Has the Growing Season Finally Started?



The first of the peas I sowed straight into the bed eight days ago is just starting to show through the compost.

I had begun to think that they might have been taken by marauding mice (even though we have four cats in the house - they are all inherrently lazy!) so last Sunday I carefully removed the top inch or so of soil over them.

Thankfully they were still there, and were starting to sprout, so I replaced the soil, watered heavily and went back to waiting impatiently until tonight when the first tiny green shoot was visible.



The first pea shoots make an appearance


I am expecting great things from these legumes and can't wait for them to start to grow up the trellis, not just for the harvest but to also give our patio a bit of privacy.



One thing in the garden that I am over the moon with is my dwarf apple trees - for the past two years I have had plenty of blossom, but not a single one has set.





Very young apples forming



 This year I moved the trees down the garden as my wife thought that the pollinating insects might be missing them where they had been sat close by the front door - looks like that may have been a good call as we appear to have several potential apples forming, but even now I have not even had a single flower on my Conference Pear.

Non-Flowering Pear

Maybe next year?

Possible Allotment??

I have just got back from viewing an allotment in South Chadderton, and after speaking to the chairperson(?) it is quite hopeful that I may have a chance at one when they come up for review in a couple of weeks as there are a few that have been left to run wild.

I have tried to grow veg in the garden at home for a few years with varying degrees of success - the blackcurrant bush is amazing - I regularly get several kilos of fruit off it, and the rhubarb has gone absolutely wild this year after doing absolutely nothing for the past two summers.

Another success story from last year was the broccoli - I planted purple sprouting and tenderstem and we have now got a couple of freezer bags full of the stuff, we have also had loads straight off the plant.

Not quite as good are my fruit trees - I have two dwarf apples and a dwarf pear - and despite loads of flowers last year not a single fruit set.  Hoping for better things this year - both apple trees flowered together and there are about five potential apples on one, but about thirty on the other.  There have been plenty of little bees around this year too, so hopefully .....

Another area I am pretty poor at is propogation from seed - I can normally get them to sprout, but after that most of my plants tend to wither pretty quick - I am hoping for advice from one of the other allotmenters who is retired now but who apparently used to have a huge allotment.

I will try to stick a few pics in here to show the progress in the garden, and also hopefully in the allotment too - maybe even a video if I can master the technology!