It's such a beautiful morning, there's no time to start blogging.  Into the garden!

Well, it's after 5pm now and still as lovely.  We've come in because we're going out - if you get my meaning.

More carrots, Nantes 2, sown in the big tunnel, then up to the soft fruit to clean around the gooseberries.  Two old bushes had died, so they were dispatched to the incinerator, but the rest were relieved of their couch grass neighbours.  We'd laid landscape fabric to make a weed-free path between plants some years ago.  Weed-free my elbow!  Still, the mat of couch grass was easily rolled back with a Chillington Trenching hoe.

After lunch, we lit the incinerator (is it really illegal?) and got rid of soft fruit clippings.  The ash will come in handy somewhere to add potash to soil where it's needed in the future.

As we go in and out of the potting tunnel, we have to be wary of upsetting the early Honesty plant that is already in flower behind the door.  This came from a seed that dropped onto the floor and got lost last year.  The others never did germinate.

Early Honesty

As is increasingly usual these days, we were woken by one of our aged cats this morning.  His behaviour is excusable due to his age, but five-thirty?

After a resumed sleep, the day seemed sunny, so we got up and had breakfast.  A morning of fruity activity followed by root things.

Before we made it out the door, the showers began.  Some of them heavy.  As we worked away in the potting-tunnel, the rain beat down on the plastic skin.  We felt sorry for those participating in St Patrick's Day parades.

We prepared some Rootrainers and sowed peas.  Magnum Bonum and Carouby de Mausanne.  Tricia also sowed some La Diva cucumbers.

Between horticultural jobs, I had to do a repair to the van's exhaust.  We need a van, but the present Nissan is on its last legs.  If anyone knows of a VW Transporter going cheap..?

Two shots of the lovely flowering currant at the front of our house

After lunch, I went down to the big tunnel to hoe various root seedlings and water the beds.  The idea was to sow more carrots, beetroot and red scallions.  In the end, Detroit Globe and Golden  beetroot were sown and in between them, some clumps of Apache Red scallions.  The carrot bed was raked, de-stoned and watered ready for tomorrow.

Golden Beetroot seeds

The annual Greening of Beagh is further in evidence.  Each time I go down to the big tunnel, I look to see how the vine is progressing.  I gave it a robust pruning this year, perhaps a little later than was advisable.  I have been anxious to see it show proper signs of growth and today was not disappointed.

There's life in the old Burgundy

Captain's Log etc...

Fruit day today.  While I was off on a mission to secure a fresh stock of compost, herself and a willing helper cleaned round the soft fruit bushes and gave them a necessary pruning.

Once they were exposed to the light of day, it was clear how successful a previous mulching had been.  We'd laid down cardboard and put old thatch on top.  Some perennial weeds had perforated this barrier, but after a couple of years, their foothold was minimal where it mattered although round the edges of the soft fruit area they'd been more successful.

Cleaned-up around the soft fruit

Incidentally, we use certified organic compost from a German company.  We usually buy a mix that contains  green peat.  As I understand it, this is not sphagnum moss peat, but a clever substitute not from sensitive bogs.  It's available in both potting and a finer seeding versions.  This year, we're also trying their peat-free mix.  We'll report on our findings.

Down in the big tunnel things are stirring.  I was delighted to see the first sprouts from the Red Duke of Yorks have poked up from the bed.  Wakey wakey!

There is also a great deal of Red Orache it self-seeds and is a minor nuisance, but it's quite nice to add to a salad when the leaves are young.  I'll re-pot some and hoe the rest in.

Red Duke of York - First Early

We went away for the weekend.  We don't manage to do this very often, but as the season is in its infancy and we had a house-sitter, we took off.

Monday afternoon when we got back saw us making inspection of the tunnels.  There was some damage to a few of the chilli seedlings in the small tunnel.  I suspect little slugs had been nibbling, but I am prepared to blame any small creature.  It's too early for earwigs - and I know they do a bit of damage - but I am not convinced woodlice are free from guilt.

