I'll have a Pea please...

Weather: April showers with a few sunny intervals. Cool...9C

I have planted out the peas (Avola) which I grew in a polystyrene box that arrived as packaging. I have put them amongst the peas I sowed directly into the ground a couple of weeks ago...I say amongst, as only two seedlings have appeared. As there are few slugs (due to the success so far of my nematode campaign) I can only point the finger at mice!

Actually - I'm feeling a little guilty about how well the nematodes have worked. I saw three slugs this morning who'd been at some spinach seedlings but these are the first I've seen for a month. This time last year I could have enticed a hundred to a beer trap each night. The guilt? I have found a toad who has taken up residence in one of the compost heaps...and I'm sure he'd prefer the slugs to be as plentiful this year as last year. He is in the compost heap with the best compost in and I haven't the heart to move him on and each morning I lift up the hessian that covers it to see if he's still there. He always is! So the compost will have to wait.

I can't be feeling that bad about him though because the next installment of the slug nematodes arrived in the post last week and I watered them in a couple of days ago. You are supposed to do it in dull weather and keep the ground damp. The weather forecast on Saturday was for heavy rain in the afternoon after a bright start, so as the clouds rolled up at midday I was out there with my watering can musing smuggly that the rain would water them in. At two pm the clouds rolled away again and we had a brilliantly sunny afternoon. At regular intervals from then on I had to fill the watering can to keep the soil moist. I emptied the water butt! It hasn't refilled yet but the forecast is for heavy rain tonight so that should be OK.

I also put up bean supports at the weekend - see photo . People use hazel and willow but I always use Buddlea! The plus is that I get lots of straight sticks when I prune in the spring. The minus side is that they root very easily so you have to make sure none of them get too good a foothold or you get new buddlea plants. After a couple of years in the garden they have dried enough to break up and use as kindling for the wood stove.

The peas are in the bottom left of the photo - the beans will be along the spindly frame behind. The tree (a wonderful Acer called Crimson King) will shade the area rather more than the beans will appreciate but I should get some and......

we are working on bringing more of this part of the garden into cultivation by moving the shed up under the tree and dropping the greenhouse back 10 metres. The idea is that it is moved at the time the overwintering Pelargoniums and fuschias come outside and before the indoor tomatoes get placed in their grow bags. Next year the beans will be in full sun.

Watch this space!