Where everything stands

The peas are swelling fast.

It's time to do a thorough update on the plants I have, the seeds I've yet to sow, and my plans and concerns at the moment. I feel like this is one of the pivots of the year, where a snap decision either way can set the next few months.

First, I bought more seeds. In my defence, they were super-cheap. When my sister visited a couple of weeks ago, we went to a discount book store in town, and they had a bargain bin full of branded seed packets - all the major names. 2 packs for £1. I held back at the time, as I didn't want to stall my sister, and I wasn't in a buying frame of mind. I finally went back a couple of days ago, and I was right to wait - they were now 4 packs for £1. There was a lot of good stuff, including - annoyingly - some I'd ordered from eBay at a much higher price (cavolo nero and Greek oregano for example, neither of which I've yet sown). I settled on 12 packs, which is a lot, but I don't have to grow them all this year. At that price, how could I refuse? Incidentally, the price of the seeds (printed on the backs of the packets) amounts to £21.50 - quite a saving!

I got:

• Carrot 'Amsterdam 3 - Sprint'
• Carrot 'Autumn King 2'
• Lettuce (romaine) 'Pinares'
• Lettuce (iceberg) 'Lakeland'
• Mesclun mixed
• Sage
• Parsley 'Giant of Italy'
• Wallflower 'Aurora'
• Poppy (Icelandic) 'Ballerina Mixed'
• Poppy 'Shirley Single Mixed'
• Nemesia 'Carnival Mixed'
• Ornamental Grass Eragostris spectabilis

The carrots were to replace my current stock of seeds. I've read that carrot seed has a short shelf life, and when I tried the homemade carrot seed mats championed by Annie's Kitchen Garden, not a single one germinated. The two varieties here are small, container-grown and large, maincrop respectively - covering all the bases. I have a lot of random cut-and-come-again salad seeds, but no hearting lettuces - I'd like to give the latter a go. Sage, well, I wouldn't normally grow perennial herbs from seed, but I always fail with shop-bought sage plants, so this might be a way forward - I adore sage. As for parsley, my current herb seeds (like the carrots) didn't yield much this year, so I need to replace them. As for the flowers - well, I love all of these, and there's still just enough time to sow them this year (some, like the wallflower, won't bloom until next year anyway). It occurs to me that the grass (a real random purchase for me) is in the same genus as teff, an Ethiopian grain used to make flatbreads. But I digress...

How are the tomatoes? Mixed, frankly. I gave my mum a selection of plants, but was dismayed to discover I'd run out of a couple of varieties already - 'Snowberry' and 'Sun Belle'. It turned out that I'd given a couple to my friends, and planted some myself, and the remaining plants all died. Well, they aren't quite dead, but all their top growth has withered. It remains to be seen whether they will bounce back - otherwise, I'll take side-shoot cuttings from the survivors. It could be a coincidence, or maybe these varieties simply don't take so kindly to neglect as their brethren.

The top plant, 'Jaune Flammée' is still by far the largest and healthiest-looking.

The flower buds on 'Costoluto Fiorentino' look quite different to the other varieties'.

Several of the 'Gardeners' Delight' plants indoors have started flowering - more through stress than anything else, I think. I've put them outside.

By the end of today, I should have around 25 planted in their final positions, i.e. into half growbags. The first ones to go in seem happy enough, although a lot of wind (the greenhouse, unfinished, offers limited protection) means they still look a little weedy. I intend to have 45-50 plants myself this year, to provide a year's supply of fruit, which was my original goal. At a kilo a plant, minimum, I should be able to manage that - though we'll see how I feel about watering in a couple of months' time. Indoors, there are several dozen plants remaining, though many have suffered from a lack of regular watering, so they may have to be ditched. I've started moving the rest outside regardless of their size and state, simply to give them a chance at getting some rain (there's been plenty of that this month here).

The same can be said for the aubergines. A few have thrived, although they grow achingly slowly compared to their cousins the tomatoes. Some have simply fried on the windowsill. Hopefully I will have a couple of each variety, which was my intention.

