Warm sunshine

Went up to the allotment early yesterday morning and it was so gorgeous I nearly went and bought a small shed so I could move there! It was gorgeous and warm and sunny, the birds were singing and there was a real sense of spring in the air. I heard the woodpecker tap tap tapping away and there was a lazy cat curled up on a piece of toasty carpet on the plot next to mine. It was such a sunny day in more ways than one.

Its the only time I'll be able to get there until next week so I spent 4 hours weeding (yes the dreaded weeds are also loving the warm weather and are back with a vengeance), sowing seeds and having a bit of a tidy up.

The purple sprouting is really coming along well, think I'll be able to pick some next week.

I planted out a small rosemary bush I'd had at home for years, it had become really pot bound and sad looking but after one week in the ground its flowering beautifully, the bees are loving it.

I sowed a row each of spinach, radish, corn salad, spicy salad mix and bulls blood beet to use as salad leaves. I'm hoping that the weather will stay warm enough over the next week or so to give the seeds a good chance of germinating. Last year I sowed seed to early (early March), tempted by a glimpse of sun, but I paid the price, very little germinated so this year I waited another month, fingers crossed it works. I gave the strawberries a good feed of blood, fish and bone, I want tons of strawberries this year, at least enough for a good batch of jam!

Early last week I had a big sowing session at home - courgette, french beans, runner beans, sunflowers, chard, sweetcorn and sweet peas all went into small pots or plug trays. I'm really determined to get a good harvest this year, I think I've learnt a lot the past 2 years and this season I'm really going for it. I also potted on lots of small, tender cauliflower plants that I started back in February along with leeks. I've tons of both, there's a plant sale mid May and I think this time I can contribute lots of plants. We desperately need some new wheelbarrows and the plant sale raises money to buy this sort of thing.

I made an improvised cold frame from some bubble wrap and a thin wooden crate, the plants seem to be pretty happy in it so far. I wish I'd bought a proper tall coldframe this year for my terrace, it would've made things so much easier! Next year...

I bought 3 wild strawberry plants at Bermondsey Sq Farmers Market today for £5. Bargain as they will produce runners later this year which will go on to make new plants. I thought I'd start with 3 plants now, keep them at home so I can keep the birds off them and if they do well and I like them then I can have some plants at the allotment next year.