Mass planting time.

The Spring Bank Holiday weekend is always a very busy one planting wise. It's usually safe that I can plant out the first of my tender plants without any risk of future frost ....but not certain...keep an eye on the weather forecast! With this in mind I've planted out my celery and a pumpkin, and have sown my first french beans and courgettes.

At home my cabbages are making regular growth. I've also took the opportunity to plant up my surplus onions, brassicas, celery and pumpkins on the long strip of land that I've been loaned on a local smallholding. I've also sown a couple of rows of beetroot 'Boltardy', carrots 'Early Nantes' and 'Purple Haze' and turnip 'Purple Top'. It was a pleasure planting into land that has already been kindly manured and rotovated for me by the owners, so all I have to do from now on is water and weed. How easy is that!?!

I've planted all of my tomatoes into the greenhouse borders, and in front of each plant I've inserted an upturned plastic bottle with the bottom cut off through which I can water during the season. This allows water to get straight to the root and also keeps the surface of the soil bone dry.....tomatoes hate humidity.

I've planted my peppers (Luteus) 2 or 3 to a large pot and these will be grown in the same greenhouse as the tomatoes and take the same feeding regime.

And thankfully Hull survived despite their beating by Man Utd's 3rd team so I can now fetch the dahlias Kev's grown for me without embarrassment. On the subject of dahlias apparently Garden News is soon going to be running an article on the legendary Les Stothard who as well as raising the Blyton strain of dahlias was also the mastermind behind the marrow Blyton Belle, which I believe is unbeatable when grown well. I'm growing another of his marrows that he says has the potential to be even better than Belle so we shall have to wait and see.