Pushing up the daisies

A mixed weekend down the allotment. We have gone from brilliant sunshine to overcast to freezing winds and frostiness.
I had two sessions down there this weekend: a very quick one on Saturday afternoon to plant some plug plant lettuces I had bought (I think I will give up altogether on sowing lettuce, it is a waste of time and money). OK I admit I went and splurged at the garden centre. I bought lettuce, 15 summer cabbages (Cabus, the pointed ones), a nice rhubarb plant (the 2nd one), a rosemary shrub, some mint and tarragon (which I didn't have in the herb bed) and some cornflower seeds.
Then on Sunday all of us went down (miraculous, a family outing to the allotment!) and hubby and Biggest One fixed up the collapsing compost bin for me and also weeded and put a nice border around one of the flower beds. It was freezing! But teh sun came out after a while and warmed things up a bit+
While they were doing that, I planted my cabbage, mint and tarragon, resowed some peas (they just aren't doing well) and sowed some beetroot and radishes. I also tidied up the flower beds a little (not really as much as I would like to, but time was running out) and sowed a variety of mixed flower seeds, the cornflowers and some zinneas.
The rhubarb is doing well, soon we will be able to pick some I think, and I noticed something very cute with the artichokes: a tiny artichoke head starting to develop inside the centre of the plant!! So I guess I will have artichokes soon (my neighbour says they get multiple heads from the centre of the plant).
The onions and echalotes seem to be doing well, lots of green shoots all over the place, and the scarole lettuces are finally growing! No sign of the spuds yet but I noticed lots of "mystery potatoes" starting to shoot when I dug over the bed for the cabbages so I think I might see spud growth soon.
As for the fruit, they are getting their new growth. The raspberries have made new shoots all over the place!! And the strawberries have got some good foliage coming. Even the new ones planted in the autumn.
Now for a seedling update:

• Tomatoes look brilliant! I am very pleased. Now I need to repot them all, I am sure I will have over 20 plants.
• lettuce and silverbeet (chard) are very leggy so I will try potting on and see what happens.
• Leeks looking good, I am going to prick them out into a bigger bed now, and the brussel sprouts are also looking great.

I feel quite happy with progress so far, even though the bindweed is starting to come up again, there seem on the whole to be less weeds than last year. However I am still unsatisfied with the edges of the lot, it seems so messy compared with other lots but I can't afford to edge it with timber like a lot of the others have done. Perhaps I should try stones??
Pictures soon, it's a promise.

Labels: artichoke, cabbage, chard, flowers, lettuce, planting, rhubarb, sow, spring, tomatoes