So far, spring has been beautiful here in the East of England. Temperatures are hitting the mid 20 Degrees Celsius, and we have a right mix of sunny days and rainy nights. My veg plot is starting to really come to life; my potatoes are growing strong, and my peas are reaching up.

I’ve had my first produce from my garden this month. Radishes, sown directly into the soil, have done really well. They grow so quickly I usually have a glut and have to throw some out, but this year I’m sequentially sowing so I have a small batch ready to eat most of the time. As always, homegrown food tastes so much better than anything I buy in the shops. The Radishes didn’t disappoint.
I have had a few problems. My lettuce seed germinated, but the plants looked weak and didn’t give me much hope and, after only a single day of not being watered, they started to dry out. My desperate attempt to resuscitate them over the following days did nothing to aid their recovery and, in the last effort to save them, I transplanted them into the main bed. This was too much for them, and they finally succumbed and died. It was sad to see a whole batch of lettuce fail. I will not be using those seeds again.
Lockdown has been in place for the last 10 weeks and starting to be relaxed. Over the last two month, which is usually the busiest months for sowing, I have had to use old seed stock. All garden centres had closed, and seed suppliers had stopped deliveries. With the easing of the lockdown being relaxed I have ordered some seeds from Sutton Seeds and look forward to sowing them at the weekend. They will be late, but I hope the plants will catch up with all the good weather we are having. With lockdown rules in place, I’ve been able to spend more time in the garden at the weekends. Despite the building work, it is looking reasonably tidy; the rest of the time I have still been going to work. Some days I wish I was in a job where I have to stay at home, but most of the time I am glad for a degree of normality in my life.

With May coming to an end, I’m now looking to June. I hope to sow more seeds and our building work is due to come to an end.