Sunburn in March???

It's been unseasonably warm here this week.  So warm that my arms got sunburn today.  I'm going to take a wild guess and say that I'm pretty sure it won't last.  I'm keeping a daily watch on my neighbour's beans which have been planted out already and wrapped in clear plastic.  It's their second year and maybe they know something I don't but I'm sure it's way too early.

I've not been able to get down to the lottie since Friday and boy have I missed it in this lovely weather.  Luckily for me, Mr Lottie has been keen to go down by himself.  While I was absent he has finished planting the onion sets and the shallots (Red Sun) and dug over some of the ground.  As usual, the rabbits have been feasting on the onion leaves.  I guess that's part of the problem with having scrubland across from us.

I'm still waiting for the potatoes to arrive in the post so today I carried on working the flower and fruit area.  I was so surprised when I started to dig the ground over.  It has been a nightmare to dig for the last two years and this year we can really tell the difference.  Covering the ground with manure at the tail end of last year has helped keep the weeds at bay as well so it was one of my easier digging/clearing days.

This year I'm sticking to the strange 'must plant things in a straight line' rule, even though it seems completely wrong to plant flowers in lines.  I'm even planting the flowers by height, another strange un-natural idea.  The Helichrysums have been planted and if they come to nothing, there's plenty of time to start again.  I've also measured out the row spacings and marked them off, top and bottom, ready for the string.

The first row of boltardy beetroot has been sown today as well in the newly weeded area behind the shed.  We're planning on growing a screen of sweet peas along the fence and using this as a shady area where we can sit down and chill out on a sunny afternoon.  I've promised Mr Lottie that this year is going to be much easier than the last 2. I almost believe that it's true.

Beetroot

We both spent a good few hours down there today and between us we got a fair bit of land cleared.  I'm still waiting for the frame for the chicken coop to be built but Mr Lottie has dug the last spike into the ground ready for some wood that we've been offered.  Mr W (another of my knowledgeable elderly friends) has been unable to find any Maran pullets from his usual breeders but is going to an agriculture show in a couple of weeks, so fingers crossed for then.

I'll finish with a few random pictures I took today.

The purple sprouting broccoli I almost gave up on.

Rhubarb

 View from the shed

A mystery plant.  I hope I'm not nurturing some evil invasive weed.

Happy sowing

Lottie Lover