Since doing all that compost sieving earlier in the week I have had a very bad back. I managed to sow the seeds I intended to do today, but had to give up any idea of proper digging at the plot. I did though sit by the raised beds in the kitchen garden and finger weeded the shallots, garlic and broad beans, and tidied up the Sq Ft beds. There are only a few things left now in them.....the parsley is doing well....also the lambs lettuce, some beetroot still waiting to be eaten, and some mizuna, but that is beginning to flower so it is really over.

I have cut off the white plastic blind slats that I used to mark out the Sq Ft areas. I left the bits I had stapled to the bed edge as a marker and I will do the Sq Ft by eye in future. This year I am going to modify the use of the Sq Ft beds slightly. Down the middle of each bed (actual size 8'6" x 3'6") in an 18" strip will be either runner beans, french climbing beans, tomato plants, tall brassicas such as sprouts, etc. Then along the edges of the beds either side of the middle row will be all the squares of other veg and salads. Like this I should be able to combine the need for a trellis for the taller stuff and supports for the brussels etc with the very useful Sq Ft method for the other crops. Bulk crops like spuds, carrots, shallots for pickling, beets for pickling, peas for freezing, and onions for storing will all be grown in rows at the allotment. This will ensure that I have covered all my needs and that we have a pretty kitchen garden as well. I intend to have flowers and herbs among the veg for insect attraction and eye appeal!

So....what did I sow today? Celtuce (first time for me.... a cross between celery and lettuce....you pull the leaves off the stem and eat the stem later when it is about a foot high....or that is the theory!) 10 modules, Red Brussels "Falstaff" 10 modules, Cabbage "Greyhound" 10 modules, and Lettuce "Winter Density" another 10 modules. I also started some watercress in a pot stood in a tray of water. If I get this to grow I'm going to plant it out in an old Victorian sink I've got in the garden. It is too shallow for other plants to be happy in; they tend to stand in water as it is difficult to get it level so that it drains perfectly.

I also sowed the exotic Bean Tree seeds from my rain forest visit...watch this space.

Tomorrow I am visiting the Osteopath in an attempt to nip this back problem in the bud. I have so much to do I can't afford time off. What with that and DH possibly, hopefully, coming home from hospital I won't be doing much gardening for a day or two. (Also I am doing all the dog walking at the moment.)