FROM PLANTING To Plate

As the weather is now warming and the frosts are becoming less of a threat, we are now entering the busiest time of year. Our greenhouses are now filled with seedlings ready to be planted out. Ground preparation is now complete with added compost to give the plants a good healthy start. We have built the protective tunnels for the brassicas to keep away the pests (Caterpillars munched away on most of my brassicas last year so lesson learnt). The Kitchen Garden is now looking ready for the year ahead.

Onions and garlic have had a head start, and looking healthy so will be ready for the kitchen from the end of June. My peas were planted out mid-April and had a hard time with cold winds but are recovering well and I am confident we will get a good crop. Broccoli, cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohl rabi and spinach are all planted out now and looking promising. Lettuce is ready to have the outer leaves removed for the mixed salad bowls.

Over the next week I will be planting out my courgette which have grown from seed in the greenhouse in only 3 weeks and ready to be planted out. Squash and pumpkin will soon follow. The climbing beans are being grown from seed in the greenhouse and I sowed these on the 5th May, people can plant them too early, they do need heat to germinate. The rhubarb this year has matured well and will continue to provide edible stems.

New for this year I am planting up a cut flower bed, all the seeds have been sown in the green house, we can then supply the hotel rooms with fresh flowers through the summer. There will also be home grown flowers planted around the garden to encourage our bees to come and gather pollen for our honey. Tomatoes and cucumber are all growing well, still in the greenhouse where I will grow some onto fruit but some will be planted out towards the end of May. The maintenance of the garden at this time of year is essential and will continue, mowing, weeding, and watering. I look forward to you visiting the Kitchen Graden.