Fingers crossed no more frosts

19th May. According to local weather records, we should be past the last frost by now so I've been leaving the front open on my growhouse for a week or so. Over the weekend, I planted out my sweetcorn, courgettes and runner beans.

10th June. Well, it's now 3 weeks later and we didn't have any frosts! Of the 18 sweetcorn plants, 2 got a bit eaten (slugs maybe, sparrows more likely) and 1 has completely disappeared. However, I'm pleased to say the others are all doing well. The courgettes are all doing well and have lots of flowers forming. The runner beans are more variable - 1 seems to be a non-starter, while another 2 are romping ahead.

Sweetcorn, just planted out

Sweetcorn, 3 weeks later

Courgettes, just planted out

Courgettes, 3 weeks later

Runner beans, just planted out

Runner beans, 3 weeks later

Sweetcorn

Just planted out Amy's sweetcorn (Sally and friends), along with it's companion planting - her broad bean (sadly, only "Biggy" made it), the single runner bean that grew in a toilet roll tube, and a trio of French beans (nicknamed "The triplets"!) that we bought from the outdoor education table at school. I've also put in a few more runner beans at the base of the sweetcorn, in keeping with the "Three sisters" planting method.

More sowing

Amy finally got to plant her sweetcorn yesterday, along with some dwarf and runner beans.

We sowed 12 seeds, with a view to doing the same again in a few weeks time to spread the cropping time, and used Joe's multi-dibber to make the holes for the sweetcorn to be sown into. 

The remaining seeds have been transferred to Amy's home school-made packet.

The beans have gone into recycled toilet roll tubes, so that we can plant them out later without disturbing their roots.  I filled them with multi-purpose compost and put them in a mushroom tray from the local greengrocers lined with a left over scrap from the weed-proof membrane. This is a bit of an experiment as I haven't tried it before - I hope they hold together long enough, as one of them is already unravelling a bit!