A thorny issue

Well, not quite yet. It's the fresh spring growth on some wild brambles, possibly blackberry, out in the margins of the vineyard. There are a lot of blackberry patches around and, depending on the year, I often see people out collecting berries in the late summer. They're rather small and seedy (the berries, not the people) and you need to gather quite a lot to have anything worth eating, but they're free!

Fresh thorns making their appearance in the vineyard.

I've been making slow progress in the vegetable garden. The weather has cooled down and it's overcast, so it's a good time to move seedlings out into their places in the garden. Yesterday I got twenty tomato plants put in. That means raking, setting up the stakes, digging holes, adding fertilizer, filling in, and watering. I still have about thirty tomato seedlings left. I'm saving some of them for a friend and I'll probably put a few more in the garden if there's room. The eggplant and peppers will be going in next, and I'm planning to plant a few rows of corn once the final plot gets tilled up.

I will also be planting some basil seeds in pots and getting them started under the cold frame. And cilantro and spring onions and chives... And I have to find a place for sunflowers!