Spring is definitely sprung

So the Met Office, Government, and Water Companies announce that most of England is in drought conditions and many of the water companies announce water restrictions.

So, of course, the heavens opened and after a very dry, warm March, April is heading to be extremely wet, and a touch on the cool side.

This, while irritating to the Under Gardener, who wants to get out and dig and tidy and get ready for planting, has been quite nice for most of the plants. We have lots and lots of cherry blossom, and a good deal of apple blossom , pear and plum blossom and even some peach blossom (though we will need a warm, sunny summer to get any peaches). The soft fruit isn't in blossom yet, but is certainly coming into leaf.

The asparagus is sprouting through!!!!!!! Won't be long before we can start harvesting it, although we need new crowns for the third bed we are planning to put in. The ones we put in last year didn't take at all, alas.

In the greenhouse, the poor kiwi vine was hit horribly by the late, quite hard frosts and all its leaves have gone crisp ;-(  However, it is now trying to make new ones so I am hopeful it will be OK.  And so far we have three carrot and two tomato seeds that have germinated.  I am really hopeful that more will come along now that the weather is starting properly to warm up. Three carrots and two tomato plants aren't quite the number I was hoping for!

The onions are mostly coming along well, and the two sprouting broccoli plants are producing enough to keep us ticking over.

The Under Gardener has been doing his best on the allotment, given the rainfall we've had in the past couple of weeks.  He has now dug over all 6 of the beds upwards of the greenhouse and is poised, ready to dig the beds below the greenhouse. Then we can get on with planting potatoes. He's been planting peas and broad beans in th beds above the greenhouse, and a bed of first early potatoes in the garden. He's planning to plant some second earlies in the garden then the rest up on the allotment when the beds are ready.

And we really must get on with sowing some seeds in the greenhouse - we've got lots and lots waiting to go!

[Update: The Under Gardener reports that he has dug the first of the veg beds below the greenhouse on the allotment, and planted the new pear tree which he got for his birthday at the bottom of the orchard, near the fence between us and the farm. Grow well, little pear tree :-) ]

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