Very slow start

12th June 2010. Well, thanks to Miek and Puk I've now got my bean poles up. It's been such a slow start this year. We've just had the coldest May in almost 20 years! The ground has taken so long to warm up after the cold long winter. A lucky thing that we're not dependent on the vegetable plot or we'd have starved to death by now.
My fence posts are lying around waiting for assistance (from Miek and Puk) to hammer them in.
This time last year I was already harvesting sugar snaps and mini cucumbers, but no such luck this year!
I haven't even picked rhubarb yet. There's been plenty of parsley, both curly and flat leaved (it's now gone to seed of course). Somehow it managed to survive the cold winter and being covered in snow for a month.
The broccoli I had in the greenhouse did really well. Have had probably the last picking the week before last.
The Romaine lettuces I had in the greenhouse have been amazing as an early crop and are still going strong, also the pot of mixed leaves. I've also picked outside lettuce, and have masses of wild rocket which has seeded itself everywhere. In fact that's about the only thing that hasn't objected to the cold spring.
It's all quite depressing really. Some of my broad beans (both red flowered and white flowered) are flowering at last, though all the plants are still miniscule. No sign of beans forming yet.
They've been badly eaten by weevils, which eat the flowers as well. I've tried spraying with garlic water, but it doesn't seem to deter them.
The first lot of sugar snaps that I planted out were completely eaten by slugs. They just disappeared overnight! The next lot are coming on really slowly, as are the asparagus peas, you just don't see anything happening. My peas are growing OK, but no flowers yet.
We have had a first meal of new potatoes, the ones I'd brought on in buckets in the greenhouse - so that was one little achievement.
All the brassicas are growing slowly too: red cabbage, kohl raap, spitskool, cauliflower and broccoli and sprouts. The pak choi is riddled with tiny holes - don't know what it is, but I presume the same beasty that makes lace of the rocket leaves.
Have at least dug over the grass patch next to the path to create a 3 sisters bed. The pumpkins are starting to grow now and the beans are coming through. The sweet corn needs to be planted out there now. I need to pull out all the couch grass that's coming up again.
The green house tomatoes are all doing fine. The Sungolds have got their first flower buds, though the plants are still small. Have also planted out tomatoes in one of the beds and in front of the greenhouse where they should get a bit of protection and warmth from the glass, hopefully.
The pepper plants in the greenhouse hardly seem to be making any progress at all, but I think they're always slow. All my first cucumbers were eaten by slugs. The replacement lot are coming on slowly. I've also got outside cucumbers - round ones and white ones, but they're still tiny. I've also got outside baby melon plants, also courgettes, marrows, bottle gourds and green and yellow pumpkins.
The french beans, purple ones and green ones are planted out, as are runner beans and barlotto beans.
I'm terribly behind with seed planting. Did a whole lot of gutters on Friday evening, so hope everything sprouts quickly.
So lots of weeding and waiting...
My re-planted strawberry bed is looking fine and Miek,Jessica and I have all had a first delicious strawberry.
The garlic has got rust, so needs to be sprayed with aspirin water. All the onions and shallots seem to be doing ok.
Last year's leeks down the sides of the beds are all about to flower, having harvested them all twice, letting them re-grow in between. They'll look really pretty soon.
Well, that's probably enough rambling for the moment.
I've planted flowers down the left boundary edge of the garden. The right side is planted up with raspberries, goosegogs and blackcurrants.
I need a session in the garden with my new camera to record the lack of progress....