Garden Diary: 5th July 2020

Today was one of my most satisfying days in the garden. I cut out all my broad bean plants and harvested the remaining beans, blanched and froze them.

I've been freezing beans the past month and have a lovely stock now. These will go into soups, stir fries and curries.

The broad bean plant is well utilised in my garden. I left the roots in the ground, just digging them in, as they have nitrogen stores that the soil will absorb. I chopped up the stripped plants and put them in my compost heap.

In the empty space left after removing the beans, I planted my purple sprouting broccoli which have been in pots up to now and are itching to get into the ground. Then I mulched them with the empty bean pods, which I chopped up with a scissors.

The pots freed up from the broccolis have been given to my tomato plants that needed a bigger pot.

This cyclical garden system gives me extreme satisfaction. I want a garden that works for itself and sustains itself, something bigger than just growing food. It truly was a productive day.

I also planted some flower seeds in pots including lupin, cosmos, nigella and sweet sultan.

I cut a few blooms from the garden to brighten up my kitchen windowsill - lavender, yarrow and geum.