Potatoes are here.

I had got an email this week saying that the potato orders had arrived and ready for collection. Rocket are my first early's and Maris Piper are my main crop. I've always had problems with bug damaged potatoes and both Girl on the plot and Margaret suggested I should grow them in bags. So, contrary to what many people think, I do listen, it's just that I don't always act on advice given. But I digress, I found these bags for sale at the nursery I always go to and quite suitable they are too with a picture of potatoes on the side. Even I couldn't mistake what should be growing in them. I know I did buy more than three, but if you'd seen the mess that is my car boot, you'd understand.

With potatoes collected and knowing that I only had a few hours before it rained, I continued with the flower bed for my daughter. This is how I left it two weeks ago. Flowers really aren't my thing, but I do like snowdrops. It's not the best picture, but there are a few snowdrops growing that weren't there a fews weeks ago. These I lifted out and put to one side. Below is now how I've left the flower bed. Not quite finished, but well on it's way. I did get a wheelbarrow full of roots in various forms. I'm not sure if what I've removed had been planted by previous tenants or are weeds, but they were spreading like weeds, so for me that was good enough reason to remove them. With a bit of luck from the weather, I should have it finished soon. 

It wasn't until I got back and made myself a cup of each that I realised how cold it was out there, so it was just as well that I stopped when the rain turned a bit icy. So my potatoes are now chitting and there seems to be two camps on this subject, those that chit and those that don't. I like to think I have a foot in each camp. I'll chit until I get too impatient and then plant them out. To be honest, I'm not sure what the right amount of chit should be. Either way, they've always been bug damaged.

The reason I chose the flat I'm living in now is because of the three window sills it has and the fact that they face the sun from when the it comes up in the morning till it goes down at night. In the first window will I have, from top to bottom, lemon cucumber, sweet peppers, aubergine, basil and tomatoes. Apart from the lemon cucumber, these are some of the plants for Garden Connect. After last years fiasco with the lemon cucumber, I wanted to prove to myself that I could grow them. I'd like to see the bastard slugs get to them now. 

Window sill two has pimientos de Padrón. I'm growing these together with Suffikboi, Sally Harvey, Michelle Stacey and Liam Stanborough. The seeds do take time to germinate, but they do. A few of them are doing OK, but it's early days yet. 

The last widow sill is looking a bit busy. The bottom left is full of lemon cucumber and bottom right is full of more pimientos de Padrón. The top tray has two types of tomatoes, plum and Tomkin's, okra, kohl rabi and cayenne peppers. Again most if what's sown in this tray is for Garden Connect. The cayenne peppers I'm growing for my chilli jam. 

I had a bit of misfortune this week, I had my bike pinched. So when I opened this packet of seeds and two sachets fell out, it felt like life wasn't all that bad. I know one packet of seeds won't replace the bike, in any way whatsoever, but it's nice to know that some things go my way. Till next time and thanks for reading.