The brassicas are now flowering in earnest and going to seed. They will soon have to come out to make way for summer and autumn crops.
Meanwhile the Eleonora broad beans are doing really well. At this relatively early stage we pick the pods while they are still quite small and cook and eat them whole, along with some of the tips from the plants. There has been some blackfly on a few of the plants on the outside of the block but we seem to have got away with a light infestation.
We are still harvesting a few of the sprouting brassicas that haven't yet broken into flower, and there are the overwintered spring onion, onions, Swiss chard and bulb fennel. The last, though, was very close to bolting. Must remember to keep a keener eye on them next year.
Overall, I feel that we are finally using the garden to the full for the whole year: one crop finishes and is replaced with a new sowing or seedlings. Meanwhile the cat guards the strawberry and asparagus beds, with the rhubarb offering her some shade from the midday and afternoon sun!
And talking of new sowings, this is the time of year we start the runner beans. First they are soaked overnight. Then they are placed between wet paper kitchen towel until they start to germinate, when they are transferred into small pots and home made compost. These are harvested from last years plant's and we always have excellent germination rates.
