2020 Spring Bits & Bobs

[Primrose]

Among the library books I collected to keep me engaged during any bad weather lockdown leisure was one called Plot 29 by Alan Jenkins. It,s a true memoire of the author who as a young boy in the 1960s was rescued along with his brother from a Care home by an elderly couple. The book traces his search for his real parents along with his lifelong love of growing things on the London allotment he tends from his esrky days experimenting with small growing experiments, starting with growing nasturtiums from seed.

[Clive.]

Worth looking out for and having a read of Old Herbaceous by Reginald Arkell....

C.

[Westi]

My mice & rats will be away soon (well not personally mine)! The farmer behind the site has sown some sort of cereal crop this year so finally I have a chance! Ever thought of a sacrifice crop Compo? Mine are extremely fond of peas, maybe buy a cheap pack of dried peas from the supermarket & throw a few down each day a decent distance away? Just a thought, maybe worth an experiment? (I'm pretty sure this aren't high on the hoarding list for most folk)!

[robo]

One of the plotters near mine found a dead pheasant half buried on his plot this morning his neighbour who has a very neat plot had paw marks all over his beds we all came, to the conclusion that it’s a fox due mainly to one being seen last week happily skipping down the main track that divides one half of the allotment from the other ,I fitted one of the automatic closers on the shed bob hole where the chickens spend the night so my girls should be safe “ hopefully “

[Compo]

Hi Westi
Not a bad idea
I have had temporary success with wrapping the seed trays in scaffold net and placing them in a high up tray in the greenhouse eaves. Its a faff getting them down for watering. My other idea is to make a netting box (designed like a small cold frame to put the seed trays in and deter the blighters) sacrificial peas might work in combination with this.

The battle continues!!

[Stephen]

Robo, I hope your girls are safe. Both cats and foxes are fond of chicken meat. And chickens will die of fright afterwards, if not killed in the attack. But there are always rescue birds available.

[Stephen]

Rain!
I'm sure that we, here im the Chilterns, had a full five weeks without.

[oldherbaceous]

We had over an inch of rain here last night...now just watch the weed seeds germinate.

Poor Old Codger has got, what we think is, accute Sciatica...he was in agony yesterday, with it going right down into his foot. I hope it clears off, as quick as it came on....

[Compo]

Plenty of rain here yesterday and a bit today. The hoe will be needed for the annual weeds next week when it's sunny again. All I can say to sciatica, having had it before is 'OWCH'.

[vivienz]

We had many tons of topsoil distributed this morning as part of getting the garden area up together. A friend very kindly gave me some wildflower seed last year, annual and perennial, so I shall put that down today in the hope that it's still viable.

[tigerburnie]

Afternoon all, we have cool and cloudy today and still very dry, no rain for weeks so the hose has been in use. The early sown carrots and peas in the greenhouse border are growing well, whether they will be ready before the close by Sweet Corn swamps them may be another story. Strawberries in the greenhouse in flower, so I am helping with the pollination, might get a few early ones next month.

[Stephen]

At home my water butt went from empty to overflowing.

[Primrose]

Garden being visited by two different rats in past two or three weeks , one long and thin and one rather fat one (could be pregnant? .). We have three baited boxes around the garden nr their possible entry point. Some bait is being taken but it!s obviously not controlling them. Running out of ideas. Don,t want them urinating on my vegetable patch. Can anybody recommend some super strong killer bait available to the public on the Internet?

[robo]

I use most of them sold on amazon I buy the blocks with holes in the middle I tie anything up to five on a wire then stake it down with a tent peg or similar then cover it in blocks of wood to stop birds getting at it ,normally takes around a week from when they start eating it

[Compo]

I was told to put the bait in something that they have to crawl inside so other creatures don't eat it. Most proprietary brands should suffice, wish I could remember the one I used to get from mole valley, and keep putting the bait down till they stop taking it, that means they are hopefully dead!