Blasted Wind!

A short opportunity to get to the plot today meant that we got a few more seeds sown - but the wind was howling so it wasn't lovely and warm like at the weekend. I think I managed to keep hold of the parsnip seed so they were sown where we wanted them rather than broadcast across the whole plot though :-)

'Tender and True' Parsnips

We've sown 3 seeds to each cloche, which is providing a little protection from wind and the additional warmth will hopefully aid germination. We only want one parsnip to grow from each 'station' so if more germinate we'll have to snip them off - which always seems a shame, but they'd be too close to grow properly if we left them.
We prefer to sow seeds this way, rather than sowing a whole row and then having to thin them out. Parsnips don't really appreciate being transplanted hence sowing direct into the ground (on a little seed compost).

Look how dry the earth looks! It really doesn't take long to dry out, but there is still moisture when you go a couple of centimetres down and it's looking like it may rain later on.

We also sowed our Oarsman leeks - two trays which we've protected from leek moth in their own little enviromesh cloche. The leek moth is rife on our allotment site so we're careful to protect these. The mesh is sealed all the way round as the caterpillars can crawl in under open sides - sneaky!