May day, mayday!

A lot has happened since the last posting, I've dug over a new bed - this time, running north to south. This should give the plants in this bed more sunshine. The reason I've got my other beds running east to west? Well, I didn't really know what I was about!! I don't think it will make a big difference, but the new beds I dig will be N-S...this will also mean that there will be less walk ways...which now I'm getting into it, will become important - as I'm quickly running out of space!
The plot I've got is approx 15' wide by 75' long, which is only a half plot on the councils books...seemed like a hell of a size when I first saw it, and some people are comfy with just a quarter plot.

Above, is the new bed (the dark brown patch, not the path). I'm hoping to put sweetcorn in here - all grown from seed on the kitchen window sill...done fine up to now and have probably got about 30 healthy seedlings to plant out!
The sweetcorn I'm going to try and grow is called minipop - it gives the small cobs that you can use in stirfrys or salads, or soups I guess! My reasoning was that sweetcorn felt like a stretch to get full cobs in the UK, so start by growing small cobs. Talking to other allotmenteers though, it sound like full size corn was a success last year, even though the summer was rubbish!!

Since the photo was taken I've dumped 6 bags of compost on to it, sounds a lot - but once it is all spread out I've probably only added another half inch of soil!! The soil isnt as deep here, with clay probably only six inches down. So I'll add plenty of manure, and home-made compost over time (which will be a lot cheaper!).


BROAD BEAN CRISIS!
I was looking at my broad beans, and notice that a lot of the nice white flowers were getting withered, and looking very sad! See first picture below. I was a bit worried that I had a problem on my hands, some sort of disease or over watering... but I checked my neighbour's beans (second photo), and realised that all was in order - the flowers were falling back and the fruiting beans were coming forward. So no problem, just a crop on the way.

Not sure if I've ever eaten broad beans before, so I'll check out some recipes. The reason I've got them growing, if I've not eaten them? They were a last minute planting late last year as a green manure!
That is a plant which grows fast, and so suppresses weed growth, and as it is a bean, it fixes nitrogen into the soil - which other plants love. Once the beans are harvested, you dig the plants back into the bed and you'll be ready with a healthy bed next season. Win all ways round, well hopefully if they taste nice!