The wind has been a problem this week. Although it has been sunny at times, the would-be heat from the sun has been defeated in battle by the cold winds which have not only lowered the temperature but delivered a beating to newly-planted and older established plants alike.

Large branches have snapped from trees in the area – wind and fully leaved up trees just don’t sit well together. Our shed/den has also provided a useful retreat from the rain showers which, other than wetting us and sending us running for shelter, have done little to provide the plants with much needed water.

·      On the plot, the highlight is the possibility that our kiwi plants are going to flower for the first time since we planted them. It’s not a hundred percent certainty but I spotted a few of what certainly look like flower buds. No guarantee of course that fruits will follow, but at least we have a chance. The kiwi is a very vigorous grower and so we have had to strength its support and also do a bit of tying in. We haven’t pruned it yet as we probably should have and if it provides fruit this year we will continue to not prune it. Even without fruit, it is well worth the garden space as its large velvety leaves just have to be stroked every time it is passed!

·      The other major task on the plot this week has been planting up two more fruit beds. We had quite a few small fruit bushes which had been produced from cuttings last year and these have now been planted into a permanent position. Some fruit has formed on the gooseberry bushes which we may well lose this year but we watered well and moved with a large ball of soil so maybe some will survive. We have gone for a mixed fruit bed approach containing jostaberries, gooseberries, whitecurrants, rhubarb and our newly arrived Glencoe raspberry.

·      The gladioli corms that had been stored overwinter have been cleaned off by removing the old stem, the remains of last year’s corm and any baby bulbils and have been planted. The small bulbils will eventually grow into a new flower sized corm but it takes a long so we prefer to discard them.

·      Seeds sown directly on the plot this week were:

-      Sunflower – Velvet Queen

-      California Poppy – Golden Value

-      Radish – French Breakfast 2, Rainbow Mixed and Superb Yellow

-      Spring Onion – Ishikuro & Guardsman

-      Broad Bean – Bunyard’s Exhibition & Witkeim Manita

·      All seeds planted directly on the plot are given a good start by setting them in a shallow trench filled with compost which is thoroughly watered.

·      Also transferred to the salad bed were self sown Giant Red Mustard plants and some Blood Veined Sorrel. The sorrel had produced large plants with dock like roots and so these were split and replanted. They don’t exactly look a picture of health but if they are anything like the docks that they are related to no doubt they will recover and flourish. Into this bed I have also planted some celeriac seedlings that were passed on by my plot neighbour.

·      The pace of growth on the plot has increase with the broad beans and peas on flower (although the weevils have already had a bit of a nibble of the leaves), parsnips, carrots, radish and peas sown directly onto the plot are continuing to grow well and the spring onions have germinated. Our potatoes which may be a little behind some others on our site are growing well and will soon catch up. It would be good to have a blight free year but I guess that is too much to hope for.

·      Cuttings were taken of two types of sage – purple leaved and one with particularly large leaves growing on my neighbours’ plot (I did ask!) Sage plants tend to need replenishing every so often as they become a bit woody and the leaves seem to get smaller.

·      Flowering plants too are looking good with buds and blooms forming. I hope the bees appreciate our efforts. A gardening programme this week was extolling the merits of double flower varieties and the fact that these varieties don’t have pollen. It seems a shame to breed pollen-less varieties which are of no value to our beneficial insects, besides which I much prefer single varieties. Double primroses and aquilegias etc. just don’t do it for me!

·      The greenhouses are filling up in both the garden and on the plot. Tomato plants that will spend summer in the plot greenhouse have been moved into 5” pots and taken to the plot to grow on a little before permanent planting and the salad leaves being grown in the greenhouse border will soon be ready to harvest.

·      Sown in the garden greenhouse this week have been:

-      Melon – Gala & Tendral Negro Tardio

-      Kale – Nero di Toscana

-      Cauliflower – Snowball, Kaleidoscope Mixed & Autumn Giant 3

-      Sunflower – Autumn Time & Cutting Mixed

-      Marigold – Naughty Marietta & Disco

-      Seedlings pricked out:

-      Cosmos – Versailles Palace

-      Cucumber – Burpless Tasty Green

-      Aubergine – Black Enorma

-      Tomato – Shirley & Moneymaker

-      Plants potted on:

-      Courgettes – Zucchini, Clarita & Floridor

-      Squash –  Crown Prince

·      Lettuce and marigolds have been moved to the cold-frame which is filling up well.