I’m all behind like a cow’s tail this week. The shift to BST has thrown me, the first of the lighter evenings has seduced me to take advantage and spend it outside in the garden, as a consequence I will probably make this brief, otherwise it will be bedtime before I know it, with the double whammy of having lost an hour last night.
This week’s photo (above) is of the Nasturtium that overwintered in the greenhouse, it’s tumbling over the path and looks a treat.
I got it wrong last week. It is not a single orphaned baby rabbit, I have now seen one, two, three little rabbits regularly out the back of the garden. At the moment they are outside the perimeter fence, so it’s not yet a problem, but if they discover a point of entry – or create one, it will be, because they are hungry bunnies…..but so cute.
The fine weather continues, and looks set fair for the week ahead. I have just looked at the forecasts, and the Met Office is showing full sun all day every day from now until next Sunday, and the BBC is predicting the same as far ahead as Thursday 10th. If that comes to pass you will be hearing cries of “drought” from the farming community. It’s great for getting washing dried on the line though isn’t it? To go with the clear days will be clear nights, and chilly ones at that, though there is nothing below zero on the charts.
Did you see the partial eclipse yesterday morning? I was at the market during it, and whilst I had nothing to view the sun directly with safely, the light level was definitely affected and was an unusual hue. I really enjoy these rare natural phenomena – eclipses, northern lights, meteor showers, planetary alignments, they are all very special to observe. In a different way I find the current signs of nature reawakening just as heart warming – celandines, stitchwort, dogs mercury, wild garlic and even the humble dandelion. Then there is the blossom in the hedgerow trees and shrubs, the glimpse of a butterfly fluttering by, the bumbling bees, the return of the chiff chaffs with their repetitive call, and countless other things – even those little rabbits skittering around. It is a time of optimism, even when there is so much misery, darkness and negativity elsewhere in the world.
I had my Soil Association annual audit last Wednesday, and I am pleased to tell you that everything went very smoothly. I just need to try to improve on some of my record keeping related to sales at the farmers’ market, though really I fail to see what relevance that has to growing organically, it’s none of their ruddy business….though I kept that thought to myself during the inspection.
The fine weather conditions of the past seven days has enabled more progress in the garden. I planted out some broad beans, direct sowed another row of them next to them, sowed another couple of rows of beetroot, planted out some courgettes in the polytunnel under glass cloches for an early crop. In the next couple of days I will plant lettuces in the tunnel, and I will be hardening off cabbage plants prior to transplanting them. I cut the grass again too, it is a much easier and faster job if you can keep on top of it at this time of the season.
So the veg availability is becoming more limited, though we are not yet in the hungry gap. There is still purple sprouting broccoli, kale, chard, limited amounts of spring greens. There are leeks, carrots, beetroot, parsnips, onions, sweet potatoes, but swede has finished now. I am getting in some short UK grown cucumbers this week, but they are in short supply so there may not be enough for everyone, and until they arrive I won’t know exactly how short they are, but they are a welcome early season treat. There are avocados, lemons, mandarins (a few too many pips for my liking), oranges, but it’s about the end of the blood orange season.
Not long until bedtime now so I am calling it a day. Enjoy the sunshine, slap on the factor 50, and make the most of the light evenings. Ta ta.
Phil