May 2026
Sowing, Planting & Preparation
01 - 07 May
Saturday, 02 May 2026
Planted out our sweet peas on plot 30
Monday 04 May 2026
Potted all squash, cucumbers and courgettes into fibre pots
Also moved purple cauliflower and Clapton into fibre pots
Tuesday 05 May 2026
All our 4 varieties of sweet corn were sown in fibre pots
08 - 14 May
It was a cold, miserable week, and nothing was sown or moved to the allotment.
Tomato seedlings were refusing to grow and I was unsure of the reason. Was it the compost, the fact they were in fibre pots or just the cold overnight temperatures? The greenhouse was falling into the low single figures centigrade most nights. 
15 - 21 May
The weather remained unseasonably cold, and plants were still refusing to grow. We prepared some beds at the allotment, but delayed the sowing of our carrot seeds, waiting for better conditions.
22 - 31 May
A sudden improvement in the weather saw temperatures hitting the low 30 °C mark. Plants in the greenhouse took off at an alarming rate, and slow growth had been temperature-related rather than fibre pots or compost.
A short summary of the week action is below
Allotment update
- Planted out over-wintered dahlia plants.
- Planted red and green Salad Bowl lettuce under the new netting.
- Sowed 3 varieties of beetroot in fibre cells for direct transplanting to the allotment: Bona, Crimson King and Cylindra.
- Sowed more red and green Salad Bowl lettuce in fibre cells.
- Watered carrots, onions, brassicas and broad beans on plots 28, 29 and 30.
- Watered brassicas and carrots on plots 41 and 42.
- Earthed up mixed potatoes on plot 30.
- Harvested the first strawberry from plot 41.
First harvest of the season: one strawberry from plot 41
Nice milestone with that first strawberry. Always feels like summer has properly started when the first one’s ready.
