Empty, refill, repeat

 Although it's stayed fairly warm and dry, we got a big rainfall last week that filled up my barrels.  I try to water my pots and planters at home with rainwater when possible;  on this rainy island it's usually no problem.  We have somewhat variable weather so I'm never sure if it'll be a hot dry summer or a cool wet summer--I try to plant for both scenarios, and since I grow almost exclusively from seed it's thankfully not too expensive an experiment.  I still don't know what kind of summer we're looking at but it's been a warm dry spring so far--unlike last year.

Due to my ongoing lack of pots (I have 250+) I only just started my squash seeds at the weekend, which looks to be an unlucky miss;  had I gambled on starting them earlier I probably could get away with planting them out early too.  Never mind, I've got my tomatoes out early instead (most of them anyway).  My squashes should have enough time to grow even if transplanted out in June;   if it was too cold, I'd have to delay planting them out till June (as I do some years).

The majority of snap peas are planted out and growing well at the allotment, though I have four or five dozen pots not yet sprouted;  while they've been in their pots for several weeks, I'm still getting three or four a day poking up so I don't quite feel like giving up on them.  I've managed to start a packet of 50 runner bean seeds as I've been emptying out the snap pea pots;  these I haven't grown for a few years as the son didn't care much for them when he was small--maybe at 15 he'll feel better about them.  The husband and I love them and I can't remember if the daughter has tried them before (age 5).

Also got a tray of pickling cucumbers now emerging;  I'm risking them in my little cold frame on the patio next to my back door to make more room on my kitchen windowsill, overflowing with trays stacked on top of each other;  the just-emerging sweetcorn has gone out with it.  The rest of the week is forecast warm and sunny but if anything changes I can rescue them back inside.  

For a couple weeks the windowsill was empty, as I'd moved all the tomatoes to the cold frame, but I'm in the second wave of seed sowing now, for both indoor and outdoor seeds.  Obviously my outdoor seeds are outdoors;  my patio table and other surfaces are still completely covered and in some places stacked several trays high.  Some things have been planted out in the past week:  Welsh onions and some zinnias at home, cherry tomatoes and of course snap peas at the allotment.  But as soon as I empty, I refill with something new!