A song thrush starts the dawn chorus, the drumming of a woodpecker echoes from the copse and spring is just around the corner. As the growing season swings into action, I’ve already sown broad beans, salad leaves, parsley, beetroot and chard in a cold frame, with peas next on the list. You might ask ‘why bother? to grow shelling peas when they are easy and nutritious to buy frozen. Peas are beautiful plants, delicious eaten raw straight from the pod and the many different cultivars vary in taste and texture. Shelling a colander of peas is a perfect antidote to life in the fast lane.
Recently on Gardeners’ Question Time, I was on thebeds cropped up. I know the theory of these heat-releasing beds but have never tried them and was frustratingly short of anecdotes. So now I have three good reasons to experiment; curiosity, I am currently without a greenhouse for early starts and my horse, Raffie is bedded on straw, generating plenty of fresh manure.
