Thinning out, planting & harvesting

Last night I popped to the allotment. Just for a little while after work... but then stayed 'til it was dark! That's a habit I am getting into. Too many jobs, not enough time.

My seedlings did pretty well sown directly into the soil in rows, under the cling film cold frame. I took the frame itself off a while back when the frost had gone and almost everything I planted has gone great guns. So much so, I think I have too much! The kohl rabi was my task last night. I thinned out all the seedlings and planted them in-front of the sugar snaps/cornflowers. There was a reasonable amount of weeding to do but the soil is lovely up this (shed) end of the plot and the weeds came out easily. I am very pleased with the kohl rabi seedlings and I am hoping they will now start to swell. I had some seedlings left over so I gave some to a plot neighbour and some to a friend at work. She also got a chinese lantern - seedlings are popping up from one I bought last year which I thought had died a death, and some cosmos - also self-sown from last year's plant.

I also harvested some radishes which look mighty fine :) I thinned the seedlings a couple of weeks ago to give them room to swell. I like this photo :) Anyone know any good radish recipes?

These are leeks I grew from seed. I am going to thin these out too and sow them in place. I ran out of time last night.

I read somewhere you can germinate shop-bought seeds. This is my 'bean experiment' so I will see if anything grows. Just a bit of fun really. Not the end of the world if it doesn't work!

I picked my first ranunculus too. It is a bright poppy-red but looks orange on this pic. Pesky camera!

I also planted out the aubergines, patty pans, butternut squash and marrow plants I bought from Potten Farm in Kent. I did this is the dark though so no photos yet!

I've just been to the nursery near work to get a few more things. As the seeds I planted did nothing and I want to grow them, I bought a tray of self-blanching celery and two trays of celariac. I also got more seeds and some flowers. Photos to follow :)

After saying I wouldn't grow them again, like I did with the tomatoes, I bought a pot of runner beans! Aww, but... there were 8 healthy plants in one pot... it wasn't much money... last year's were super-tasty (but SO prolific!)... ah, I am sure I will enjoy them this year. Note to self - create a STURDY frame this time! No idea what sort they are. It just said 'runner bean'. Hmm!

Local nursery trip - the plan

As I am a little short on plants and time is ticking on, I am going to get some fillers. It is what I did last year - I was too late to plant seeds then. Next year I'll see if I can get better results from growing from seed.

I think this weekend I will take a trip to Dundry Nursery. I stumbled on their website when I was browsing seed potatoes a while back. It seems they are somewhat of a specialist in such things. Their website is: http://www.dundrynurseries.co.uk/ if you wanted a nosey. Looking forward to it :) My purse probably isn't!

When I was away in Kent over the bank holiday, I bought some plants at a great nursery called Potten Farm - last year I bought from them too. If you're in the area, I suggest you pay them a visit.