Beans are out

Over the last week our Broad Beans have been planted out by the raspberries with the fence as support. These were a special request from Mrs Matt as she likes them with gammon and parsley sauce. The rest of us prefer the squeaky French beans which have just been planted. Six broad beans germinated but Emily and I planted the strongest five. This gave us the opportunity to have a good look at the rejected plant and how a broad bean grows. As always it's very impressive to see how Mother Nature works (click on the picture for a detailed close-up).Emily's sweetcorn have also gone out in a little block. As they are wind pollinated it is best to plant them in a block rather than a line.
A few slug pellets sprinkled around them and the broad beans should give them a fighting chance while they get established in their new homes.

The raspberries are doing well with new canes growing strongly. They seem to get visibly bigger every day. and new shoots seem to come up all over the place. They may need controlling later but we'll let them do what they want for the time being.

The strawberries have reacted very well to their new home with all but one of them producing flowers. With a bit of luck (and fertiliser) they, along with the raspberries, might - just might - provide enough fruit for the two little girls who seem to devour them for fun these days.