A few seedlings and a bit more sowing

Yesterday was very busy outdoors, and the weather didn't disappoint so I was a very happy gardener. I started off by doing a bit of tidying up and a check on my seedlings; garlic, rocket and brassicas are coming on quite nicely now:

Only two of my herb pots have germinated; coriander and dill:

I can't work out why things are taking so much longer than previous years. I usually have pepper and tomato seedlings by now, but my first sowings have so far yielded 2 gardeners delight, a red cherry and no peppers :-(...

... at least there is still time to sow some more if needed - I'll check if there is any more movement by the weekend and make a decision then.

In terms of new sowings, the greenhouse now contains:

• Peas (Feltham First) x 8
• Peas (Golden Sweet Yellow Mangetout) x 8
• Lettuce (Reine De Glaces) x 3
• Lettuce (Little Gem) x 3
• Lettuce (Lollo Rossa) x 3
• Tomato (Garden Pearl) x 4
• Tomato (Costoluto Fiorentino) x 4

Outside I sowed:

• Leeks (Autumn Mammoth 2 - Snowstar) 1 row in the raised bed
• Mizuna & Mixed Lettuce scattered together in a bulb crate
• Spring Onion (Ishikura) 1 row in a bulb crate
• Spring Onion (White Lisbon) 1 row in a bulb crate
• Pickling Onions (Barletta) 3 rows in a bulb crate
• Pickling Onions (Purplette) 3 rows in a bulb crate

There are a few new things here that I am trying this year; Lollo Rossa is a pretty looking lettuce and Costoluto Fiorentino will be the first beef tomatoes I have grown. Barletta and Purplette are part of my master plan for storing my produce so I am really looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

Whilst my mange tout has always been a great cropper, I have not had success with harvesting regular peas in the past... I either pick them too early when they are very tiny even though the pods look fat, or let them go too long and they turn yellow, maybe I just need to pay a bit more attention to them.

On my way back inside I noticed a bit of green action on the raspberry canes:

Couldn't help but smile at the thought of picking them in the autumn... they are always delicious.