Beans

It's week 1 of my last term as a teacher (I'll soon be a gardener, yay!) so work's busy again.

I've been going to the allotment every night and I'm struggling a bit to keep on top of the watering as the soil's now *very* dry - definitely no April showers this year!

My bean tunnel has been ready for planting for some time. About 2 weeks ago, I sowed rows of birdsfoot trefoil (a green manure that's good for growing alongside beans) and it's been growing well. Earlier in the week (and given there are now no slugs with the nematodes - I know for sure as I've got 2-leaf sunflower seedlings everywhere, which you'd never get with slugs!!), I sowed a few beans direct so I now need to keep the soil in this area moist until they germinate. The cultivars I'll be growing again this year are: borlotti 'Lingua di Fuoco', French beans 'Blue Lake' and 'Cobra', and a stripey green-purple National Trust heritage cultivar called 'Zebra'.

No rain forecast for another week or so but at least it's cooler and cloudy today so the top layer of soil won't dry out as quickly. I'll give a few beds a good soak tonight.