Spring
has certainly felt as if it has sprung here over the last week - we
were working outside in shirtsleeves in the sunshine - its so tempting
to sow loads of stuff, but still a bit risky. This
week the sharp winds are back, and frosts - you really have to take a
full wardrobe out with you to cover any weather permutation.
I
did succumb and sowed some cool season crops for a salad mix under our
ornamental Victorial glass cloche - peas, red-veined spinach, lettuce
and beetroot. I've multisown the beetroot - a
couple of seeds in each hole - so that ultimately there will be a group
of small beetroots which push each other apart as they grow. Beetroot leaves are good in salads if you collect a few at a time along with your lettuce, spinach, rocket, etc. Chioggia
pink or Barbietola di Chioggia has amazing pink-striped roots when you
slice them open (the stripes are more defined in smaller beets), and
the leaves are a lovely fresh green. The red-veined spinach also has a gorgeous leaf. I've sown the peas for pea tips - if you haven't tried these, grow some this year. They
are truly delicious - you can sow thickly in a pot to grow lots purely
for pea tips - best to choose a dwarf, fast growing or early variety. If you want to grow them on peas, don't take too much off each plant. Definitely worth a go.
The
other thing included in the plot is culinary herbs - the chervil in the
old BBC plot has self-seeded and so one of these has been relocated,
along with some self-seeded buckler-leaved sorrel and parsley (curly). Common
thyme is the best survivor on our heavier soil type, and is a lovely
dark green which can be clipped into a tidy ball-shape if you want. Chervil has a mild aniseed flavour and goes well in salads, or with potato or egg dishes, added last minute to keep the flavour. You only need a few leaves of the buckler-leaved sorrel to add a zing to salads - it has an intense citrus flavour. I'll probably add some plain and/or garlic chives to the collection, and some basil during the summer. Everyone has their own must-have herbs & there is room in the 3x3 plot for them.
On the old BBC plot, the autumn-sown broad beans are in full flower, rather earlier than usual (by 3-4 weeks at least). That
‘s ok unless we have a cold spell and the insects that pollinate them
are not flying - in the kitchen garden last year many of the flowers
dropped off in the cold, wet spring, giving a reduced crop. Its another of the risks you take extending the growing season. On that note, we have put mesh back over the broad beans for this weekend, as snow is forecast!