Dry at last

This is my new cold frame, installed at last. It has been dry now for a couple of weeks after a record wet winter, so the plot is beginning to dry out. Some is still too wet to dig though.  So far, I've put some lettuce, carrots and beetroot seeds into the frame, and hopefully I'll get some early crops. I've also planted some potatoes today (Kestrel) and some garlic cloves, although these should have gone in last autumn.

We had a very interesting talk the other evening from a very keen local gardener. When I say keen, I mean KEEN. He has 6 full sized allotments (each 10 square rods : a rod is 5 1/4 yards, so 10 square rods = 275 square yards or 220 square meters) as opposed to my one 10m x 10m plot. Plus of course his garden. Apart from all his vegetables, he grows 600 sweet peas and lots of dahlias. He had lots of 'spare' plants to give away, including cabbages, sprouts, onions, sweet peas, herbs, dahlias, potatoes etc. And everyone was green with envy. Never mind, it's just a gentle hobby for me, not an obsession!