This week I’m off to Magna to make the final preparations for Rothermunch, and to sort out logistics with the team who work behind the scenes to make it possible.  In the garden this week I’m predicting we’re going to see a lot of growth.  The nights are warm, the days are long and the soil is nice and moist, thanks to the rain we had last week.

The spinach in the garden just seems to keep on growing, and we’re picking it weekly, but it’s still charging on.  The baby leaves are the best if you are eating raw, but the larger ones are ok for cooking.  Why not try them in a ‘sagg aloo’, a traditional Indian dish with spinach and potatoe.

If you find your veggies are peaking too early, don’t worry, start picking a few leaves off things like spinach, lettuce etc and they will keep on producing.  It’s just as important that they don’t bolt (flower). If they show signs of flowering, nip out the flower stem.

If you are planning on growing pumpkins this year for the autumn term, now is the time to plant them out. It’s so easy, as all you need is a nice little hole, perfect to drop the little plant in without any disturbance.  The only thing to watch out for is to make sure you firm it down well, as you do risk an air pocket under the plants base, which will inhibit the growth due to the lack of connection between the roots and the soil. Water well and there you have it.  Keep it well watered, and mulch it and for the biggest fruit, pinch out all but one of the newly formed pumpkins.

After those rains, lets hope for some sun this week and it may be a flaming June!

Happy gardening