Risky PAM; I completely get the drive to harvest now- it's so exciting. But a grape-sized spuddie will make a 1-flake grated cheddar jacket!

Wait a month- earlies aren't really meant for harvesting until June-July.

That said, we harvested a fine crop of small pots in April 2011. So rules aren't always where it's at! Let me know how it goes, in any case.

Bertie

First earlies are ready on average 10 weeks from sowing  however it's also down to variety and growing conditions. Some first early variety can be ready in 7 or 8 weeks some 12 weeks - problem for me is i haven't a clue what variety in planted 😊🤣

I did give into temptation however and harvest a pot... i got quite a few decent sized spuds certainly enough for two people. I have a couple other pots but I'm going to give them another week or so.

It’s dropping chilly now and the sky is clear.  Beans and courgettes are in their duvets tonight and the tomato basket is in the veranda.   My peas have germinated well and are sprouting happily on the utility room window for now. 

That reminds me of a harvest song line from KS1 assemblies:

'Broad beans are sleeping in a blankety bed. Sssh!'

That brings back wonderful memories and makes me smile, Bert.

Thanks for that. Roger

p.s.

Cauliflowers Fluffy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PukdaXUzgOU

There was a frost this morning as temp went into minus and although the sun came out it stayed chilly.  So I thought the tender plants should have a lay in today.  

In spite of a lot of temporary fleecing several overnight casualties including a well protected particularly tender hydrangea  

I haven’t got any fleece but I do have a lot of bubble wrap, so I’ve used that and it’s given enough protection so far.  I’ve left it on during the last couple of days to protect against the chilly winds as well.

Thanks, that reassuring👍. Frost in mid May isn't something that I usually need to worry about. Looking around, I really don't have anything to cover them with. Hopefully, it will just mean that they'll be ready a bit later than usual. 

Edit: I have covered them with newspapers. Not sure that will do much good. Hopefully, it's better than nothing!

I also think newspaper is a good idea and better than nothing!  Just gut feeling.  Although I’d remove it if it gets damp, as you don’t want it freezing again the following night.  I’m sure that if your spuds are planted deeply enough, or earthed up a little they’ll be OK.  You may be right about them being a bit later harvesting but not as late as re-planting and less wasteful.  Good luck!  Let us know how they get on.  

Got down to -2C here on Monday night but strangely the potatoes seem unscathed. It probably helped that I had earthed up to cover most of the leaves, but even those exposed seem OK.

The two courgettes, despite being covered in bubble-wrap blankets, have head their outer leaves shrivelled by the frost but the growing centres seem all right. And whatever cucurbits I have coming up all over the veg patch, self seeded from the compost, are obviously made of hardier stuff as they have survived uncovered. (They are presumably either pumpkins, from the innards of last year's Halloween pumpkins, or butternut squash!)

Last night only got down to 4C but there could be more frost tonight and tomorrow. Hurry up, warmth!

Thanks, Caz. Having covered them with newspapers last night, the temperature didn't go below 3C! I know that there is still a possibility of frost over the next couple of nights but I would be very surprised if we're hit again here.

@Rob. Hard to understand how yours escaped and mine didn't! Some of mine were reasonably well earther up but got scorched nonetheless. What was strange was that some plants were almost unscathed whereas others got quite badly damaged. 

No bother with frost here with coldest night only dropping to 4C which is very cold for May. I don't think we get frost in May, i certainly can't remember ever having one. 

All my delicate plants have been in cold frames (unheated) and have fared well. Tomatoes thankfully haven't been bothered by the cold nights, i say thankfully because they are all in full flower. Cold affects the pollinating.

Harvested 2 tubs of first earlies so far, with one left to harvest. They are delicious but can't remember the type of potato they are and i wish i had planted more 

Purchased 4 bags of compost. TWO trays of plants, 1 Begonia the other Petunia. Glad to start again.

My runner beans are doing really well with strong growth and my dwarf French beans are OK, though not as strong.  My courgette isn’t growing very quickly though, so I’m keeping it in its bubble wrap duvet for a while.  Tomatoes are going well and chilies are replanted in a pot in the front porch.  I’ve got two trays of pea shoots growing for salads and another to plant out.  

On zoom with my siblings last night, one sister said she’d been sowing sunflower seeds for her grandchildren to have a race.  This somehow turned into a competition between us and she’s delivered them all today, ready sown in pots.  So I’m on a quest to grow the tallest.  Any tips?  

