At last my beetroot seedlings have started to come through. How do you tell all these seedlings apart when you've planted them in bare soil? If your compost/soil is anything like mine, all those dormant seeds decide to start sprouting about the same time you plant your seeds, so I've been peering at these little seedlings and wondering which of them is the beetroot, carrot, radish, chard ... or just another weed. The beetroot are tiny thin leaves, with dark-red veins, the carrots I haven't quite spotted yet.
It helps if you've planted them in rows or some specific pattern, as if they come up at regular intervals there's a good chance that this is what you planted and not a 'rogue' weed. You can then pick out all the other seedlings. Still waiting for the other beans to make an appearance.
It's been incredibly windy this weekend and as well as the rain, everything is looking very battered. The broad beans have stood up well, although looking a little bedraggled but the French beans took a real battering and the general consensus seems to be that they were too weak when I put them out. I should have hardened them up in a cold frame before planting them out - if I had such a thing. Lesson learned for next year - plant them earlier and plant them directly in the soil.
We had at least four inches of rain over the weekend here in Sussex - every empty container that was left out has been filled up and all the water barrels are full again. The ground is very waterlogged but it makes for easy weeding.
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