Episode 650: Spring Sunshine, Potato Planting & A Buzzing Start to Beekeeping Season

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Spring has finally arrived on the south coast, and with it comes that unmistakable lift in energy across the allotment and kitchen garden. This week’s episode was packed with sunshine, soil, potatoes, pots, and even a first look inside the beehive for 2024. Here’s everything that unfolded.

Down on the Allotment: Grass Cutting & First Potatoes of the Year

The warm, bright weather made the allotment an absolute joy. With the sun out and the soil workable, the first big job was tackling the grass. The strimmer handled the edges beautifully, but the battery mower decided to misbehave — a loose connection, by the feel of it. The top half of the plot is now looking sharp, and all those clippings have gone straight into the compost.

But the real highlight was the start of potato planting.

This year, instead of planting all eight varieties in one exhausting session, the plan is to stagger them over several weeks. First in the ground were the Rocket first earlies, planted into beds that had been sown with potato-friendly green manures last autumn. After cutting the green manure back six weeks ago and letting it rot down, the soil was in great condition.

Each planting hole received a sprinkle of potato fertiliser — potatoes are hungry plants, after all — before being covered with compost. Once the shoots appear, they’ll be mulched with straw to help retain moisture and suppress weeds. With luck, the first harvest should be ready by June.

The garlic and onions also received a drink, just to keep everything moving nicely as the season wakes up.

In the Kitchen Garden: Spring Tidy-Up & Fresh Starts

Back at home, the spring clean-up is well underway. Weeding, mulching, and general tidying have transformed the space, and the removal of the old tree a few weeks ago has opened up new possibilities.

A new chainsaw blade made processing the remaining branches much easier — a reminder that sharp tools really do make all the difference.

Potatoes in Pots

Although most crops go into the ground these days, a few potatoes are being grown at home this year to mix up the planting. Four Rocket seed potatoes went into a large bucket in layers of compost and fertiliser. It’s a simple method and a great way to add extra growing space without sacrificing beds.

Refreshing the Front Garden Pots

After last year’s driveway replacement, the old mismatched pots at the front of the house were looking tired. Over winter, new decorative grey-and-black speckled pots have been gradually added. They complement the driveway beautifully and will hold fruit trees and bushes that can be moved when needed to make space for parking.

A Surprise Behind the Shed

A quick trip behind the shed revealed that the water butts were running low — not because of the weather, but because the downpipe had fallen off and dropped inside one of the butts. After fishing it out and refitting it, the hope now is for just a little rain to refill the system. Water is precious, after all.

Recipe of the Week: Cheesy Leeks

This week’s kitchen creation was a simple but delicious dish to accompany Saturday night’s steak: cheesy leeks.

Leeks were gently softened in butter, then folded into a homemade cheese sauce made from a classic roux. After a short bake in the oven, the result was rich, comforting, and full of flavour — with plenty left over for the next day. A brilliant way to use fresh allotment leeks.

Beekeeping Update with Mark from Buzz Into Beekeeping

With the first warm days of spring, Mark was finally able to open the hive for a proper inspection — and the news was excellent.

Inside the brood box, the frames showed everything a beekeeper hopes to see at this time of year:

• Eggs, larvae, and capped brood in neat concentric circles
• Plenty of pollen and nectar stores
• A growing population
• Drone brood developing, signalling the approach of swarming season

Although the queen herself stayed hidden (as she often does), the presence of fresh eggs confirmed she’s active and healthy.

Mark also explained the balance between natural swarming — a positive sign of colony strength — and the beekeeper’s desire to prevent losing half the bees. Artificial swarm techniques can help maintain colony numbers while still supporting natural behaviour.

It’s shaping up to be an exciting season, especially as Richard considers taking the plunge into beekeeping himself.