Went up this morning, despite some light drizzle.  There were tomato to plant in (two cherry red tomato and one yellow tomato), as well as the beans (starter plants purchased at Homebase).  Overcast and rainy is just about perfect for transplanting – but not so much for people!

I was going to give up after planting in the beans but as the conditions were perfect I chivvied myself to stay on even though I was starting to get damp.  Luckily once up there the rain let off – eventually!

So the beans and tomato are planted in.  I re-sited some of the calvero nero growing in the salad bed as the plants were growing too close together.

Moved the blueberry to the end of the patch in its new planter.

Dug out some of the self-seeded euphorbia from the flower bed in front of the ivy hedge and transplanted those into the front end (on H’s side of the shrub barrier) – I’m sure he won’t mind!  Then forked loose the soil and added some fresh compost, watered then seeded a small coriander bed in there.  Watered well and wished them happy sprouting.

Coriander are pretty robust so should do fine there, despite the very poor and pebbly state of the soil.  They are a great allotment plant – you can eat the leaves for a savoury salad (delicious!!), and also eat the tiny umbrels of white blossom.  The seeds, if you let them go to seed, are edible as well – and in oriental cuisine the coriander root is also used.  So a completely fully edible little wonder.  Magic!

Also added a new seed row of swiss chard.  Go chard go!  I think the big guy will really get a kick out of their psychadelic colours.  (The chard is planted beside the row of beet seed, which I’m still watering but so far no signs of life.  Using up old seed packets and giving them a go before buying new ones – though I have been buying new seed too!)

Added a side row of radish (Amethyst) running along the side of the bed where we have purple kale planted.

The wicker basket with the radish and coriander seed is coming along nicely.   We re-positioned the basket to gain a little more space to move around at the back corner by the ivy.  I’m going to rationalise a little step path between our plot and the neighbour’s, and try to carve a small salad/herb bed out of a couple of square feet.  (Again, terrible pebbly soil, but probably very good for herb beds if I pick some of the broken brick out and add new garden compost.)

When the radish come out I will seed other crops – maybe dill or salad?  Also want to seed a bed of pak choi – have done them in the back patch in past years and they did well once established and protected from the slugs & snails.

When I finally finished, watered all the beds thoroughly despite the earlier light drizzle, I got down to my bicycle to find to my dismay that I had a flat on the front tire.  So instead of a quick breeze of a cycle home I had to walk slowly all the way home.  But the sun had come out and it was warm with blue skies again (and lots of huge massive, low lying white clouds).  Yup.  Summer’s here!