers but warm. 3 eggs today.

20/05/09 - Cucumber in gh has 5 tindy ones showing the plants still small only a few inches high 5 to6 leaves! harvested a few carrots from tyre and 1 onion for homemade cornish pasties showers pm 25 degrees. rocket and lolla rossa dig in showing from16/5! 2 peas up 8/5 in bathroom rest all mouldy binned. 3 eggs today.

21/5/09 - Set 1 big pot coriander, 2 sq pots sweet basil. 1 6pk zucchinni. repotted 9 2/4 peppers out of 27, only took biggest ones. only 1 2/12 pepper survived. 2 cucumbers, and only 10 chillis. set 2 peach pips been in fridge for 2 weeks. Harvested 2/12 6 spring onions still small. Hot and heavy rain showers. left basket toms outside and sweetcorn to harden off. Planted biggest chilli outside the gh in pot. 2 eggs today.

22/5/09 - Lottie, planted 15/4 beetroot with other beet and 2 pots furio spring onions in between rows, weeded onions and watered carrot seeds and swede. gh 8/5 basil up, Put 2 more basket toms in basket look different to others! chucked smallest red cherry, really little and stringy. 25/4 toms looking good and growing well ( plant in lottie). 8/5 sweetcorn put in garden, jans chitted tats have been outside in a tray for weeks and are growing green tops, must plant up!! 2 eggs today.

23/05/09 - Planted 14/4 mxd radish around garden, lanted marchs cornflowers outside backdoor, 2 toms flowering- only small! set marigolds with toms 4 per basket (12) sown more seeds for lotties toms. warm sunny 25 degrees 6pm in gh. 2 eggs today.

24/05/09 - Lottie - watered, 3 rows of spring onions up near carrots in seed bed, nearly all 5 rows of swede up, last one needs thining on to 6th row. Peas have flowers on, no carrots between onions yet. quite dry, leeks about 6 in high and thickening up at last. Left celery and celeriac outside last nite to harden off, harvested 2 onions from garden, sunny hot 25 degrees gh. 3 eggs today.

25/05/09 - Repotted 2 red cerry toms and put 1 in ground near beans (smallest). repotted 21/4 red skin peppers, thinned into 18 pots. 18/5 spinach up. 3 eggs today.

26/05/09 - Windy cloudy and gusty, 21/5 sweet basil showing. 1 saladin lettuce. Rain and thunder last nite, took basket toms back in the gh as really gusty and blowing over! brigtened up pm but still windy. 25 degrees gh. 3 eggs today.

27/05/09 - Fed strawberries, toms, chillis, peppers and cucumbers - tom feed. Windy cold and rained through the nite and day today. 3 eggs today.

28/05/09 - Lottie - planted up all parsnips in loo rolls, and 3 rows of parsnip seed, planted up jubilee sweetcorn 17/4 near onions, 7 plants a row, 5 rows 35. and 23/4 incredible sweetcorn 4 plants a row, 6 rows 27, near cabbage.Took cloche of spinach now and moved over to parsnip seed rows. (4) Planted 2 rows of swede out of gh in 40 cell, quite big! Sunny and cloudy am 16 degrees and brigtened up pm 32 degrees pm gh. watered celeriac and celery well ready for transplanting tmw at lottie. Put 2 more toms in pots outside, and planted jarens celery. 3 eggs today.