the light is different here in the afternoon.

lovely visitors

lots of beautiful visitors this week - we're open for anyone anytime, just let me know if you'd like to come

 

a cammomile and phacelia posy

broad beans

rampant cammomile

baby gooseberries

cherry tomato plants in the greenhouse

peas

phacelia as green manure

 

 

 

purple asparagus

 

barely any rain for weeks now but everything is growing  remarkable well reagrdless, no doubt due to our constant efforts to improve the soil. looking for a place to plant out the goji plants this week, and lots more seed sowing.

first crops

our very first asparagus spear is up, and very cute. not for eating though, this year or maybe even next.

but the rhubard is plentiful and jewel-like and delicious.

starting an asparagus bed

long term project: starting an asparagus bed.

the crowns take, probably 2 years to settle in and then keep going for up to 20 years.

they look like aliens

first you dig a trench into which we added some compost and some rock dust

then you make a ridge along the centre of the trench

then you spread the roots of the alien asparagus crown either side of the ridge, like this:

then you sit back and admire your new asparagus bed, carefully fill the trench back in

add labels

and wait ...

'pond cigars'

the spring sunshine made us very happy on sunday morning, letting us back to play at the allotment after such a long time.

we admired the fragile memories of last year's life, and found plenty of evidence of vigorous new life. 

the goji berry plants have sheltered in the greenhouse over the winter but had lost all of their leaves and i was less than hopeful for their survival, but look !

dried artichoke head

crocus

goji - made it through the winter

another goji made it too

 

and although things may still feel a bit bleak, and look a bit sleepy, spring is there alright, and here we shall encounter all kinds of abundance very soon.

jasmine for yasmin !

catkins

new garlic

 cut back raspberry canes