Further to the first few cucumbers, we’ve now got tomatoes, strawberries and courgettes in a state of rapidly increasing readiness, and have put the last seeds into the plot – more carrots, some rocket and a pumpkin and a squash plant. Hopefully they’ll thrive as everything else seems to be doing at the moment.

The rhubarb will be ready for a crop in a few more weeks – it’s been growing very well in the rainy weather we’ve had – and we’ve started the process of getting stuff fertilised as we get deeper into the growing season. The lapland potatoes collapsed under their own weight, so Amanda has staked them and we’ll have to rebury them in some fresh compost in the hope of increasing the crop / and to give them a bit more support.

The weeding hasn’t been too onerous, but given our laxity in planting I’ve had the luxury of just raking over the spartan half of the veg patch. Now that we’ve got plants in all around, it’s going to be a hands and knees job. Still, there’s a lot of satisfaction – and veg – to be had!

I managed to quiz Sensei Paul on a few bits and pieces last night, this time on gardening rather than running. I learnt a bit…

About ants: I should try to get some kind of pesticide dust apparently, to keep them off, because “everything loves plums.” We also found a spot where they were invading the house and Amanda kicked their ass with polyfilla. They won’t be getting in that way again…

The Fiskar’s weeder I learned about from Amanda’s cousin in Denmark, and which I’ve now ordered, might end up a good investment if I can get the knack of it and get the roots up on the dandelions et al. It’ll certainly be cheaper in the long run than chemical treatments given the size of our lawn.

The patches of unlevel turf where I replaced the random paving slabs in our lawn need to be taken up to be levelled – if I just stick soil on top the grass might grow through, but more’n likely I’ll just end up with weeds. No lazy option for me.

Sweetcorn, despite its low yield, might be good for our small veg plot as the sugars turn to starch the second it’s picked, so the proximity of the corn to the pot / BBQ will ensure a taste sensation. Outstanding.

It’s important to time putting veg in so we don’t end up with a glut when it all fruits / is ready for picking at the same time (we haven’t done this sensibly with our tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers).

Tomatoes need to be fed with fertiliser every week or so as they grow.

Our fruit trees are probably in the early stages of developing fruit, having flowered. Which is exciting and surprising in the first year. I think I’m meant to trim buds so that the trees can devote their energy to growing roots instead of fruit, but… heck with it. The online advice I’ve found is conflicting, so we’ll just see what happens.

It’s amazing what a few minutes conversation with a Sensei can teach you! A more general produce update will follow…

Amanda has been attempting to make our garden feel less like a small square of concrete in Central London and more like the green countryside she grew up in. The result of this is a plethora of beautiful plant pots lining our garden steps and an evening ritual that occasionally includes me heading out with the watering can.

So far, the plants are surviving (thriving, even), and I’ve been recruited into the garden maintenance programme. Amanda does the vast majority of the hard work, but I am now, in some sense, someone who gardens. I visit garden centres and look at plants. I assess shrubs and estimate (with no real knowledge or understanding) their viability in our soil. And I look enviously on at garden gadgets, convinced they’ll make the world a better place (Amanda disagrees).

Flickr photos will follow, but (from memory) we have two lavender plants, some parsley, oregano, mint, roses, fuchsia, sage, thyme and some generically pretty flowers, the names of which I can’t remember. I think Amanda calls them pink flower and yellow flower, and I’m under strict instructions not to use them in any cooking.