Best of a Bad Lot

​Thursday 13th April
Setting out late from home and in a rush I forgot the most important items. Both my seed potatoes, well chitted, and my last sowing of broad beans, hardened off in their paper pots, were at home instead of in my car! Without the materials for my main tasks I was at a bit of a loss at first until I realised there was quite a bit of preparation I could do for when I did remember everything.
I realised that the groundsel had grown everywhere I hadn't weeded and was starting to flower. Once groundsel flowers it will continue to the seed-head stage even when pulled up, so I went round uprooting every mature plant I could find. This collection of flowers was just one plant!

Then I got on with the main tasks.
First I removed the twigs that used to support the over-wintering peas that have gradually disappeared since the New Year and the turned over the strip after scattering some chicken manure fertiliser along the row. Everything ready for the broad beans.
Then I dug a large part of the patch where I will plant my potatoes. I will have to get some help to move the brassica cage over very soon. The soil was rock hard after a whole season left untouched for the brassicas especially where I had walked between the plants. However the horse litter mulch seems to have worked as there are lots of worms in the soil.
I was looking at the cluster of three asparagus shoots wondering when to harvest them and when the other plants were going to emerge, when I realised I could use the edge of the raised bed as a seed bed where I could sow the late harvesting leek seeds (Unwin's Winter Giant 2 {vernal }) I had just bought in Stewart's. The home made compost mulch I had used on the bed made a very crumbly rich soil to produce a seedbed. Most of my leeks will be from the plants I buy from the Trading Hut (Musselburgh). This reliable variety gives a crop over a long season but the late season ones will continue through April and into May.

I then turned my attention to the thistles growing in amongst my strawberries. I know from experience that the roots go way down and usually this is one time I use systemic weedkiller. However, it is almost impossible to do this amongst the plants. Instead I pushed my fork as deep as I could alongside the thistles and between the strawberry plants. Levering gently I was able to uproot  the thistles. Even though I pulled 15" roots from the ground, the ends were still deeper.
The good news is that, now my new neighbour is clearing the weeds from his side of the fence, there is a good chance that between us we will be able to defeat the infestation.

Finally I watered all the seeds before going home rather late as I had spent much time talking with my neighbour returning after a year of medical issues but raring to go. Fortunately his other neighbour, with a little help from me and others, has kept his plot almost completely free of weeds so he will be able to catch up. Of course we all benefit from his plot being kept clean as well!

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