For the most part, everything was fine and I noted that it wouldn't be long before chillies would require potting-on.

One thing I did notice was that the large, Irish Prean peas had started to germinate.  They've been pushed to the surface of their Rootrainers.

Irish Preans

'Tis late, but rather than shuffle off to bed with nothing recorded, I'll put a few words down.

My back was put out a little on Monday.  I suspect I twisted the wrong way while tackling the fallen tree at the front of the house.  I woke up today with a distinct twinge.  A stretch after breakfast helped enormously.  Click, click, click.

We have had fruit days  for the last couple of days.

Today, we sowed lots of Broad Beans: Red Epicure, Crimson Flowered, Bowland's Beauty, Bristow Red & Jonah's

We sow into Rootrainers, as we've found they're just the right thing.

Red Epicure & Violetta Broad Beans

Approximately 440 Broad Beans sown

Earlier in the day our local fruit expert came round and pruned our apple trees.  There was a bit of canker on James Grieve, so it was cut back severely.  Most others weren't faring so badly, so it was enough to open them up.  He gives them shape.

I was woken by the cats at 6.30 this morning.  They wanted to come indoors because it was cold and they were hungry.  I let them in, fed them and went back to bed until 8.00.

I got up and had the first part of breakfast.  What a beautiful morning!  Sunny, frosty, crisp.

After the promised pancakes and coffee, we went out to the tunnels to do flower things.  Well, Tricia did flower things while I removed one of the tunnel doors, straightened it up, reversed it and reinstated it.

Down in the big tunnel, I was glad to see the garlic we'd brought back from Santiago de Compostela in September had begun to show above the soil.  That's two weeks since I planted it.

After lunch, did a bit of pruning.  Our road-side roses, old fashioned, pink and highly scented, but short-lived blooms, needed a short back and sides.  I arched the long ones over to promote more blossom.  Who wants vertical roses anyway?

Up and away relatively early this morning.  We went to Angela Jupe's place - Belleview Garden at Shinrone, near Roscrea.  On the way, we called in to Polydome, Crinkill, Birr to buy some replacement doors for our ageing tunnels.

It was mostly a fine spring day, but there was some rain and a shower or two of hail.  the plant fair had enough to tempt the punters and the walled garden provided added distraction.  On the down side, the rain gave rise to difficulties leaving the field by car, or in our case, van.  Rear-wheel drive no good when the grass is wet.  The two stewards helped us get out, but I know some of those to leave after us will have had problems.

Folly summerhouse in Belleville.

Most likely Magnolia buds

9 am and sun streaming in through the blinds.  Breakfast nearing completion with coffee.

It's still a root day until 1pm, so I'll go out to the big tunnel to sow more carrots.  We're sowing them indoors to offset the danger of carrot fly.  Outdoor carrots can be effectively protected by surrounding the carrot bed with a barrier such a plastic curtain or fine mesh to a height of 3 feet.  Carrot fly don't fly higher.  The other thing to do is remember to remove any carroty detritus when you're thinning because it's the carrot smell that brings the beasties to investigate.

Today might be the day to do something with those fartichokes.  I'll go into the old hen run where they grow and make a few exploratory digs.

Elsewhere, we're removing the old growth from the forest of evening primrose that has colonised our back garden.  The seeds provide tasty snacks for goldfinches in winter, but they cast them all around when they're feeding.  At least the old plants are easily pulled up.

Goldfinch on the evening primrose winter before last.

One of a flock of more than fifty.

In the end, no jerusalems were investigated.  After lunch it was a flower day so accordingly, we attended to flowery things.  Tricia was in the potting tunnel, she can say what she was up to.  I was digging up the aforementioned evening primrose.  The bed they lived in at the back of the house used to be a horseradish bed.  Needless to say, it's still there!  Still, the thongs I dug up will be re-potted for the market.  Always good to have some fresh, strong horseradish about the place for those occasions when the sauce is called for.  If I can find the recipe we use, I'll post it.

I also found a great many vine weevil grubs.  I set them aside for Robin, who was notable by his absence while I was digging.