Seeds and stones

I've been up to the plot most days this week to water, as it has been extremely warm and very dry. Everything seems to be living, and the seed I sowed last weekend is already coming up. The courgettes have established themselves well and started to flower, and I have some tiny runner beans on a dwarf bean variety, which produced pretty lilac flowers. The two sweetcorn plants have grown sturdy and are now about a foot tall, and the mange tout seem to be six inches higher every time I visit.

I finally filled the last raised bed with compost today, having first attempted to rake out all the stones. I got the larger stones (and bits of crockery, and broken glass) out but I'm not sure how carrot-friendly the bed will be. I can live with funny-shaped carrots, however, and sowed two rows of Early Nantes, and two rows of Boltardy beetroot. The squash plants have also gone in.

It was Hanover Day today, the annual street festival for the area of Brighton I live in, and a lovely plant stall provided me with sorrel and ruby chard for the plot, and thyme, flat leaf parsley and Greek basil for home. Very excited about the sorrel, which is delicious and very hard to track down in greengrocers.