Pumpkins and other squash are thriving. Most varieties have germinated, some indoors, some out. The ones on the front windowsill have grown quicker, in the warm, but they are all doing well. I want to keep back two plants of each variety (there are around ten kinds) for myself, and sell the rest. My first melons went very leggy and died, but I sowed a second batch, which I've lost track of (all these cucurbits essentially look alike as seedlings). The cucumbers are everywhere too - just one variety sown so far, 'Armenian yard long' (I have a few of last year's 'Crystal Lemon' seeds left too), but they look happy for now.

The beans are looking great. The first couple of batches of broad beans have flowered for weeks, and now some pods are swelling (though I think the high winds will have drastically reduced the yield). The last batch, of crimson-flowered broad beans, are now healthy seedlings. The French beans are large, and I planted the first few today, one each into medium-sized terracotta pots. I also planted five runner beans, into a huge pot, with a very tall wigwam of reclaimed privet and Buddleia prunings, a good 7 feet tall (I learned my lesson last year - they grow huge!).

Young broad bean pods - I find it funny how they point upwards.

French beans to the left, runners to the right (and a tiny pumpkin 'Marina di Chioggia')

Finally, the less said about my ornamentals the better. I have seriously neglected them - which is a real shame, but I just don't seem to be able to juggle everything at once (I'm basically too lazy). Hopefully I'll have a few Cosmos, sweet peas, and Lobelia, nonetheless.

So it's a mixed bag overall. I have never in all my life been as self-disciplined as I should have been, but in gardening you really see the results: wilting, shrivelled, stunted plants, screaming out how inconsistent you are - you sowed them, labelled them, gave them love, then withdrew it and they died. Maybe the plants that survive are particularly tough as a result, but that's a very charitable interpretation. At least the perennials - in particular soft fruits - are racing ahead, regardless.

There is going to be a glut of raspberries at this rate - the hundreds of flowers are swarming with bumblebees!

Seeing results

The biggest news of the week - the first tomato flower has opened! This is 'Jaune Flammée'. In my defence, tomato flowers are hard to photograph.

The blue geranium that grows in my front garden. It's pretty, but huge and spreading, so I will dig it out. Still, I'll wait till it's finished flowering.

The peas have started flowering, almost behind my back. The first pod is an inch long - progressing fast!

A lot has been happening here recently. I've hosted my parents for a week, which has been much easier than I feared, and the main reason for their visit (my dad's application of electrical knowhow on to the new kitchen) has been fulfilled. More on that in the near future I hope...

The interior end of my greenhouse. On the left: the largest tomato plants in their final positions. To the centre and right: chilli seedlings, many more tomatoes, and a sole pumpkin, braving the grey weather.

Beans! French, runner, broad. Looking good now, especially the runners and French beans, which will need to be potted on soon.

Meanwhile, outdoors, things have continued to grow. May has been wet, blustery, grey and cool, but not cold (no frosts), which has led to the partial wrecking of the new greenhouse. It's probably retarded some of the warmer-climate crops, but the peas, broad beans, and spinach are thriving. We're on the cusp of summer now - peonies and roses are in bud, and tiny green strawberries and raspberries are swelling.

The Housewife's Lament

The folk song 'The Housewife's Lament' could have been written for me! But of course, it's for everyone who has to do their own (or somebody else's) housework. I thought about it again as I inspected the slug and snail damage on my crops, and saw weeds springing up all around the garden. Coming indoors was no better - there always seems to be a sinkful of washing up to do, no matter how much or how often I stand there and scrub. Having to keep up a whole house alone does grind you down. I sometimes think about those men who go from home into a long-term relationship, without living independently in between - their mothers, then their girlfriends or wives do the domestic work for them, so they never know how much of life is drudgery. I'm very lucky to have a house to myself, of course, but I think people who don't live alone often fail to see there's a flipside. If I don't want to clean, nobody will do it for me - the dishes will sit, the rubbish will fester, the dust will stream down. That's the essence of the song, an endless, meaningless, soul-destroying strife with decay.

Anyway...

