Thursday 16 August 2012

Planting out at the plot (part 1)

It's been nearly a month since I've been over to my plot in my friend's garden, and this morning before work I went over to get my dwarf bean plants into the ground. This was my view upon arrival: 

Almost none of this greenery is intentional...
Quite frankly, a brazen offence to the world of allotmenteering. I would be embarrassed, but there just isn't the time! The only encouragement I can garner from this is that things will grow and grow well if only the slugs and snails gave them a chance!

A reminder of how it used to look (*blush*)
Well, there was no time for a pity party - I had 45 minutes to plant four plants, which was achievable. I'd got prepared - the plants had grown their second sets of leaves, and were starting to produce the stem growth which would wind itself up the canes.

Unfortunately, between getting the plants out of the greenhouse, leaving them out overnight during an unusually windy August evening, transporting them in the car, and then perhaps also being a bit cack-handed (I am left-handed, so that is a true definition!), some of the large primary leaves were either broken or falling off. In fact, in the next picture, you can see one upturned leaf already fallen to the floor... gutted.


Still, pressing on, and with the four plants in the ground, up went the canes. A few minutes later, having seen just how much the gusts of wind were moving the plants, I added some short canes too so that the plants would have something to gain immediate support from.


I'm just hoping now for the plants that have lost some leaves that they will quickly settle in, and given a chance, produce some beans at the end of it.

So, one of those mornings that should be exciting, but just ends up tinged with mild disappointment... if only there was something, anything growing on the plot that would give me some hope...

But wait... is it a bird? Is it a plane? No - it's a radish!:


I'm not sure how this one survived, but survive it did! I've not picked and eaten it yet - I think I'll savour the fact that I've intentionally grown something on the plot just a little bit longer...

In the next part of this thrilling series (ahem), I will be planting out the beetroot and fennel... 

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