When we move we're likely to have a much smaller garden - and no doubt I won't be able to commandeer all of it for vegetables, so 'Timely Tips for Small Garden'found recently in a newspaper,may well be very useful:
1. Grow Potatoes in pots - we're trying that this year - three sacks in the back garden - and will report back.
2. Grow Squash not Pumpkins - or how about courgettes? Perhaps try growing them vertically? Or even remember to only plant the number of plants actually required rather than the whole packet!?
3. Grow vertically using wigwams - Cucumbers,  Beans. Would any other fruit/veg work with this?
4. Buy plug plants if you don’t have a greenhouse - or bring on seeds on a warm windowsill in the house. Again, plug plants are useful to make sure we don't grow too much of anything, it's just so easy to sow the whole of the packet!
5. Build and use a coldframe - yes, and must remember to open it in the daytime to avoid 'damping off'.
6. Use every scrap of soil you have by planting closer than the book suggest (but remember to use a general purpose fertiliser) - make own compost?  Ask local hotels/residential homes for their spare veg peelings?  Buy a wormery?
7. Plant in rows north to south to minimise over-shadowing - good idea, haven't yet tried this.
8. Train fruit onto walls or along wires - espaliers, cordons.
9. Only grow what you like to eat - and things which are expensive for supermarkets to transport, such as raspberries and spinach.
10. Use hanging baskets for plants such as cherry tomatoes - will try other veg/fruit too . . . such as strawberries, lettuce, peppers? Also nasturtiums as they love to trail and the flowers and leaves are yummy.

http://www.mytinyplot.co.uk/

May (May Day (http://projectbritain.com/year/may.htm))

"A swarm of bees in May 

Is worth a load of hay; 

A swarm of bees in June 

Is worth a silver spoon; 

A swarm of bees in July 

Is not worth a fly."

Overwintered Marigolds - - - - -

12 May: We haven't had opportunity to work at the allotment recently.  The month started with bad weather, then when the soil was dry enough we had masses of work to do at the house, getting it ready for viewing by prospective purchasers.  Then I went away visiting for a few days.

baby lettuce plants with onion sets behind

Now I'm back we've just had two busy afternoons at the allotment.  It's amazing how the weeds have grown in our absence - a mixture of plenteous rain and sunshine - just what plants (and weeds) love.

I've spent a lot of time hoeing and weeding, adding the good stuff to the compost heap and putting the 'stroil' aside for drowning and/or burning - and in the process stamped on a legion of snails who've taken up residence in the spinach (see above).

 strawberry flower

 comfrey plants

 potatoes

It's time to sow seeds, in fact rather late for many, but 'better late than never' now the soil's lovely and warm.

This week I've sowed brassicas, tomatoes and aubergines in the greenhouse and will soon plant some peppers.  Earlier sweet corn and cucubits were sown inside, along with beetroot and Swiss chard at the allotment.  The beetroot and chard have yet to show themselves so must remember not to hoe over their areas by mistake.

shallots

Sunday 13 May: More hoeing and forking over. Planted a row of peas - better late than never, so they say.  It's surprising how hard the ground is in some places, even though the soil's pretty moist underneath.
The first broad bean pods are starting to form so have pinched out the succulent broad bean tops. Picked more calabrese, although they are running to flower quicker than we can pick them.  The bees love it.
Monday, 28 May: So long since I've written on here but that doesn't mean nothing's happened.  We've been up weeding and picking.  The spinach has now gone to seed unfortunately, ditto the broccoli which is quite a disappointment as last year we were eating them right through the summer.  I put most of that down to neglect with sorting out the house.
Today I picked broad beans and leeks and made a sort of stir fry with some butternut squash, with couscous and lentils, yum.




The front garden on a sunny day:

I've just returned from a visit to sunny Derbyshire where the temperature was much warmer than a month ago when it snowed, with gale force winds and sleet.

On Sunday afternoon we drove over to Calke Abbey, near Ticknall, for a wander (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey/), rather a special place as the National Trust have left the house much as it was.  It's not pristine and new like many NT properties but shabby and shows how many grand houses declined over the 20th Century.  


However, we didn't go into the house this time - mainly because it was such a nice day and also we hadn't had the foresight to book our time slot.  Here are some of the lovely views:

  see the deer under the trees ...

 beautiful tulips in one of the walled gardens

We also enjoyed seeing the orderly rows of vegetables and herbs and the fruit trees trained in espalier fashion.  The grounds of Calke Abbey are so enormous that, although there were hundreds of people around, we didn't feel hemmed in.  

Calke Abbey grounds was also hosting a craft market but we didn't fancy queueing to get in and the place looked packed - perhaps next time.