We’re quick off the block in the Genus vegetable garden this year. We planted our first-early potatoes (Epicure) in a nice deep trench and covered them with our homemade compost topped off with the excavated soil. It’s a small bed with only 9 plants so despite our early start it will be a simple matter to protect them from any late or unexpected frosts once they’re up and above ground. Luckily ‘Epicure’ is well known for its frost tolerance.
In another bed we raked the surface preparing it for a number of brassica varieties that we wanted to sow. After last year's dearth of winter veg we needed to make amends and find room for five different options to include Kale ‘Emerald Ice’, Romanesco Cauliflower, purple sprouting ‘Rudolph’, Cavalo nero, and Cabbage ‘January King’. A row of ‘Musselburgh’ Leeks were added followed by a couple of rows of early radish to fill the bed. They were all covered with a fine horticultural mesh to prevent predation by pigeons or flea beetle. Apart from the radishes everything else will be transplanted into its own dedicated bed in a few months time.
In other parts of the garden, Brunnera and primrose are in flower, the snakeshead fritillaries in the meadow are coming into bud and an observant eye will notice ‘sticky buds’ on the horse chestnut just starting to expand. It seems that each trip into the garden reveals something new at every turn.