Despite the soil being very dry on the allotment I have managed to sow peas and lettuce seed today. The weather is supposed to be turning unfavourable at the week-end so the beginning of next week may be my next chance to sow further seed.The lettuce I have sown this time is of the cut and grow again type. I sow that by sprinkling the seed in the seed bed and then covering it over to the required depth.
Earlier this month I sowed this type of lettuce seed - sometimes known as salad bowl type in pots in the garden for lettuce picking on my doorstep. The rows of lettuce that will take longer to mature and that will be left to 'heart up' I have sown in rows to make weeding around them easier.
Much of todays time at the allotmant was spent using the hoe on the weeds that have sprung up around the onions and garlic as well as between the fruit bushes.
My first signs of the potatoes starting to grow were there today - the dark green leaves had started to push through the surface of the soil in a couple of places I earthed them up in case of a late frost. Earthing up is when you mound soil around the potato to protect it either from light or frost. I find it t is often easier to use a hand held hoe to earth up the potatoes when they are at this early stage and this might also be the case with onions when weeding around them.
