By Anne Akers
What a contrast it’s been down on the lot this spring compared to last year.
The warmer, drier start to the season has meant that seeds and plants have had chance to grow, unmolested by slugs, snails and soggy roots.
On the downside, I’ve spent a lot of time watering, it’s been so dry the waterbutts ran out weeks ago.
Fortunately we have access to taps on our site and can use hosepipes. A word to the wise, make sure the end nozzle is well-attached, or it will shoot off like a rocket and the water from the hose will soak you to the skin. Yes, this did happen to me, I had to make a quick dash to turn the water off, but I couldn’t find the nozzle, it’s probably reached the Earth’s orbit judging by the speed it flew off the hose. I wonder if they’ll spot it from the ISS?
Even with the fine weather, I’ve brought on the plants I’ve grown from seed in the greenhouse at home, then hardened them off so they don’t get too much of a shock when they’re transplanted into the soil.
I’ve done this with my brassica (sprouts, kale, broccoli and cabbage) and, following on from the successful trial last year, I sowed my peas in a length of guttering to make sure they are big enough to cope with attacks from pea weevils.
These are the little critters that cut out notches in the leaves of peas and broad beans. Providing the plants are strong enough, they won’t suffer.
Broad beans, the seeds I did plant straight into the ground, are coming up very nicely. I ran an experiment a couple of years ago, starting some in the greenhouse and some in the ground. While the greenhouse-grown plants germinated and grew quickly, they were not that much further ahead of the others when they were all in the ground together. And the direct-sown plants seemed to be hardier.
As always, I net young plants. Wood pigeons love fresh shoots and will gobble up the lot. A fine-meshed covering will keep butterflies out, providing they’re not trapped there at the start.
The mesh is expensive though, and I find an old woven shower curtain or net curtain will do the job just as well.
The next couple of months ie before the next print edition of the West Leeds Dispatch, is the busiest time of year on the plot.
Lots of planting, weeding, netting and watering if it’s too dry, plus dealing with the hungry pests ranging from slugs and bugs in the soil to the badgers who dig and disrupt and the deer who are very partial to young beans, rosebuds and strawberry leaves.
With all this hustle, bustle and hard work I do like to take time out when I’m down there. I’m fortunate that my plot is away from roads and noise, so when I’ve done, I’ll sit on my chair, pour myself a cuppa from the flask and simply stare around, marvelling at the loveliness of nature and the miracle of seeing the bare earth transformed into a fine harvest.
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