Now there's an offer you can refuse.....

I've now got 15 or so pickling shallots harvested at a gnat's cock under 30mm dia. The rest are catching up fast so I should have plenty to choose from. They inevitably have flat sides where they were growing against their brothers and sisters but they do round up during the ripening process. I leave them outdoors on this wire rack but throw some polythene sheet over them if rain is forecast.



The exhibition shallots have another 3/8" to 1/2" or so to swell out to the 48mm gauge.



The Vento 8oz onions have perked up but are slow to get going.



Sweet Candle stumps under enviromesh covers are coming along nicely.



I hope to grow some better Brigadier cabbages this season by keeping them under green netting to deter pigeons and butterflies. You cannot afford to have any holes in the foliage if you want to exhibit at higher than village level. Growing this way I find that they have a nice waxy bloom.

And finally a poser. I've never grown this crop before. It looks very insignificant at the moment but these tiny seedlings should grow up to 10 feet and produce dozens if not hundreds of specimens all identical in size, shape and colour. Chances are you've never seen them at your local show and indeed I cannot find them listed in the RHS show guide at all so I don't know how many points they'd be worth, but I'm guessing not many. Anyway, first person to answer correctly gets to have rampant sex with me as a reward.