Clairesallotment's Blog

All the seedlings in the greenhouse are growing well (all except the Celery), and I’m running out of room. So I was looking to see which plants can go in the ground now and not have to wait until June. The first plants I came across was the Kale. I have 27 strong plants, that were just itching to get out in the big wild world, so today was their special day. I had a bed all prepared for them, which is weed free (for how long is anyones guess) and manure spread  on top. So I have planted them out and hopefully they’ll be happy. When planting out brassicas, make sure that you plant them deeper than they were in the pot. They don’t mind this, and it helps keep them more stable as they grow taller. I then protected them from slugs, and then covered them with some fleece that has seen better days, but will do until I can get some more netting. Poor brassicas get attacked from all angles so look after them otherwise the birds and gastropods will. I also managed to weed a load more, and spread some more manure. One plot is nearly done, and the other plot is half done, so I’m getting there slowly. I did take lunch down to the allotment today as I knew that I would be there for longer than normal. I think it totalled up to about 4 hours worth of digging, which isn’t bad going. Tomorrow’s weather looks good as well, so I’ll do the same, but I think it’s cabbages next to plant out. I’d better get them sorted otherwise I’ll forget them.