I hope you're all getting excited about the Seedling Sunday event in Durness this sunday, 5th June.
The stall will be there, with some early local produce, along with a wide range of seedling plants.
The cafe will be open, offering a wonderful array of freshly cooked lunches and cakes, tea and coffee.
If anyone has anything for the stall, please contact me (Pete at pj.tuck@btinternet.com).
After our successful Propagation course held earlier this year, we now plan to run a course on propagation by cuttings. This will be on 5th July, in Scourie, but details are yet to be confirmed. Places are limited to between 8 and 16, so book your place early to avoid dissapointment.
After a long warm dry April and early May, most crops are developing well. I have some great broad beans, and peas in the garden, with carrots and parsnips being slow to emerge. On the croft, I have 5 varieties of potatoes emerged from the top of the ridges, awaiting a final earthing up in a couple of weeks. I planted my onion sets and shallots in cell trays, as I didn't have ground prepared in time for an early sowing. I planted these in the croft after a month, with well formed roots and shoots. Instant vegetable plot! Leaves are now 6-9" tall, with some good onions forming. I had 300 onions (340 when planted) plus 6 varieties of shallots (20 or so of each), so should have plenty to store. I plant my carrots with 4 quite close rows (4"), and then a 12" gap. Rows are 12' long and I have 16 rows this year. That should keep us going through the winter. Parsnips I plant 3 seeds every 4-6" with 9" between rows. These are thinned to single plants, and generally produce some nice roots. I am always slow with leeks and brassicas, although my next job is to plant these.
Tomatoes, Tomatillos, Courgettes, Cucumbers and Melons are all planted in the polytunnel, along with some lettuce and pepper, and I have tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse. All are growing well with all the toms and tomatillos in flower. Radishes are growing well in the tunnel, having harvested all the first sowings, and starting on the second.
Late May winds and storms. The strong winds have really scorched my early pea sowings, some yellow podded mange tout, but I'm hoping these will recover. Blackcurrants have been scorched, along with my tree nursery and willow rods planted this year. Although these did protect a crop of lettuce planted between them.
Rhubarb purchased at Seedy Sunday is thriving, and fresh crowns are erupting from them.
I have recently bought some new comfrey plants, and hope these will provide some valuable plant feed once they are established. More on that in a later blog.
Hoping to see you all on Sunday, and that your crops are doing well,
Pete
