Sowing Sunday Week 6

Don't the weeks go by so fast? I can't believe I'm writing week 6.

My Radishes!

Quite a lot has happened in my garden this week. I've been eating radishes, chilli's and lettuce by the truckload, it's a good thing that they are actually good for you! I have to admit, I still get a thrill plucking a radish from the earth, rinsing it off and popping it in my mouth like a savoury peppery cherry, and comparing it to the white and long varieties I'm growing too. And then to grab salad that's not been washed in chemicals and sat in a bag under flourescent lights for a month... well you can't beat it. I did find out that if you leave radishes out for a day, they shrivel like currents - this only leaves me feeling more smug - look how natural they are, I shouted with glee, pointing happily at my shrivelled salad vegetables. Very satisfying, there's nothing quite like it.

To avoid salad and radish monotonicity, I'm going to come up with a recipe that's a little out of the ordinary this week to keep the fun of picking the salad alive and well (especially since I planted some more lettuce in my guttering and the rain and sun combo means they have started to pop through already!)

Where the radishes have come up, I've been replacing them with more carrots and beetroot.

Sadly, I had my first garden casualty this week. Bye bye cucumber. I was going to take a picture but it felt quite morbid. Perhaps it went outside too early. Perhaps it had too much water. Maybe it didnt like the wind. I don't know, but it's not there any more, but it's in a nicer place now, in the compost bin on it's way to creating a loving home for new seedlings next year.

Very exciting news. I have courgette flowers! Two to be precise but I know there are more to come. I'm hoping they will show their sunny selves by next weekend for a courgette risotto I've seen a recipe for.... watch this space.

Courgette Flower

Runner Beans
(with Broad Beans in the troughs)

In other news, the broad beans from my mystery sprouting box are 6" high, and the runner beans are spiralling 4 foot high reaching for the sun each day. Sadly, one of my dwarf bean seedlings shrivelled, but the other two are going strong. I've only had 2 come up from 10 planted, and I have no idea why - any thoughts, garden fans?

Finally, I had to resort to slug pellets around the bottom of my blueberry bush. They've worked but every time I see those baby blue pellets, I feel a horrible guilt. But I'm sure once I taste my first blueberry that'll all disappear in a flash (fickle, moi?)

Before I sign off, I've been taking pictures of my garden from the same spot each week (the view of the troughs my dad and I built).  Just look how things have changed in 5 weeks!

Week 1

Week 6 - What a difference 5 weeks makes

Until next time....