Despite the lovely weather I did not manage to drag myself to the allotment, my stamina has failed me horribly this week!

Now I am a bit concerned, as nature won’t wait for anyone, as is well known:

• asparagus that I should be picking is going to seed
• nematodes might well die in the fridge, and they are not cheap
• the dead rats are rotting (why did they leave them there for me to bury in the first place?!?)
• I have not planted anything in May, which will mean a ‘hungry gap’ in the middle of the season… In particular no salad at all
• weeds will have regrown all over the place and grass will need serious mowing
• it’s a windy place over at the allotment and my pallets may have fallen onto something…

I’ve just managed to persuade myself that I must go there at least a couple of hours this weekend, no matter what!

— Post From My iPhone

… I was told they are now dead, left for me to bury…

Anyone for helping?!? :/

— Post From My iPhone

Not one but two, in the trap, they are little (some 15cm + tail) and look intelligent and afraid. They are sort of cute, I could keep them as pets if I did not know they are a health hazard and breed like rabbits! 😉

Well, they breed like mice, but so goes the Italian phrase…

Called the council to dispose of them. Hope the come before the astute little things manage to open the cage.

Apart from looking at them, fixing the window of the shed which I found broken, and moving pallets around, I did not have the stamina to do anything else.

Solanaceae not doing very well and all sunflowers have wilted in the greenhouse.

… Which is very good as I did not have any time even to check the allotment over the weekend.

The pallets have arrived for my compost heap, and so has the second batch of nematodes for slugs management.

And my goodness, it’s June already at the end of this week!
— Post From My iPhone

I got bitten all over the back and head by the mysterious evening insects, besides getting my hands stung by very aggresive nettles on the palm and little finger. Hand is swollen and numb, but it’s my fault as I never use gloves: so I’ll pull myself together now!

Had another go at sowing agretti: hope is nod dead yet, although this is the third time round.

I think I have a personal character issue with crop rotation: cannot quite bring myself to pull out self-seeded plants from previous years, when they grow for free without all the hassle of nursing them: potatoes are coming out all over the place, as well as spinach beet from the previous holder, and you know already of winter spinach and garlic…

… This post is a rewrite of the one that went lost in the ether that is the mobile network, so I will be brief…

I spent a fairly long night weeding a few beds, and found that the winter spinach I planted and thought had never come out, had in fact graced me with some leaves – albeit out of season – that I had for dinner.

Having then planted all the leftover potatoes I set myself the task of picking the last of the leeks, as most of them are going to seed after overwintering through a long fruitful season. Pulling something that looked like a thick clump of long grass, I was surprised to find in my hand a ‘mysterious’ type of alliaceae!

Although it does not have a wrapping skin around it, I came to the conclusion that it must be garlic from last year, either leftover or self-seeding! Neighbour Keith suggested that I split it into cloves and replant it, which did not seem like a bad idea. So out of 5 such clumps I left 3 in the ground, while I transplanted the split cloves of the other two.

End of surprises for tonight!

Tonight was dedicated to the sustainable protection of the gooseberry bush.

I fixed one layer of netting so that the bush fit comfortably underneath and then set up my latest organic defence mechanism: humming lines!

We’ll see if it works.

On the subject of pests, I will also have to do another round of nematodes as slugs are thriving in places (not very much at ease about artificially introducing a parasite in plenty, though). And have a thorough check of the shed, just in case the rat – which I have not seen outside for a while – had the unfortunate idea of taking residence inside.

— Post From My iPhone