blooms means.....

I like flowers, especially when they're growing on broad bean plants because blooms means beans.

I like them on peas for much the same reason.

But flowers on brassicas....NOOooo

This is calabrese which just shot straight up after planting out and produced flowers which, although they are edible, was not really what I was looking for. I have other broccoli, kale, etc to plant out and will be sowing more but this year's weather is not making things easy.

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Always on the lookout for new ways to get more growing space last year I made a ‘ladder allotment’. It was a big unwieldy thing and difficult to move but entirely consistent with my engineering skills which are decidedly agricultural. By that I mean that most jobs can be easily accomplished with just two simple tools: a big hammer and a welding torch! Oh, and if in doubt make it twice as thick as it needs to be.

So I decided to have another go having seen some plastic troughs on offer at £1.99 in one of our local cheapie shops. They are deeper than many and would even allow me to grow stumpy carrots. The end result is much lighter and leans against our privet hedge which I’d decided was a complete waste of space unless I can get edible things to grow up it, through it or against it.

All the timber and screws, etc. I had lying about so for six quid I give you....

.......the ladder allotment mark two. From bottom to top I’ve sown CCA lettuce, beetroot and spring onions and probably won’t get more than the one crop this year but in future years I should manage two crops from each trough. I'll get that hedge to feed me if it's the last thing I do.