The heatwaves continue! BBC Weather is fairly unreliable for my location, and I think this is because it's set for the centre of town, which is on the coast. Here, just 1100 metres inland, it's often quite different - warmer, drier, and much less mist and fog. Having two south facing gardens helps (how is that possible? Well, the front of the house faces south, and the back garden slopes upwards, so gets almost as much sun, especially at the top). Having said that, the 5-day forecast looks so good, it's worth sharing (max day/min night temps): 14/9, 17/7, 16/8, 19/10, 22/11. Those are respectable summer temperatures here, where the sea moderates heat and cold alike (I suppose the night-time temperatures will be a little higher in a month's time). So far in April, there's been nothing close to a frost here - last frost dates being very important when growing tender vegetables, as I am. The reason for this is apparent in the pressure and wind stats: high, and blowing gently from the south-east. A couple of weeks ago I read that air was coming up from the Sahara, bringing dust, something which happens a couple of times a year, apparently. Well, I haven't noticed any dust (or particularly colourful sunsets), but the air is warm. Light winds make a big difference, too - especially on the coast.

So, what's happening? Despite the weeds, the garden is a good place to be now. I put pots of tulips around, to bring some colour against the green of nettles, strawberries, shallots and so on. The first variety, 'Candy Prince', bloomed from mid-March - I'd planted them last autumn. The rest I stuffed into pots before I flew to Iceland, early February, but they grew fast, and started colouring as the first pot faded. 'Purissima' were the least exciting variety, so I thought - I bought them for 30p a bag in the local super-discount store because I couldn't pass up such a bargain. Three bags, three pots. They are, in fact, gorgeous - pale cream, yellow inside, glowing things in low light, on cloudy days and at dusk. 'Blue Diamond' are short, double, paeony-like blooms in rich magenta. 'Shirley' are off-white, speckled with pink, especially round the petal edges. I love them, but they aren't fully open yet. Finally, 'Angelique' haven't started blooming yet. I tried to pick varieties that would give a long season - and I'm already determined to have more next year.

The broad beans have started flowering. Turnips, sown nearby, have germinated. I've squeezed Calendula in wherever I could. No sign of life from Jerusalem artichokes, which is worrying. If they don't come up, I'll put something else there. Strawberries are coming into bloom, as are the raspberry canes, the cherries are in full sway, and the grape vines are bursting into leaf. I get the impression everything is early this year - comparing photographs taken now and 12 months ago, the perennials seem a good week ahead in 2011. And of course, I got started on sowing much earlier, too, so the garden by June should be looking great.

And today, the first batch of tomatoes, those chosen few plants I will keep and grow here, have gone outside - to soak up the sun (and free some windowsill space), and acclimatise to outdoors (even though I hope to put them in the new greenhouse). The largest have what I think are tiny, embryonic flowers, which is startling, but I may remove them as some growers recommend, to allow the plants more energy to grow larger. On the other hand, the temptation to get an earlier crop is strong...

The chosen few: about 15 large, strong, healthy tomatoes, soaking up the sun.

The sunny weather priorities: finish the wall against which the new greenhouse is going, build the greenhouse (the polycarbonate 'glazing' panels have been ordered), and tackle those weeds! Oh, and sit in the sun, reading and drinking coffee and wine.

Silly Season

Calendula seedlings, straining to be transplanted from their plugs

April has dawned. If March was busy with sowing, it was a walk in the park compared to the next few weeks.

I started well; my academic work was done on Thursday as planned, and I spent yesterday having lunch, a couple of drinks, then shopping and attending a concert with a friend. It was a great day, completely different to my normal life, which recently has settled down into comfortable cloistered quiet.

Back home now, I have an almost insurmountable number of garden-related tasks to do. All the March sowings (with a couple of notable exceptions, as I mentioned recently), are proper baby plants now, and most will need repotting in the next week or two. Meanwhile, I keep buying more seeds! Some were planned purchases - I didn't see any point in ordering corn, pumpkins, or cucumber seeds until April/May, because I couldn't sow them any earlier. But plenty of others are impulse buys - not outrageously so, in the sense that they don't fit in the with general scheme - but I keep remembering or discovering plants I love, and want to grow. This week, it's basils. I have already sown normal Genovese basil, and some mammoth basil seed my sister gave me (both are now sprouting), but I love every kind, and yesterday three more packs of seeds arrived - 'Dark Opal', cinnamon, and Thai. I don't have a problem getting basil to germinate, and indoors, on the windowsill, they thrive - a tray of plants will give a handful of leaves almost every day for three months or more. But outdoors, it's another matter - they die almost instantly. A huge mollusc population, and less-than-Mediterranean summer temperatures probably don't help. This year, I'll try again - but I expect to have to keep them in the greenhouses at least.

