Kitchen Garden Forum

After the recent warm weather - not as hot here as some of you will have had - there was a discernible touch of grass frost on the field at sunrise today, and 4C in the polytunnel. Thank goodness I remembered to put the propagators back on last night.

We were tut-tutting in the local garden centre last Tuesday at the sight of all the bedding plants and tomatoes and tomato growbags that were flying out into car boots. I wonder how they will fare over the coming days.

I've had a barrage of people wanting their summer bedding plants, but as i haven't even hardened them off yet, i won't dispatch them.

Had some quite shirty replies, so i can see why garden centres do sell them early.

I wonder if the garden centres harden their plants ready for planting out?

Hi OH, and Alan, being cynical perhaps they make double profits that way when the first ones fail.The bumble bees are enjoying a nice pick and mix outside our local supermarket.
Still quite warm down here, but like you I'm wondering what nature will throw at us next. Yesterday nature hinted at thunder and storms, just one clap of thunder and a patch of cloud.

My guess is that we will not see temperatures falling too low, and we will get some much needed cloud and rain in the coming three weeks.

Just looking around our allotment site, and there is a huge amount of runner beans, french beans, and tomatoes already planted out

I shall be very surprised if we don't get a frost between now and the end of May.

It always happens doesn't it people are tempted to plant too soon?

Maybe one thing that doesn't help is gardening mags being so far ahead in being published and also garden centres selling plants too soon. Many half hardies will be killed off and then more will be bought to replace them. I had great respect for one of our local nurseries when last year a customer asked for bedding plants and was told it was too soon to sell them!

Having said all that if they get away with it we will be the ones with egg on our faces

Hi Sue,
The saying is better be safe than sorry. If I get egg on my face it is easily washed off but it is not so easy to re sow which actually puts you behind. Not worth the gamble!
JB.

Good point, JB.