All change

Slowly managing to get things done. First lot of sweetcorn is in. Will put the other lot in in mid-June.

Melon seeds are at last in. Might have overdone it a bit on the melons, but some years we have lots, other years not. So at least with lots of plants we should do OK. Must remember to put bits of broken tile under the fruit so that we get to eat them rather than providing a sweet meal for snails and ants. Electrified fencing might also be a good idea to keep the dogs from chomping their way through them...

Peas and now the French beans are showing through. In fact, the peas are doing far better than I expected.

No parsnip seeds germinated as yet... Very warm in the daytime (28 ºC), very cold at night (just about 10 ºC), so I hope they manage to do something.

Toms are starting to grow nicely despite the chilly nights. Peppers a bit slow to get going. Aubergines and courgettes ditto.

Most of the sweet potatoes look to have survived. Tiny new green leaves sprouting on most. So keeping the faith was a good thing to do.

First lot of cabbages and caulis to go in are thriving.

Need to start eating potatoes... No idea how we're going to get through them all.

So why all change? Well, I've had yet another change of mind, as I have decided against using a largish bed made by Mr Snoop as overspill for chickpeas and will put the squash in there instead. There's lots of room round about and they can ramble and wander to their heart's content. The previous prepared squash bed looks to me to be a bit narrow and I'll end up tiptoeing around them, crushing the odd small one and struggling to find the carrots and beetroot and getting frustrated.

So, now I'll have more room for carrots, beetroot and lettuce. I'm aiming for lots of lettuce this year. Not sure what Mr Snoop will make of me keeping them in the fridge overnight. Perhaps I just won't tell him they're there and hope he doesn't spot them.

Harvest so far is very meagre for the effort put in! Started on the lettuce, eaten a fair bit of spinach (but it's showing signs of wanting to bolt now given the high temperatures), peas as garnish in a salad and potatoes.

Two hail storms so far (pea-sized hailstones) so no significant damage.

And I'm doing a fair job on the weeding, though Mr Snoop expects every bed to be totally weed free, which I regard as an absolute impossibility. The onions are starting to get a bit urgent now, I must admit, but everything else is pretty good in my view.