Coriander

My coriander has flowered early so instead of nice thick leaves they have gone all spindly and thin. I think this was because the position I chose to place the herb trough was too sunny. Coriander is very susceptible to changes of temperature and can get stressed if replanted(which is what I did!).

All is not lost though. I have cut off most of the flowers to try and get the plant to grow thicker leaves. A few flowers have been left to wither so I can collect some seeds for next year.

Rainy Easter weekend

I took advantage of a break in the rain to start potting some of the seedlings which are beginning to jostle for space in the seed tray.

On Saturday I bought three 12 inch pots. I put three tomato plants into each one.

I also set to work on the herb trough, planting loads of Basil and Coriander. I hope the Coriander will be okay as it is not very tolerant to transplanting, which can cause bolting.

My first potato has sprouted! This is in the pot, the potatoes in the raised bed have yet to show signs of life. Finger-crossed they will be okay especially after the foxes tried to dig them up a while back.

Orkney seaweed and other things

I have been on a spending spree recently. I've bought a giant poly-tunnel, some Orkney seaweed fertilizer and some large bell cloches. The cloches come in very handy protecting young seedlings from slugs.

Most of the seedlings are now outside in a specially prepared 'nursery' area. I've planted six of my seed potatoes. I didn't realise that potatoes took up so much room! I have placed them in one half of the big raised bed. The rest of the bed contains purple sprouting brocolli and a lone artichoke.

Yesterday I planted some lettuce, spinach and coriander seeds. Today I potted six runner bean seeds. I thought I would plant these again as they were a great success last year.

My next job is to weed the carrot plot and double-dig the marked-out plot for the poly-tunnel. Once I have done this I can plant the aubergines. I might also get some courgettes in under there where they will be nice a toasty warm!

Good news on the onion front. There are numerous shoots appearing!

I was thinking about how best to attract beneficial insects into the garden. Jake's wildflower garden should help a great deal. Maybe I should plant some more nasturtiums this year. I remember last year they were covered in caterpillars that would surely have been chomping away on my veg.