wind and water

I've had a break for a couple of days and what do I find? the rain has brought everything on dramatically, including the weeds. One big advantage of rain for the container grower is that it relieves you of the job of lugging full watering cans around the place.

It hasn't just been rain up here in Cumbria. We've had some very strong winds which have battered the tatie tops and broad beans so I've been doing my support act with sticks and string. I've also had to tie some of the asparagus ferns to canes to stop them whipping around.

But it's not all bad news. I picked some strawberries from the greenhouse this afternoon. Only four so not enough to go round so I ate them all. The hanging basket is another of those useful things that got washed up on marsh. I'm tempted to buy a couple more and grow more strawbs in the greenhouse next year. Oh, but then I'd have to share ;-)

We had more new potatoes for tea tonight. Just under two pounds of Lady Christl from two plants. Not a lot but you don't grow first earlies for the yield. It's all about the taste.

As a warning to those thinking of putting out tender plants too early I offer this pic of some young french beans that I left outside the greenhouse for a couple of days. We've not had any low temps. so I suspect this is wind burn.

It's my own fault and I'm sure they'll recover but going from the comfort of the greenhouse to the great outdoors too quickly has certainly upset them.