Peas and Bees

Just a quick one to say we finally sowed our peas today. Having discovered last year that bamboo canes alone are completely unsuitable for the task (and having only grown them unsupported in pots before that), we're experimenting this year with a new method which involved tying stiff plastic mesh to some uprights stuck in the ground. I didn't want to use netting as it's so tangly and difficult to reuse, and this stuff should support the weight more easily too. I'm not sure it'll be high enough for the sugar-snaps, so if I can find some more for cheap I'll add another level on top at some point.

SOWN:
1/2 double row pea 'Sugar Snap Delikett'
1/2 double row pea 'Oregon Sugar Pod'

We don't really eat 'normal' podding-peas very much so I don't grow any, though I'm considering it for next year...

I also made a start on sowing some tender herbs now there's room in the greenhouse. The brassicas are all outside now getting some proper sun (and proper cold) and I've moved a couple of the tomatoes into the greenhouse as a bit of a test. They're doing fine so far, though I might bring them in overnight next time frost is forecast...

SOWN:
8 x basil 'Genovese'
8 x basil 'red leaved'
8 x parsley 'Moss Curled'
8 x coriander 'cilantro' (for leaf)
8 x summer savory ("the bean herb", and blackfly-repellent - never tried it before but can't wait to give it a go)

Oooh, and we put up an insect house. It would have been dead easy for me to saw up some canes and hollow stems like I was planning and jam them into a homemade wooden box, all for free right here at home with reused waste materials, but what with so many other things to do it was even easier to buy this one from Sainsburys for £3.99. Damn consumerist society. I hope the ladybirds and solitary bees appreciate my pathetic defeat.

It is nice and shiny.