Saturday was a seed sowing day. I sowed in modules/Rootrainers: Shchavel Sorrel; Belize, Rubens Red Cos and Little Gem lettuces; Chervil; Russian Mammoth Sunflower; White Lisbon Spring Onion; Cauliflowers Violet Queen and All the Year Round; Romanesco and Romanesco Natalino; Cabbages Primo (Golden Acre), Greyhound, Marner Storing Red and Kalibos; Brussels Sprouts Darkmar 2, Bedford Fillbasket and Seven Hills; Waltham Calabrese; Hungry Gap and Ragged Jack heritage Kales; Glaskin’s Perpetual rhubarb; Crystal Lemon cucumber; Albarello di Sarzana courgettes.

OH had finished cutting the hedge down in the allotment. Above is a picture of the hedge taken in November last year. The flowers are nice but the hedge was getting a bit large and providing a dumping ground for rubbish. Below, hedge is gone. We’d like to put a new hedge there with currants - the early flowers attract bumblebees (have spotted mainly the buff-tailed bumblebee around the currants in my garden).

Yesterday, OH decided to mow the lawn I mean, daisy patch. He wanted a Horlicks before he finished the edges. This morning, I discovered he had forgotten to bring the mug in, and I found 2 dead slugs in the dregs. The big jar of Horlicks is empty, except for a teaspoon or so stuck at the bottom - perhaps I’ll put that out as slug bait as well as (or instead of) beer.

It was a nice day on Saturday. All the remaining seed spuds went in: Sante; Early Puritan; Highland Burgundy Red; Picasso; Robinta; Harmony; Record; Pentland Ivory; Pentland Dell; Verity; Pink Fir Apple; Golden Wonder; Kerrs Pink. Sowed Fennel, Ukranian beetroot, Walla Walla onion, Egyptian Turnip Rooted beetroot, and Amsterdam Forcing carrots. No sign of any of the newspaper seed tapes germinating - weather may have been too cold; will give it another chance later this month.

OH was chopping down the hedge (it was a bit wild and out of control). He stopped when he saw a blackbird nest on Friday (there was a chick and egg in it). On Saturday, apart from a partially hatched egg (chick died), the nest was empty. He feels bad about not checking to see if there were any nests…. Overhead, members of the crow family were flying with bits of twig in beak for nest building. OH saw another blackbird taking twigs for nesting in the main hedge down the length of the allotment site, and maybe “our” blackbird has relocated.

Been busy this week with my mother staying with us (she’s gone home now). Sunday was a perfect allotmenting day. Although there was a brief shower and OH locked himself out of the house, a lot was done. 1st and 2nd earlies were planted: 3 Mimi; 3 Accent; 3 Premiere; 3 Ulster Sceptre; 2; 3 Witchill; Winston; 3 Arran Comet; 5 Orla; 3 British Queen; 3 Catriona; 5 Salad Blue; 3 Dunbar Rover; 3 Carlingford; 3 Osprey; 5 Edzell Blue; 5 Shetland Black. OH wants the maincrop spuds planted this weekend. Also planted were 12 Red Sun shallots, 22 Hercules onion sets, 17 Bedfordshire Champion seedlings; 11 Garlic (probably Printanor). OH sowed a load of Witkiem (Manita) broad beans, Leaf Beet, Radish (either Short Top Forcing or Sparkler), Cavalier Peas and Spinach Bordeaux. Also spotted queen White-tailed bumblebee - one at the plot and one in the garden.

OH has been chopping back the hedge as well as digging more of the plot over after work in the evenings - he is doing a sterling job.

I had been out a couple of times in the garden for slug hunting. In one evening, chopped 40 slugs in half.

In the garden, I see gooseberry and blackcurrant flowers open. A couple of redcurrant leaves have red blister already.

This morning’s rain didn’t stop OH planting out his strange tubers down the plot. He planted out the Oca, Ulluco, Yacon and the recently received Chinese Artichokes. I forgot to ask him if there was any more rhubarb for picking. He had covered them earlier this year with large pots to force.

I thought some of my seedlings wanted to be in bigger pots. I potted on various things: tomatoes -  3 Riesetomate, 4 Sugar Italian Plum, 3 Salt Spring Sunrise, 4 Auntie Madge’s, 5 Broad Ripple Yellow Currant; chillis - 3 Triffeti, 3 Albertos Locoto, 4 Friar’s Hat, 3 Cascabella; 6 Cape Gooseberry and 3 Basil Lemon.

Tonight, 12 molluscs lost their battle for life after vicious attacks with a sharp knife. It wasn’t noted whether the slugs were “good” or “bad”. The war has begun. The BBC has an interesting slug article here. There are even a few pictures.