new potatoes

We had the first of the new potatoes today - nearly a fortnight later than the last two years but not surprising given the cold spring.

The variety is Home Guard and they tasted lovely but the yield was poor compared to my favourite Lady Christl. I suppose I really should leave them longer to bulk up but I just can't wait to get that first crop of the year and twelve weeks should have been enough for them.

I can hardly move in the greenhouse at the moment due to pots and trays of plants which should be potted up  into final positions or going outside. So long as this cool windy weather prevails I'm loathe to put out any more brassicas and lettuce only to see them ripped from the ground by gale force winds. By mid-May I should be well on the way to getting through the greenhouse potato crop and making the space available to the tomatoes and peppers, etc. but not this year.

greenhouse chaos!

This afternoon I managed to trip over and scatter a tray of lettuce seedlings which I'd just put down on the floor to make a space so I could prick out some celery. At least lettuce is a fast grower and easily replaced. The celery I'm trying this year is an F1 self-blanching type 'Loretta'. Because the seed is so small I just scatter it on the compost surface and end up with far too many young plants. I potted up sixteen which should be enough for us as we normally only pick a few sticks at a time, rather than cutting the whole plant.

One thing that does seem to enjoy this weather is radishes. I sow them regularly in any containers I have to hand and they just seem to grow away regardless.

Scarlet globe radishes happily growing in four inches of compost