Kitchen Garden Forum

Thanks Monika, what a good idea putting it into the washing machine. To be honest I haven't put my fleece to it's full use, even though I bought it last year this year has been the first time and in each case the planting did respond to the protection.

I have still to get around to buying some 10mm plastic pipe to make cloches and to keep my dog from stealing carrot, french bean and now radish. Doubtless she'll take a liking to broad-beans and I sourced a 50 metres roll of plastic pipe from toolstation for £30.

I'll be putting autumn planting under fleece though I haven't decided what yet.

After just three night under fleece my bush beans are already responding though clearly you have to have a system else it gets all-very-messy.

Thanks for the tip.

I sowed my first lot of climbing French beans in root trainers at the beginning of May, expecting to plant out around the 20th. However, the weather turned so cold, with frost threatened, that I left them to the point where they were all twined round each other in a rope! Mistake. I resowed, and the second sowing also romped away with 100% germination. They were planted out on Saturday, and are looking OK. Slightly weird thing: they are in a sandwich of plastic trellis. The back row in 6ft+ high, for them to climb up; the front row is only about 3ft, and hopefully temporary. It's there to protect the young beans from a couple of young foxes which have been trampling on everything this year...