Well, i'm sat here at 4pm when i should be out on the allotment making sure i'm ready for the summer. The only problem i have is the rain, rain and more rain! I've got most of the veg on its way already, the early carrots are springing up, the potatoes are growing faster than the current petrol prices! Sprouting broccolli has just been planted out, as its now about as tall as your hand and looking mighty fine if i do say so myself (it was sown in a couple of old mushroom cartons in my cold frame, and seemed to love it). Butternut squash and globe arichokes seem to have been a winner as well. I've had a go at growing them both from seed and the squash have all sprouted apart from 1 and 5 out of 6 globe artichokes has come up too (currently the size of a garden thistle and ready for the wide world).

I must admit there are a few veg that i don't seem to have got my head round and have had a few problems with, these include parsnips, spinach and red cabbage.

Lets start with the parsnips, yes i know your all shouting at the screan saying how hard they are to grow!!! Well out of a full packet, i don't have 1 that sprouted, they were sown in March and still not up. Now the weeds are taking on the plot i put them in, so what do i do, weed it and maybe loose the parsnips or leave it and have 1 or 2 that grow?? To be honest i think i might dig it over, add a shed load of compost and manure and plant my extra butternut's there, then at least i'll have a hearty winter soup, even if i don't have roast parsnips for winter sunday lunches!!! Next year i think i might try the method that was recommended to me. Stick a long metal pole into the ground and wiggle it around until it forms the shape of a parsnip, or cone or what ever you like to call it, then fill this with compost or grow bag material. Then you sow the seed on the top and cover with compost. Not only is the hole stone free, thus giving you a better shape, but as it is a different colour to the earth around it, it's easier to see if its sprouted and a lot easier to weed around the new baby plant!! Ijust wish he's told me this BEFORE i stuck mine in in March!

Spinach, this seems to have gone the same way as the parsnips, so next year i think i may try starting them off in pots. To be honest i don't really think i'm a fan of this 'sow were it grows' method, i'd much rather stick them in pots and old bottles, then at least you know where and what they are.

My poor poor red cabbages were all gobbled up my those 'pesky wabbits'! I know its my own fault, when i got the plot last year i put a fence around it all, before you ask, yes i did dig it down so they can't burrow under. I got the cabbages growing in the cold frame and they were streets ahead of the other cabbages, so i thought its time to release you into the big wide world. I put them in thier new home and trod them in nice and hard. I gave then a good drenching and then wandered off home with my head in the clouds. That was the problem, i was so happy with the thought of red cabbage (pickled, steamed and stewed) that i forgot to close the gate!!! The next morning i mozzied on down to the allotment and was shocked to find all the red cabbages missing, well the bare stalk was there sticking out the ground like a twig. Then as i was staring with dismay, there just behind the potoato plant sat a very guilty looking rabbit!! Needless to say, he ran off with a few handfuls of soil flying after him along with a few choice words which i'm sure the old dear next door (potting up some flowers) was not too happy with! Er-go, the wabbits had a small feast and I learned my lesson, never EVER leave the gate open!

Now thinking about it, i still have a few things to do tomorrow, or when ever the weather brightens up a bit. Don't get me wrong, i'm not one of there 'fair weather' gardeners, i just don't want to be trudging around in the mud as i still need some old carpet to put down on my path ways.

I guess all's not wasted today as I have sown 8 or so patty pans which i bought the other day, if these little suckers grow i can guarentee that my family and friends will be sick to death of the UFO courgettes!! Well maybe not my 10 year old cousin who will find them amazing along with the blue pumpkins i've got on the go too.

Right, since i've chewed your ear off for a while, i think i'll go make a brew. Happy planting guys, and i'll keep you up to date on my allotment as it progress's, might even take a few snaps if i can add them to the blog.

Keep it Hot, Chilli-Head!!!