Early May Bank Holiday

A heady 28C and no cloud today, I started up by picking up a tug of grass from my sister, then on to pick up two sacks of sand off Freecycle then down to the allotment to drop it all off. So I fed the Dalek a layer of browns (shredded paper) a Layer of grass and another layer of brown (cut up cardboard) and watered it in as it was placed in layers.

No activator has been used at all this year apart from diluted pee and the levels are dropping faster than I can fill the Dalek up. That may change once my Daughter and Sister-In-Law cut their grass again.

With the charge that was left in the trimmers battery from Sunday I managed to clear the way to the water tank before the battery died and coming home.

   
I cut down square flower buckets and made a couple more Spring Onion trays and used the jig to make holes in the compost for sowing in a grid. I now have one tray of 110 White Lisbon and a tray of 110 Lilia, which is a dual purpose Italian variety with a pungent flavour.

Lilia are best grown as a salad onion with nice, dark green leaves and a shiny, intense red inner core. I may leave a few to grow on as and when they mature, the bulbs shows off its defined red and white inner rings.

Two food containers with damp kitchen roll now have their lids on and are under the stairs in the dark and hopefully the sweetcorn will chit and show within the next few days.

This year I'm giving the Scarlet Emperor a rest in favour of Marshalls Stardust Self-pollinating, white flowering runner beans.

According to the web site Stardust produces masses of self-fertile white flowers on vigorous plants. They set well no matter what the weather to give you deliciously tender, stringless beans that are full of flavour.

This unique variety is the result of an expert cross between a French bean and a runner giving plants a self-pollinating habit meaning they don't rely completely on bees, so you get a consistently reliable crop come rain or shine.