The tomatoes are coming on fine.

Pleased to say they are looking strong and healthy.

I used the method described in Best Tomatoes - Growing Tips. Practice what you preach!

I used to grow the old variety Harbinger for the taste but for the last three years I have grown the F1 hybrid Shirley. Still excellent flavour in my opinion.

I had a small packet of Harbinger given to me last year and as an experiment I sowed a few seeds the last week of January. Potted on three and kept them over gentle heat. For some reason two died off but the other survived and thrived. Six weeks later I sowed my main crop of Shirley. Would you believe it, middle of May and the Shirley have caught up with the Harbinger. I am sure that if I had grown the Harbinger in hotter conditions it would be far in advance of the Shirley but higher heat means higher energy bills. Next year I will stick to the late sowing but this is why we experiment.

A few side shoots needed removing from the tomatoes. Surprising how they sneak up on you.

Not much room in the greenhouse this time of the year. Need to start hardening off a few plants ready for planting out in a couple of week’s time.

Bad news out in the garden. A Sun Rose did not look healthy and closer inspection reveals the reason – Honey Fungus. Boot Lace Fungus or Honey Fungus, call it what you will it is an awful thing. Nothing stops it; you just have to live with it and plant accordingly. In the last ten years it has claimed two fully grown Silver Birches, several pieces of Privet, a Lilac Tree and a couple of small shrubs.

To finish with good news, the noise from the nest box is getting louder which means we have a healthy brood of Blue Tits again this year. Soon they will fledge, what better way to keep down the greenfly population?