Fascist drills cabbages and tyred courgettes

Last April was cold and very wet. We'd just got here and were spending our time trying to organise the cottage, and I was breaking my back breaking new clods in the veggy garden.The April just gone has been stunningly warm(ish) and dry. Our lives have been dominated by goats and kid goats and I've been rushing about trying to do all those spring veggy garden things. So far May looks like it's going to be much cooler and wetter - so I'm pleased I've put so much energy into the garden - even though it's been a bit of a slog doing that and all the other things.

So at the risk of becoming a gardening blog here is a quick update on the latest ventures.

The top piccy shows an old tractor tyre which I've filled with top soil overlaid with compost. I've planted courgettes around the yellow things and hope to get two thriving courgette plants. Ridiculous of course - but I'm hoping that if the summer is warm and dry enough the tyre will keep the soil warm enough for the courgettes. If they can get a hold, courgettes are very productive and the only flaw in the plans is that 'if'.

Also in that piccy is a new bed I opened to get the top soil for the tyre. And in there I've planted fennel. Fennel is an Italian favourite - and therefore obviously suited to the Northern Scottish climate. What am I thinking of? Really! But one day I came home from the garden centre with a packet of fennel seeds so I've got to try them huh?

Under that is a very dull piccy of a brassica patch. Purple sprouting broccoli and erm minicole cabbage and brussels sprouts - I think.....

Then we have the drill. There were two of these old seeds drills kicking around and I've hauled them up into the garden to be used as carrot beds. I've filled them with a sand/compost mix. One is Ailsa's - with rainbow carrots, spring onions and lettuce, and one is mine with Nantes carrots and garlic. If I can keep the beds watered we should get good carrots....as for the garlic - another impulse buy - everyone seems to have planted their garlic over the winter but on the packet it said you could plant them up to May.

And as evidence that humans tend to become more right wing as they grow older, the final piccy shows creeping facist tendencies - I mean planting things in strict rows delineated by string - with the spacing between the rows actually measured! Oh Anarchist streak where art thou? Unfortunately - planting things in strict rows is a whole lot easier to manage and saves a lot of work in the long run. So, from top, left to right, we have leeks, parsnip, lettuce, garlic, pak choi, spinach, chard, parsnips. But the big question is what colour should I choose for my gardening uniform?

Also planted in the tree bed are a load of peas and beans. Highly speculative - but for some reason seeds packets always have hundreds of seeds and I'd rather plant them than save them till next year.

End of gardening blog.