The oldest tomato plants are getting pretty big now

It wouldn't be right to end without mentioning the tomatoes. Every variety has now germinated - the last ones came up overnight - and the population mentioned above has easily met my expectations - a few laggards will probably take it to around 240 in the end. That's not counting the cuttings I'm hoping to take - having read a few months ago that the side shoots will root and produce healthy plants, I knew I'd have to try it. That could foreseeably double my numbers - but I'll only do it on a large scale if I have mass deaths/I sell out all my spare seedlings. Incidentally, I have a huge waiting list of friends and family for free plants now - including the friend I spent yesterday with, who has a greenhouse that's stood empty for years. I had idly considered installing plants there last year - before I built my own - but the distance was prohibitive (it's about 2 miles away - good exercise, but more walking than I'd want to commit to for three or four months), especially for daily watering. But it occurred to me that a self-watering system could be rigged up, and in fact my friend was very positive about it, so she might tend it too - I'd give her half the produce, say. What with all the other greenhouse crops I have - melons, cucumbers, okra, chillies, and more - I need all the space I can get!

Running to keep up

This really is an exciting time of year for a gardener - perhaps, other than the height of the summer's harvest, the most exciting of all. Seeds keep going into trays and pots, on an almost daily basis, and almost as often, last week's show signs of life.

I started repotting my tomatoes today. Although I'm still waiting for the final few varieties to arrive in the post, reminding me that sowing season is still in full swing (the later-sown tomatoes apparently grow faster to catch up with their older siblings), I'm having to separate the largest plants already, which are showing signs of their first true leaves. This is partly my fault - I sowed ten to thirty seeds per pot, because they'd spent a year in a paper envelope and I expected most to be dead. Tomato seeds are famously vigorous, so I needn't have been so liberal - one pot inexplicably houses nearly 40 seedlings (good going from a pack of 30), so the sooner I separate them, the better.

I have taken to putting the date on the labels when I sow, so it hit me that it's nearly three weeks since the first batch went in. Given the wisdom is that they get planted into their final positions after 7-8 weeks, we're already approaching the halfway point. Scary and exciting in equal measure.

Meanwhile, I ought to mention the other things I have on my windowsill. While the tomatoes have taken centre stage in my thoughts (and posts) recently, I haven't forgotten to sow lots of other spring veg. I now have two trays of shallot sets 'Red Baron' bought on impulse in the Wilkinson sale (inspired by Monty Don on the first episode of this year's Gardeners' World), aubergines 'Turkish Orange', 'Rotonda Bianca Sfumata di Rosa' and 'Violetta di Firenze', beetroot 'Boltardy' (just emerged today!) and 'Chioggia', broad beans 'Karmazyn' and 'Red Baron', and okra 'Burgundy'. Outside there are more broad beans, as well as peas 'Serpette Guillotteau' and turnips 'Snowball'. Elsewhere, chillies and the curious South American fruit cocona (Solanum topiro) are keeping me on my toes.

And as for ornamentals (although some are also edible, most have been chosen to complement the vegetable garden), I've got 32 tiny Calendula 'Art Shades Mixed', two trays of ungerminated Musa sikkimensis (the Darjeeling banana, a plant of which I bought last year and have adored for its size, speed of growth and sheer indulgently tropical appearance), just-emerging sweet peas ('America', 'Beaujolais', and 'Senator', all heirlooms), stubbornly dormant Lobelia 'Red Cascade' and nasturtium 'Jewel Mix', and adorably vigorous Cosmos 'Sensation' and 'Daydream', and castor bean 'Impala' (soon to be joined by 'Carmencita Red', 'Carmencita Pink', and 'Zanzibariensis'). Having just sown trays of Delphinium 'Pacific Giant Mixed' and Eschscholzia 'White Linen', my garden sounds more skewed towards flowers than vegetables, but trust me, it's just a little prettification of my plot.

As I say, it's a busy time! I'm amazed I've managed to keep up so far - but it'll take more self-discipline than I normally possess to prevent it all falling apart in a month's time...