No dig method

There's been plenty of rain of late which is a good thing for me.  It has softened the soil up so that I can plant the veg out.  This year I'm trying to save backache and just planting holes with the trusty dibber.  The soil is too heavy to dig over each year, well at least for me who now seems to find gardening quite hard on the muscles.  So I just stick in the dibber remove the soil and pop in the plants. Then, if I have some spare compost I will mulch.

The dibber!



I've planted the tomatoes into their containers for the greenhouse and they are sitting in the trays with the automatic watering system set up. 


I've planted out a lot, most have been hardened off in the new cold frame for a few days. I'm never organised enough to leave them longer and anyway the soft soil dictated when was the time for planting.

Leeks


Tomatoes


Beetroot and kohlrabi


Climbing beans


Peas


I've planted the peas where the carrots were sown which didn't germinate. I still struggle to be successful at carrot sowing, I think I sow when the ground is too dry and cold. Perhaps I need to wait until mid to late May. Or just not bother.

The wet weather has brought on the potatoes


and the broad beans


The fruit is coming along nicely except for the greengages. The pigeons have had them (again). Any ideas how to keep them off?  But there are a good number of pears which is an improvement on last year when they all got blown off.


A new coldframe

A shiny new cold frame arrived. It didn't take too long to assemble. It is kinda urgently needed for the cactus to live in through the summer whilst the greenhouse is occupied with tomatoes and cucumbers.


Mouse attack and seedlings emerge

May already!  I've got a mouse in the greenhouse. I've sown peas twice now and each time there are little holes in the pots the next day. I naively thought the sweetcorn would be immune but I was wrong. Here are the tell tale signs.


But the watering system is working well and the tomatoes look fine.


I've also sown radish


and cucumber and courgettes.


I've spread compost between the veg in an effort to improve the soil and keep it moist.


The blossom is lovely at the moment. The apple has a lovely red hue.



And there's plenty of cherry blossom.