There’s lots going on at this time of year and we have been kept rather busy this week. We have continued to prepare vegetable beds, this time on plot 2. We have planted some seed potatoes and some shallot and onion sets on the orchard plot. We have planted some sweet peas on plot one.
Orchard Plot
Planting Seed Potatoes
This week we planted a mixture of seed potatoes. These include:
First Early:
Typically a small potato that can be planted from February until May. It will be ready to harvest 10 weeks from the planting date.
- Vales Emerald
- Premiere
Second Early:
Again, typically a small variety of potato that can be planted from March until May. It will be ready for harvesting approximately 13 weeks after planting
- Charlotte
- Wilja
Main Crop:
These are usually much larger potatoes suitable for baking, roasting and mashing. Plant from March until mid May. They are ready to harvest approximately 20 weeks after plantings
- Pink Fir Apple
Planting Shallot and Onion Sets
We have also planted some shallot and onion sets
Shallot Golden Gourmet sets. This is a RHS award winner. It produces relatively large bulbs and the incidence of bolting is said to be greatly reduced. We’ll see.
We’ve not grown onions before but we’re trying a red onion called Red Barron.
Plot One
This week we planted some sweet peas. Although I had grown some from the seed at home, they were sadly eaten by snails. To our delight the local garden centre is now selling a good range of ‘odoratus’ highly perfumed varieties.
We bought the following:
- Leamington
- Wiltshire Ripple
- Winston Churchill
- Mrs Bernard Jones
- Flagship
- Beaujolais
- Percy Thrower
- Watermelon
- Blue Skies
We planted some next to the shed, as we do each year,
and we also constructed an arch on one of the smaller vegetable beds.
It should be quite some display and the air will be filled with the most heavenly perfume. Can’t wait.
Plot Two
Most of the week was spent preparing plot two. Digging over the vegetable beds and removing weeds. Approximately three quarters of the plot is now prepared We also extended a couple of the vegetable beds making much larger beds.
Currently there is very little growing on plot two. Just plants that we over-wintered. There is some parsley, some leeks and some kales plants that have gone to flower. I would have dug these out earlier as the leaves are now too tough to eat but they have been attracting bees.
welovegrowingstuff 
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