So this week the sun has shone and ,much progress has been made - by everything that is growing and bursting into bloom and also some progress in getting things planted and sowed and general tidying up.

Winds went round to the east for the week and clear days with barely a cloud for most of the week. Chill in the wind of course when it was more than light, and some nighttime frosts with the clear skies.

On Monday slug nematodes were applied to the tunnel beds and plots 4, 2, 5 and 6, so fingers crossed for seedlings surviving for a while. 5 buzzards were circling over the slope across the river. Prepared a flower bed around the sundial.

The fine weather coupled with the "lockdown" meant I was able to be here for good long spells every day so have set about re-calibrating the sundial - I believe it must be manufactured for a different latitude as it doesn't seem to tell the right time through the day. Since it was more or less the equinox this week that will provide a baseline and cross check again around midsummer.

Tuesday prepared the ziggurat flowerbed and plot 2 for peas. Planted a row of 16 Golden Gourmet Shallots in plot 4. Prepared plot 6 for legumes and sowed some Webb's Wonderful and Slad Bowl 2 colour lettuce in a seed bed in the tunnel. Also sowed a row of parsnips in plot 4 in individual plugs of seed compost (about 3 or 4 seeds in each) at an 8 inch spacing and then a clump of radish between each plug to mark the line. Plugs marked with old tags.

Wednesday did a decent amount of mowing. Sowed a row of peas in plot 2 west edge. 3ft of early onward seed left from last year and the rest fresh Greenshaft. Sowed cornflower and wildflowers in the ziggurat bed. 

Wednesday also saw me preparing the hole for Rex's tree (as documented in the first part oof the video).

On Thursday I did some early mowing and then Jane and Rex arrived and we set about getting the third Grandie tree planted (and documenting the occasion since none of the family are able to be here because of "lockdown" - pah!

Friday was a simple mowing and watering day - I'm already starting to worry about emptying the water butts with no rain forecast in the coming week.

On Saturday planted another row of spuds in plot 3 - 8 Nicola and 3 Red Duke of York. Plus a double row of broad beans in plot 2.