Green time

Greens - whites and purples - in abundance now, thanks to regular net inspection: The snow weighed down some of the protective nets, allowing pigeons to peck at the exposed growth.

Winter greens

Yum

Loads of lovely purple sprouting broccoli around now, hidden away from the pigeons all winter under nets and wire mesh. It grows back after harvesting if you leave a few young shoots and produces more if you give it lots of water.

Sprung Greens

The start of the purple sprouting broccoli season and the last of the leek and kale harvests (apart from a few leeks left to fatten during the coming weeks, or left to flower and seed).

Broccoli end

That's it for another year: the purple sprouting broccoli season comes to and end, just as the spinach harvest begins.

Plenty purple

Purple patch

Brassica oleracea italica

Sown last summer and protected from pigeons (and the snow that never came) beneath scaffolding netting, the purple sprouting broccoli has grown well and is ready to yield a first harvest.

 Just like the kale that it replaces as the green vegetable of the season, it responds well to being picked, produces new growth rapidly and is high in vitamin C content.

Dead easy to grow (even on a heavy clay soil), yummy with a bit of butter and a warm glow when you notice what it costs to buy.

Green perpetuals

A few old broccoli and kale plants left in the ground from the spring have begun a second life. Most of the lettuce plants have bolted and are running to seed, the leaves are now bitter. New sowings either haven't germinated or have been hoovered up by slime beasts.

Growth forecast

Hot sun after the rain has meant that established plants, like spinach, chard, artichokes, parsnips, broad beans, strawberries, rhubarb, black and red currants, gooseberries and raspberries have put on loads of growth, but it's difficult to establish seedlings without attentive routine watering.



Weeds are growing well too, especially bindweed and poppies.



The tallest parsnip plants are running to seed and will be removed soon, but at the shady base there are lots of new seedlings for next winter.



The very last of the purple broccoli and white cauliflower shoots that heve been supplying the kitchen for the last few months. Time to sow some more.

Harvesting

Cauliflower sprouts

Leaf

A timely reminder to check out The Leaf Label, home to some great music including Murcof, Efterklang, Polar Bear and the wonderfully named Vladislav Delay.

Purple heart

Green 5

Green futures

Future veg

The Late Good Friday

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