Sorry I have been AWOL

[Stephen]

But there is nothing to worry about, I have just been busy with the Lotus Seven Club and other bits of life. I have not been affected or inconvenienced much by lockdown - last year was really good.

I did get a little despondant about the weather early in the year. April was so cold, May so wet. So we had a complete blank on both sowings of parsnips. Luckily other things have done well, leeks are great, the brassicas OK. The new apple trees are OK but I'm not really sure how they should look. All the soft fruit is as it should be, which is why it is the most important thiung for me.

Curiously, the Swift new popatoes have had all their foliage eaten by slugs. This has happened in two geographically separate locations, the allotment and the garden where I volunteer 5 miles away. If it is just the leaves, I can live with that.

[Monika]

Stephen, have you ever tried pre-germinating the parsnip seeds on a damp kitchen towel? I used to have problems getting them to come up when direct sown, but Johnboy (many moons ago) explained the kitchen paper method and it worked beautifully after that.

[snooky]

At least you have come back to us,Stephen.

[oldherbaceous]

Good to see you back, Stephen...

[Stephen]

Monika, yes I tried that last year which seemed to be no better than the previous year when sown directly but will have to try again next year. The direct contact with water, missing in that cold dry April, will make a difference.