One of the final seed plantings went in today (after this everything is really repeats): the bush beans. I planted out the largest of the vegetable beds with Borlotti, Erimo and Tongue of Fire beans. I picked these three varieties because they work well as dried beans, and because they are particularly beautiful – often striped and patched with vivid colours, even when dried.
Dried beans in a jar are like dollar coins in a jar – if everything goes FUBAR you know there will always be something to fall back on.
I netted off the entire bed from the bloody blackbirds. Please God come and take all blackbirds off to heaven …
Tomato update.
Man, I have had the weirdest year with the tomatoes. The first seed set all sprouted, but never grew beyond their first pair of baby leaves, no matter how well I treated them. Note to self, set seed later next year. They all died.
The second lot of seeds I planted about a month later are going great guns (touch wood). These I planted in the last week of August. I think next year leave it until early September to set seed for tomatoes. But … these were all bush tomatoes whereas the first lot were all climbing. I also never treated them as kindly – although they stayed on their heated trays they were otherwise open to the elements. Oh well, who knows. Whatever, I have set seed for more climbing tomatoes and they are up so I will see how they go.
No tomatoes for me before Christmas, though, unfortunately.
The tomatoes I bought from the nursery have all died, too! Honestly, if the lot that are currently going strong die on me then I am going to admit defeat and refuse to grow tomatoes again. LOL I have never ever had problems with tomatoes in previous years and just don’t know what is wrong with them this year.