A Winter’s Tale – 4 months on

By | June 24, 2024

Here’s an update to the planned planting I detailed back in early February. A bit of a mix really but it’s fair to say that not everything has gone according to plan . . .

You may recall I had two planting areas planned. A garden patch, and my allotment. So far so good

First the garden patch. I had planted as per plan but soon noticed a wild rabbit in the garden. How did he/she get in? Next day, all the leaves on my runner/french beans had been stripped. So, I found where I thought the critter gained access and bricked it up. I sowed replacement beans direct into the soil and taking no chances, I netted everything. After several weeks of zero rabbit sightings and a need to weed, I removed the netting. All was well for a few weeks. The photo opposite (taken just two days ago) shows beans in the foreground, with tomatoes, raddish, lettuce and herbs behind. I kid you not, the very next day, the beans (nothing else) had all been stripped bare and two fat pidgeons were the culprits. Caught in the act. It seems the rabbit got a bad press. So, back to square one but apparently it’s not too late to sow again.

As for the allotment patch, one idea was to plant dwarf apple trees. Perhaps I should have looked at the price beforehand! So, instead I opted for raspberry canes as seen in the foreground. Looks like one is dying but the others seem to have taken. My leaks are unlikely to withstand a moderate sneeze and none of my lavender/foxglove pollinators have taken hold. Just don’t seem to have much luck when seeding directly in the ground.