So much going on at the moment. First, all those seedlings had to be planted out
On the left are heirlooms saved from last years seed - pretty much 100% germination. They are now on about the second pair of true leaves, and potted 3 days ago. The spindly looking things are summer savory, which have now been planted out looking more healthy.
I've been putting out bush bean seeds and lettuce plantlets all over, and the zucchini finally went in.
The good news is that it finally looks like a good broad (fava) bean crop is on the way, despite all my worries. I've seen some bumblebee activity of late:
On most plants I can already see 3-4 rows of 2-3 beans, so they clearly were getting pollinated earlier, just took some time to turn into beans (see top picture).
Some of the Insuk runner beans are starting to take off, others have been succumbing to something (slugs?). Time to throw out a few fistfuls of seed, methinks.
Against the fence, some burgundy and "pencil pod black wax" (yellow) bush beans are popping up, and today I sowed a full packet of about 40 "Greencrop garden beans", all from Lake Valley seeds. Hopefully Bush beans will succeed where the pole beans failed in the heat last year and the year before.
Looking at my peas and favas this year, I had an idea - Favas tend to flop over a little, especially in the rain, but if I were to plant a few peas in their midst, the tendrils might reinforce the fava block a little. The favas dont need support, as a block, but one or two fall out. The peas might solve that. Next year, if I get the favas in early enough, say the start of November, then plant peas in say, January, then I might get both crops out, having fertilized the ground, by, say, Mid-April.
