Runner Beans, French Beans, Weeding and Thinning

That was the plan?

The plan today was to get down to the plot in the morning and start putting the greenhouse up. Of course things went wrong, it was raining. More of a drizzle than the downpour we could really do with, but I suppose it helps to some degree.

Web Site Competition

Since I was in, I carried on working on a web site I’m re-doing that I think my allotment site visitors will like. I got the visual style done and now I’m starting to transfer the content from the old site. I don’t think I should go public with the name until it’s up, but it’s big in the vegetable-growing world. Perhaps I should have a competition! First person to email me with the correct guess of which web site I’m re-vamping gets a free packet of seeds. If you’ve joined the forums you know my email.

Beans and yet more beans

Val accompanied me to the plot in the late afternoon. She insists I’m as blind as a bat when picking beans and I think she is right. She got a load or runner beans and French beans despite my thinking there would hardly be anything left after my recent pick.

We still have frozen beans from last year so I’m going to try the mustard pickled bean recipe from Delia that’s bean on the forum. With my cooking skills there’s a good chance some may survive eating them.

Weeding and Thinning

As Val was picking I took to weeding the top of plot 5. It’s amazing how quickly the weeds grow. I have carrots interplanted with spring onions and the weeds were hiding them, so a careful hand picking to clear them without getting the seedlings and then a hoe between the rows. The turnips have managed about 300% germination, I’m sure I didn’t sow that many! Thinned out to about every four inches, I want small and sweet rather than massive wooden balls. The swedes are a little patchy but still overcrowded in parts, so they were thinned as well.

The Tendercrop French beans have failed to germinate, about 3 came up on one row and none on another. I think I’ll try chitting some of the seed to see if it’s the seed that’s the problem.