Our garden is absolutely in transition between main seasons with brassicas looking lovely in a couple of the beds and then bok choy almost ready to eat and iceberg lettuces pulling away well.

The violas planted in the middle of winter are only just flowering now and the calendula has reached its peak.

Today I planted our tomatoes out with the exception of the black cherry which is still growing on in its pot.

Remember we prepared this bed 3 weeks ago, so today it was just a matter of putting in the stakes and planting out the plants. You don’t have to prepare your bed beforehand, so if you haven’t, check out how we prepared ours.

Into each hole went a small handful of gypsum which is calcium and helps to prevent blossom end rot. Also a small handful of neem granules and this wards off psyllids. I’m not adding any more fertilisers today as there were sufficient in the prep.

The tomatoes chosen this year are 4 ‘Romas’ – positioned at the sunny end of the bed – I found them to be smaller in height than the other tomatoes, so hoping they’ll do better this year with more sun. Then 2 ‘Gardener’s Delight’ cherry tomatoes – last year I felt they took a couple of weeks after initial ripening to get their amazing taste – I was disappointed with the first tomatoes from the plant, but once they had fully ripened I was hooked. Then I’ve put in one ‘Beefsteak’ tomato as there’s nothing like a meaty tomato. Ultimately a black cherry will go in too – they go on for ages and taste great.

Remember to plant your plants deeply. That encourages the development of a good strong root ball which supports a good strong plant and big juicy tomatoes.

The marigolds were ready for planting out, so they’ve gone into the tomato bed too, as companion plants. Basil will go in here too but it’s not quite big enough yet.

All the cavolo nero kale plants are looking great, but white fly is starting to take up residence on the backs of some of the leaves.

It’s a reminder not to plant brassicas in warm temperatures – go with nature and plant what does best in each season. I’ve seen white butterflies flying too, so hopefully the nets over the brassicas will prevent them from laying eggs till we’ve harvested the vegetables!

Planted a tamarillo today too. I’m always accompanied by thrushes and blackbirds in the garden, appreciating the tilled soil to find worms. Plant fruit trees on a mound to help with drainage.

Potatoes have grown like crazy. Let’s hope the same activity is happening beneath the ground as on top. Have had to use straw again to keep them supported.

The comfrey is coming away – too late to put in the planting troughs of the potatoes but I’ll make liquid tea out of it and apply that way. Remember how the addition of comfrey can double your crop of potatoes.

Looking forward to strawberry season…

Happy gardening!

From Jan, Rob and the Team at OEG!