The Patch comes alive!

Early summer is such an exciting time in the Patch! Seedlings have been sown or planted out and the satisfaction of at last seeing them safely into their permanent home is huge. After the pressure of getting everything started at the right time, now it is a question of positioning them according to all the plans you have made, warding off the slugs and weeding to get them off to a good start. Every morning I take a cup of tea and wander down to the Patch (usually very early!) and enjoy the peace, the birdsong and seeing what has happened in the night! At this time of the year things are emerging and growing at such a rate I just can't wait to see the changes. 

Really pleased with the parsnips - started off on damp kitchen roll and lovingly nurtured in the greenhouse they have planted on well. I think the secret was in the compost I put in the planting holes so that the tiny roots were not damaged by heavy soil. The bliss of planting like this is that there is no thinning and no gaps in the row!

The same with the beetroot - my system of soaking the seed, sowing into deep pots of compost and then planting them out has been very successful. I was able to plant them between the odd seedling that had germinated in the bed and now have three full rows. 

Isn't this Rainbow chard beautiful? Again by starting it off in pots I was able to place the red by the yellow by the white etc. Can hardly bear to pick it!

Here are the Radar onions that I planted in the autumn. They are getting fat now and I need them. I don't want to buy onions and these will be ready in the next month for summer use. Then the Setton and Red Baron will be coming on for the winter. There is something about that moment when a fat round onion starts to bend over that is wonderful - as if they are telling you they are ready for harvest!

I cannot rate the Aquadulce Claudia broad beans highly enough. Planted in the autumn they stood all winter and they have a particularly sweet flavour and very long and very full pods. If you love broad beans as we do then do try this one. If I had sowed more in Feb for another row I would have got two crops of this delicious variety in before the later Masterpiece which will be planted out in June. Broad beans freeze fantastically so you can't have too many. 

You can see just how full this pea pod is going to be! By getting up early and seeing it with the sun behind it I have a good idea of where it has got to. These are Douce de Provence which you can also sow in the autumn if you want to - maybe I will next year. Compact and pretty but I made a mistake in not staking them well. They are hard to get at as they are supported only by a few pea sticks. I think it is worth the effort to put stakes and strings to give them something to grip onto. 
Fat delicious peas - one of the best things about early summer - fresh peas in salad or cooked with mint,   and new potatoes and asparagus...mmm..