Vivi's Kitchen Garden

Hurrah for the mad month of May. This is one of the busiest months in the garden for me……..the month when the majority of my seeding happens, plants go into the ground, structures go up……this is the month when the garden really gets set up for the rest of the year. Here’s how it’s looking at the start of the madness.

It’s a wonderful moment each year when the first plants go into the ground! Today I’m planting and sowing peas……which means the first sticks or poles are also going into the ground. Hurrah! I also check to see how my experiment is going with the plank topped carrot bed……

A little one off video as part of a larger collaboration to celebrate the RHS National Gardening Week 2019. In which I chat about all things ‘grow-your-own’.

Today as I sit down to reflect on the last month I realise it’s actually a bit bigger than just the last month……I’ve been at this lark, this living without a wage thing for a full two years now……I could never have predicted this! It has been a time full of joy and some moments of doubt and fear…..it has been the biggest challenge of my life…..yet also, in some ways, the easiest thing ever……and now I start to look forward and imagine the next few years…..

Seed sowing continues (it seems relentless at this time of year!)….today it’s the Flint Corn and Coco de Paimpol. I check to see how the seeds in the coldframe are coming along and I’m a bit worried……but elsewhere there are lovely signs of life and new growth.

During a quiet morning I get on with some more little jobs including tying up the broad beans and hunting for the first pods appearing…..and then a lovely visit from some old friends.

The bees are super busy around the bee/insect hotels and I have a question for you about them. It was a scorcher of a day but it didn’t stop the community from coming together and working hard to look after our site. It was a wonderful day full of smiles, friendship, cake……and a few drops of sweat!

On the hottest day in a very long time I make a start on the ‘cathedral’ bed. Did my experiment of covering the beds with leaves, compost and cardboard over winter help with the state of my soil?

The big job of opening up the remaining beds and getting structures built looms…….so today, in a quiet mood, I get on with all sorts of outstanding little jobs and make the most of the peace in the garden with just the birdsong for company.

The last of my indoor sowings are getting underway – all the squash family……and I’m on the cusp of potting on the seeds I started a few weeks ago but they seem sluggish. At least the geranium cuttings are ready to plant.