My favourite few hours of the year so far. Focused, productive, creative. Even if it had started strangely.You see, we got to the plot and our two fleece tunnels were flat. The fox (or foxes) had been rolling around and had flattened the fleece, though oddly it felt like an honour (showing great taste in soil certainly).
When we straightened the hoops up, we saw our first real signs of this summer's crops. The calendula seedlings are now an inch or so high (though the tagetes are still a little shy), but there, too, planted on the day of the heaviest snowfall in 20 years, are our Oriental baby leaves, Tatsoi and Green in Snow.
It has been too long since we planted food crops, though of course we love the flowers (thanks again Nick for introducing us to the glories of calendula, the deep warm orange tones especially), and the field beans and ryes we planted on Scarlett's site. But to see the first seedlings of something you are going to eat (and share) resides in the deepest heart of our gardening. I lay on the soil (though didn't roll around) with my head in the fleece and happily soaked it in.
We didn't have much time to plant according to Maria Thun, so we worked quickly and quietly. First, in went our potatoes: three white (the name escapes me) and three Red Duke of York, only (we have passed on the others to Mary). Next, some shortish rows of Red Baron onion sets. Then Sean's rather odd Oca. Still don't have a proper handle on this tuber, and admit to being a little weirded out by the slightly spooky shoots. Lastly, some of Jekka McVicar's Bulls Blood beetroot, though we seem to have misplaced our Stormy Hall carrot seed.
We appropriated a few of our old hazel sticks (whisper it, but Jane didn't quite manage this season's delivery, though she did give us a beautiful bunch of flowers) to mark out the bean teepees and to scatter as twigs to discourage the birds (and the fox) from unearthing our work. By early afternoon we were back at our homes feeling like we have won back our place among the honour guard of allotmenteers... Now how was your weekend?