Having lawn woes at the present time!

I wanted one of our lawns re-turfed, but the layydeeee of the house and a local landscaping company thought otherwise and decided we should have it re-seeded instead. Fair enough, but as there has been so much in the way of plantain and daisies, I wasn't sure - however that's what we did.

12 days ago the company came with an industrial lawn spiker - serious bit of kit, but better hired than bought, for the limited use they get - and spent half a day going over the offending lawn and raking up a serious amount of silage. Stage 1 completed.

Stage 2, 1.5 tons of sharp sand carefully raked over the "barren-ish" surface, 15kg lawn seed then applied and covered with a further 1.5 tons of really lovely loam and raked again, followed by a gentle watering.

Stage 3 Day three another good gentle watering. It's looking good but with the threat of an overnight frost we have to be very careful. I'm also fearful of our dog undoing all the neat work that's been completed but the "competent" landscaper makes the grave mistake IMO of saying to the "boss", that shouldn't be a problem until the lawn starts what looks like a good shooting spurt. Pardon me? 

Day 4-6 Too good to be true the landscapers are still on site laying a long awaited "woodland "type walkway, a mix of slate slabs and washed cobbles, so the culprit is banned from the rear garden - hoorah 

Day 7 After a cold start the wind comes up and dries up what used to be our mixed vegetation lawn which now has an expensive investment attached to it,  meanwhile the dog hasn't got a bloody clue and rushes up and down the garden chasing the sodding magpies. I thought it was only cars that did "wheelies"; wrong my f***ing dog's mastered it now!........ And relax.

Day 8 Careful re-raking last night followed by some gentle watering seems to have done the trick and there are in fact a couple of wisps of new growth showing on the lawn transplant. The wind which left the surface like a dust bowl has subsided and after a "few words" today the curfew seems to be holding.

Day 9-10 So, just a couple of violations (what a surprise) - rinse and repeat with gentle raking, gentle watering, gentle cursing.

Day 11 All hope of rationality has gone out of the window. The bloody dog is using the ex-ex lawn as a drag racing circuit which suits the pigeons who are now eating their way through the appealing un-germinated seed that the aforementioned has scuffed up to the surface. A short silence in the house ensues after a half-hearted resumption of dimplomatic relations. Yes I do know she was a rescue and yes I do love her just as much as you do - I happily pay for her food, insurance, vet's bill's etc - I know it's not her fault but she doesn't have to take it out on me does she? I'd like to be a rescue!

Day 12 She's only ventured into the garden once today, because the wife forgot to shut the patio doors (could happen to anyone couldn't it?) It's been raked much better today and more nicely watered,but I'm starting to wonder if there will be more green shoots of recovery in the economy before green shoots in my lawn  

Oh well tomorrow's another day isn't it............

  Oh Llamy!  That was so graphic and made me laugh so much! Some things in life clearly don’t live happily side by side.  

At least your story makes light of our cat finding a new favourite sunbathing spot in the middle of my neatly sown row of beetroot!  Keep us posted!  

The courgettes I planted out a few weeks ago are fairly stunted compared to the ones that have been kept inside at night - the indoor ones are already well in bloom (male flowers only so far though) whereas the outdoor ones only have a few buds showing and most of the larger leaves have shrivelled with the wind and cold. Plenty of strong growth in the middle though and hopefully now it has warmed up they will get going. Tomatoes also planted out now, and I potted up 18 (!) chilli seedlings, after every single one of the "growbar" (seeds in a coconut fibre mat, Christmas stocking present) came up! In fact some of them had two seeds in each hole so there are probably about 25 plants in total. I'll be giving them away to the neighbours I think.

Watching your courgette stories closely over the last few weeks Rob.

We would hate to go a summer without courgettes in the garden.

But the seeds failed so we Amazoned some. sadly, our quarantine procedures meant they had to be stowed left of centre for 24 hours (cardboard). When we opened them they did look droopy!

Luckily a string of warmer nights is forecast and they're all in good pots now, well watered and exposed to dappled sun (don't want to blitz them in recovery). Fingers crossed.

All of my first earlies have been harvested, and of my 8 main crop plants one has a fat flower bud developing.

Mini cucumbers are providing cucumbers on a regular basis now but i must confess it was bought as a graft.

Aubergine is flowering, chillies are flowering, tomatoes are fruiting. Tomatoes & Aubergine are outside now.