We’ve just been to the allotment to put up frames for Runner beans and Climbing French Beans. I’ll sow the seed sometime next week, now that the weather is becoming warmer.

Seed germination has been very slow in the cold, wet weather and weeds are mostly growing faster than the seedlings.

A fine harvest of radishes

The success story so far this spring has been Parsnip seedlings, which I planted in late February and March in mild, sunny weather, and the Radishes I sowed at the same time to mark the rows. The Radishes are ready now, all at once, and have been the feature of most of our recent meals (see recipes). In dry springs the roots are riddled with the tunnels of Cabbage Root Fly larvae but this spring the rain has deterred this pest and the radish roots are of almost showbench quality and, with all the water, large and tender.

Winter Purslane, like the radishes, has appreciated the rain. Its lush leaves and little white flowers are a welcome source of salad greens. I planted just a few seeds several years ago and have had this plant in abundance every spring since then. I dig in the excess as a green manure but some always self seeds.

With the cold weather, Asparagus has been very late and is still growing rather slowly, though what we are picking tastes as delicious as ever (see recipes). (Last year, when it was hot and dry, we had Asparagus from late March onwards; this year we started cropping last week.)

Finally, we are almost at the end of the Purple-sprouting and White-sprouting Broccoli. The plants are in the ground for a long time but they’re well worth growing for their delicious young flower shoots.

Asparagus

Winter Purslane (a.k.a. Miners’ Lettuce)