To beet the band

It was a sun-saturated weekend where the spinach, beetroot and rhubarb took pride of place. 

First up was beetroot. There's nothing like homemade boiled up beetroot with ham and mash, yum and did you know it can also be used for making wine, pasta and crisps, now that is good credentials. 

I set aside a bed with no manure dug in a few weeks back as it can cause roots to rot in some vegetables, beetroot being an example. 

Beetroot should not be sowed until the last frost and the sunshine over the last couple of days was ideal. I sowed three rows, one inch deep and three inches apart. The soil needs to remain damp until the seeds have germinated, in fact it could be fatal. It being Ireland they should be well watered alright!

Next up was Popeye's favourite. I started the spinach seeds indoors a few weeks back and they germinated quickly, not a bother at all. I transplanted them out last Saturday in three rows about six inches apart. I'm told as the weather warms, the spinach plants will bolt more quickly and I've been warned then need to be water regularly. 

Then it was rhubarb's turn. Jenny Young supplied the organic crowns/buds from here garden here in Castlefarm. To support quick spring growth, soil high in organic matter is vital and the well-rotten manure at Castlefarm is the best organic fertiliser going and we were sure to work plenty of this in weeks ago. 

Before planting I dug a hole a little bit wider than the crow, the depth was where the top of the plant was just below the soil surface and I spaced each about 10 inches apart. 

What I am unsure of, is rhubarb a fruit, vegetable or plant? An ornamental plant where the veg is prepared and eaten like fruit perhaps, it's still delicious not matter the title!

WIPEOUT

It was a bleak time in Narraghmore this morning, the transplanted beans (broadbeans, French beans, runner beans) were wiped out; swept away to Carlow in fact. My first allotment casualty. After weeks of caring, watering and talking to the bloody beans, they did not survive the transplantation or the Athy wind. All that is left is canes and string. It's tough but I'm not going to give up. I've planted bean seedlings that were left over, here's hoping for second time lucky. 

Full of beans

Next up was the broadbeans and French beans. The beds had been well-manured and tilled the weeks previously so the soil was prepared. And like the runner beans I had sowed some in seed trays weeks previously. 

So another array of wigwams quickly went up (I was fast becoming an expert!) and again I sowed some seeds alongside the constructions. 

Harvesting of all the beans will take place in about two/three months, ideally when the pods are about half and inch in diameter. However, I fear the wigwams may not stand the test of our Irish weather. Indeed I will keep you posted.

Cane and able

"Have you got your runner beans in yet," asked the lady in my local shop as I bought the papers. "I've no plans to do a runner, as today is the day," I grinned. (I know a terrible pun but I couldn't help myself). She then gave loads of advice on the bean machine of wigwams and manure, and tips on growing French beans, runner beans and broadbeans. A five-minute walk ended up a 30-minute class! So despite the rain, hailstones and the cutting wind, I was now full of renewed enthusiasm and ventured out to Narraghmore with my bamboo shoots and spade in hand. 

Doing a runner:

I had given the runner beans a head start by sowing them in seed trays weeks previously. They  grow to about six feet high and, like us all, definitely need support. The wigwam is the most preferred option I'm told. So the caning began in earnest. 

My hands turned purple with the cold as I knotted the twine around four to five bamboo canes. I transplanted the runner beans at the foot of the canes and sowed more seeds directly below. 

I also twisted some twine around the canes, which will give the growing plants more to grad hold of. Other methods are to erect a criss-cross of canes, which looked complicated, but I tried a variation anyway! 

Little Green Fingers Help Out!

Birds and vampires

Next up were the onions and shallots. We got the sets a few weeks ago, again from Fruit Hill Farms. Sets are miniature bulbs, which means they get off to a fast start having more stored energy that a seed to work with. Sets are planted flat end down so that the tip is just above soil level. 

A great tip I got was to nip the tops off to stop the birds thinking they are worms and pulling them out. 

And to keep the vampires away, two rows of garlic went in too. I broke the bulbs apart into cloves, 'cracking' is the official term, and planted them a good two inches below the surface with the top pointed up. 

On the agenda next week is wigwams and bamboo creations so the beans can runaway with themselves!

Hot potatoes

The planting began in earnest this week. Top of the list was the potato sets, 'blight resistant' sarpo mira from Fruit Hill Farms. I had them 'chitting' in egg cartons for a number of weeks. Some sprouted well, some not at all. Anyway, in they went. I dug holes six inches deep; placed the seed potatoes in; piled in the manure; and covered with soil. Voila. I lost count how many I planted, roughly 24 in total. 

Tilling to the bitter end

The spring sunshine marked a brilliant productive week, not only for the allotment but also for my suntan. There was lots of sunshine, lots of tilling and lots of planting. 

The tilling was endless. We tilled to the bitter end to get our soil like powder. This clearing the ground has been ongoing for weeks and it's not joke. It's strenuous work, but we got there in the end, with a couple of casualties, blisters on my hands and the raised beds are no longer straight. A little bit crooked in some places, a bit like a winding staircase, but I'm told vegetables can grow in any nook and canny. 

Then I hear about a battery-operated rotavator doing the rounds at the allotment. It's possibly the "best invention ever" my neighbour tells me. I don't doubt it. I've seen it's success on other plots and whoever invented such a thing is a genius. So tip of the year, hire a rotavator, it will save you weeks of backache and pain. Too late for us, but it's already on my Christmas wish list.