OUTDOORS 35

Here is the first of the 2018 crops - one stick of rhubarb! It, along with another stick, were harvested in the middle two weeks of April, mine being an early variety, generally ready to pluck the first sticks from late March or early April onward.

This view taking in the scene between my two compost tubs shows how well my garlic and shallots are growing this season! Additionally, you can witness the gooseberry leafing, and blackcurrant and raspberries also beginning to shoot out for the coming season.

The empty bed comprising the main part of this next picture is for my corn - I haven't planted it yet, its still in pots in the poly tunnel and yet to surface, which hopefully it will, ready for transplantation in May or June.

You can also view my 3 raised beds - the old strawberry one to the left, the new half one to be shared with nasturtiums in the front and the regular one that will be on its last season before a turn out to the rear right. Also in sight is a netted area for peas, beans and salad crops - to ensure pigeons don't munch MY food! Towards the camera of the netted area you might just make out 6-7 small curly plants - those are my chickpeas!

HERE is the link to a video I made in the poly tunnel in the middle of May 2018 - showing the crops in situ.  It shows the tomatoes, lettuce, chilies, etc that I currently have left to grow in the tunnel, after taking the Brussels sprouts, a few tomatoes, most of the butternuts and all the chickpeas down to plant out at the allotment.

Middle of May and I took three pictures down the plot while taking scraps and coffee grounds down to the compost. It was too wet to dig right away - so I would have to wait a few hours to carry down a half dozen tomato seedlings to plant or do any weeding. This first shot shows the chickpeas, celeriac, and Brussels sprouts plants.

In the second shot, you look across over the butternut and corn area to the prolific strawberry bed - with a nothing-came-up carrot/turnip bed in front and beyond to my red onions. In my final shot, you can see my next-to above pic bed of tomato, rainbow chard and kale planted the day before the photograph was taken - already 2-3 of the tomatoes have been munched, sigh. Then there are 4 garlic/oniony things that I left to grow for seed as an experiment in a patch of land to be filled with tomatoes as soon as the soil dries enough to allow me to take them down - hmm, one more hour perhaps?