Don't you love it when you can walk outdoors without a coat on?
I do. When I can come back from a pub's terrace with a sun stroke nose, this is when I can let all my plans and vegetables/fruits dreams out for good in the year. Any frost scare are unlikely, and your babies can be re-potted outdoors. Cross fingers, without too much wind, just the right amount of rain and shine, all the plants projects kept indoors, nursed to nice young shoots will fare well in the big outdoors.
It is a bit like taking your kids to school for the first time. My worst fear for them is the battering of a big bully you cannot control: Aka Mister Blue Sky, Aka, Weather Bro.
But in the same token, once you have a good growth indoors screaming for light, you have to give it. So once frost fear is gone, it is just happy re-potting galore.
Gosh did I went crazy this year on my many plans, whilst still trying to keep some of last year alive and kicking. Any regrets: none so far. A failed project makes me start from scratch all over again until I get it right. This year, I have a black fly pest destroying pumpkin shoots as soon as they have a nice growth. Did a small test, and found out that the sowed straight outside rather than nursed inside are not affected by the problem. Yeehaw, I may grow my 'Hundredweight Pumpkin' to completion ready for Halloween. I would love to carve that big Baby, to a awesome spooky lantern , one that says to kids and their parents, that we have massive boxes of Cadbury's chocolate for them. That we welcome the cheerfulness of that night. For me it is a night that means for you do get to see children and their smiles. I cannot have a child for health reason. So I spread my love to children the way I can: giving chocolates and growing a magical size pumpkin. Well if it grows to a Cinderella' awesome WOW size. Lol. Big Dream: I can imagine the pumpkin soup coming out of that Big Baby of a Pumpkin. Nothing lost, the seeds would be planted the following year.
For dreams coming to a physical reality, I always wanted to see a black tulip., since a French film of my childhood called 'La Tulipe Noire' with the handsome Alain Delon as the star cast. I bought some 'Black Parrot' tulip bulbs last year which 4 came to blossom out of 5 this year. I must say to see those black tulips in my patio yard made this Spring pretty special. Any dream you have, keep them strong and alive, for they can happen any time in your life. Do not bury them as impossibilities. Black tulips are a man's dream, a creation, which they rendered physical using good old genetic laws like Mendel's one. The romanticise black tulipe, wrote by Dumas in the 19th century saw real life as a scientific creation in the late 20th century, 30 to 20 years later I can grow some in my patio garden. I felt blessed to just be able to see them flourish. Black tulips are a dream come true for a few aficionados devoted to their creation.
A big challenge those last weekends, were to re-pot the tomatoes to their final position, outside. First went the batch of eight 'Bumble Bee' tomatoes which went into a couple of hanging baskets. I do not know if the variety is suitable for hanging baskets yet this experience will give me a straight answer. The young plants were strong when planted outside in the baskets. They are all surviving, yet their first leaves wilted not use to the outdoors within the first three days. I skipped the acclimatization and hardening time to the outdoors. . The May weather was too crap to allow it. May be this was a bad decision only time will tell.
Second went the rest, the RHS winning 'Indigo Rose' the ultimate black tomato, The lovely beefsteak tomato, 'yellow stuffer', and 'Tigerella's' in big planter pots. I have also a weak 'Moneymaker' to plant outdoors. But I am keeping it in for a week or two longer indoors. I am looking forward to see all thrive outdoors throughout the summer. It's the exiting part which can also be a devastating part, come heavy rain or storm: When it is out there, it is like a child taken to school for the first time. Does he/she have the strength to face bullies? Can we protect him/her more during their first outside steps?
The other incentives are doing well.
I never ever planted so much veg at once: two types of carrots ( 'Nantes 5, Chantenay), aubergines, parsnips, beetroot, gherkins, little gem lettuce, and two type of butternut squash, Coquina and normal,, plus two kind of potatoes, King Edwards being the much sought after one. All is in the hands of hope and weather with the added good care we can provide. So far so good.
We have also a borlotti bean 'Firetongue' growing. Last year one was impressive enough to try it again big time. We also managed to get a shoot from a tendrilla pea: One of last year total failure. Touch wood this one will deliver big time.
