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On Sunday the 19th I checked the met office 5 day forecast for our area of East England, it looked good, dry right through with wind and sun, the perfect conditions for getting the good seedbeds I needed. Armed with this information I got the cultivator out Monday morning and run it through the raised beds that I had made in the autumn (this opens the top of the bed and brings some wet soil to the top to help it dry).
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Sun and wind duly followed and the ground was drying nicely, I was convinced that I would be drilling by Thursday. I like to check the forecast daily as modern technology seems to make the 5 day forecast less reliable than it used to be, sure enough by Tuesday they were forecasting heavy rain for Wednesday evening.
My initial thought wasn’t printable but after I had calmed down I embraced the idea of some badly needed rain.
Did water butts over fill and reservoirs rejoice as the rain came down?
The rain, light at best lasted for about an hour Wednesday afternoon and with the wind drying it out quicker than it had fallen it was back to the original plan.
The raised beds were remade (see picture) and 6 beds of carrots were drilled Friday afternoon.
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With the wind subsiding on Sunday it was possible to lay a nice warm blanket of fleece over the crop to try and bring it on as quickly as possible.
Roy has also made the most of the conditions planting first early potatoes, broad beans and peas.