More new life

It is a bit of a theme of my Blips at the moment, which is probably not surprising given the season and my lifestyle.

These are onion seedlings. They fascinate me when they pop out of the soil bent in half and then ping into a single shoot once they are a few millimetres tall. 

About 1/4 of them have germinated so far. It is difficult to get uniform germination because some seeds inevitably end up sown deeper than others, so I expect to see more and more wee green shoots over the next week to 10 days. They all grow to roughly the same size by the time I plant them out in the first week of November.

The extra shows the new season roots bed, looking as tidy as it will be all year. I sowed six rows of carrots at the far end today, and then covered it with framed plastic. This keeps off the blackbirds and provides some good additional warmth, encouraging the seeds to germinate promptly. 

The 'snake' is seeping hose, which is the easiest method watering this bed. The empty area will be filled with beetroot, parsnips and overflow potatoes in due course. The beetroot are currently tiny seedlings growing on the staging in the tunnel. The parsnips will be sown directly into the soil next month. And the potatoes are chitting, to be planted in three weeks' time.

Any questions?


Thank you for the comments yesterday. I am gently reevaluating my life, in the best possible way. Perhaps more anon.