Planting

 I finally got my arse in to gear this morning, and got the beans planted.  

I can now report that we have eighteen runner plants and about a dozen French Beans in the veg patch.  The runners are Lady Di. A variety that we have grown successfully for the past couple of years.  The French beans are a variety that produces a purple pod.* 30% suggested this, as she feels they will be far easier to spot amongst the foliage when harvesting.

The bean planting took up most of the morning, and the afternoon saw the obligatory post-prandial nap.

On waking, I returned to the vegetable patch and decided to get a row of parsnips** planted.  I have never grown them before, and have some doubts about how they will perform in our clay soil.  However,  nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I carefully sowed a row of seeds, watered them in, and covered them with a row of cloches.***

Apparently parsnips like a warm, moist , stone free soil, and can take up to two months to germinate.  Warm and moist is not a problem, but the way weeds grow in the garden, how the hell will I spot the seedlings?

So that's the gardening news. I also have to report that 30% has been in communication with a young lady from Wales, who owns one of Hobson's litter mates.  Apparently the young lad needs to be re-homed, and it looks like we will be going down to see him on Monday!

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* Apparently they turn green when they are cooked.

** Variety: Tender and True

*** We bought about twenty of these from a Market Gardener over in Bretforton a couple of years ago.  They are no longer used in the Market Gardens, having been made obsolete by modern horticultural fleece materials. They are perfect for our vegetable garden but quite frightening to assemble.  They comprise four panes of 3mm glass, three wire clips and a single heavy duty wire support.  Putting them together involves juggling the glass, support and clips, whilst avoiding slitting your wrists on the sharp edges. If you get it right they suddenly become a rigid structure as the last clip is pushed in to place.  If you get it wrong, you could bleed out!