We couldn’t do much earlier in the year as we kept on having frosts till quite late, and all through April the forecasts kept showing possible overnight temperatures of zero or below. So I got some tomato seeds planted indoors on the kitchen windowsill and they germinated reasonable quickly, but seemed slow to progress. Eventually, once the weather changed for the better in May I re-potted them and had them out in the greenhouse where they improved. In time I got them into big pots (still under glass) and they are now doing well growth wise, but seem to be in no hurry to produce flowers.
In the past I have grown runner beans like Scarlet Emperor and each year I have erected the necessary scaffolding and taken it all down again in the autumn. Last year we decided that enough was enough, and that this year we would try the dwarf beans which allegedly need no staking or support. They have germinated fairly well though some seem to have germinated and then seized up, and some got eaten, presumably by slugs, or quite possibly, the wood pigeons. I have also tried a few in a large pot by way of an experiment and they seem to be doing OK so far.
I feed them once a week with liquid seaweed but have not had to look after them in any special way. My current impression is that growing them in a pot is easier and more easily managed than growing them in a garden bed.
Tender Green (left) and Boston (right).
Dwarf beans like these allegedly only grow to about 45 cms in height and should not need any support. This is out first time with these and I shall be interested to see if the forecast works out.
As has happened to us many years running we began to grow potatoes again spontaneously from tubers left in the ground after last year’s harvest. Such potatoes grow well and crop well, but come up all over the place in the most haphazard way and hinder any other developments you have in mind. So, this year I have ruthlessly weeded them out and planted some new purchased Charlottes in bags. We bought some potato bags from Thompson and Morgan but they seem a bit small to us – nevertheless their occupants are doing well at one tuber per bag. W also did two old compost bags and they are doing OK too but I put two or three tubers in those according to the available room
