By the end of May seed time was over. In a few weeks harvest will start either with courgettes or peas. Not all plants have been set out. Some of the successional sowings of brassicas are still in their Rootrainers. The leeks, growing steadily in their seedbed, will wait until the catch crop of first early potatoes has been lifted. Then the plot will be fully planted out.

This year seeds needed more watering than usual to ensure good germination. Even with the dry weather the crops are thriving and not many weeds are germinating. Both hoes have been busy. The draw hoe was used to earth up the potatoes. Their canopy is now almost completely closed so no more earthing up. The Dutch hoe has kept down those weeds that have germinated. Hoeing in dry weather is more effective than in the wet.

In 2008 my load of farmyard manure, applied to the potatoes, was contaminated with the herbicide Aminopyralid. This year I've used spent mushroom compost. I had a concern that the straw, used to make this compost, may also have been contaminated. So far the potatoes are growing normally.

Cordon growing is increasingly popular for spur bearing fruit like apples. Some orchards have rows of 6 foot high fences with apples trained to the wires. They are grown at an angle of about 30 degrees so that their trunks grow to about 12 feet. Apples are easy to harvest without cherry pickers.

But there are also advantages in growing peas as cordons. Growth is neat, contained without congestion, rapid, strong, and makes good use of space. The pod bearing spurs stick out from the stems making the pods easily visible so that none are hidden to mature and inhibit further fruiting. All the plant's energy goes into growth and producing pods. Typically each spur has two pods each containing about ten peas. With most of the growth at a high level there is no foliage in contact with the ground to attract slugs. Also, damage from the Pea Weevil is reduced.

The framework is made with two rows of 8 foot canes pushed 6 inches into the ground. The rows are 18 inches apart and the canes are 12 inches apart in the rows. The tops of each pair of canes are tied together and to a ridge cane with small plastic cable ties. The ends of the ridge cane are guyed to stakes at the opposite end of the row with the guys running inside the frames. The whole structure is strong. I had no damage during the recent gales.

The peas are raised in the greenhouse in Rootrainers. A 2 foot light cane is inserted to the bottom of each cell. The plants are loosely tied to these canes and are ready for planting out when they reach the tops of the canes. A bulb planter is used to make holes at the bases of the main canes. Make the holes on the inside of the structure so that the plants are protected by the canes. Drop the entire plant, root ball and small cane into the hole. The tops of the small canes are then tied to the main canes. Further growth is tied to the main canes between every node (i.e. where the leaf, side shoot and fruiting spur grow). Pinch off all tendrils and side shoots. I do this twice a week when I harvest and take home about 50 pods yielding about 500 peas. Big pods are quicker to shell than small ones.

For tying up I use plastic covered copper telephone wire in 10 inch lengths. This is wound tightly twice round the cane and then twisted together. The two tails are looped round the stems but not twisted. This holds even in strong winds. At the end of the season the stems easily pull away from the canes. The wires are left in place ready for next season.