I arrived at the Hill just as a shower started – & met the indomitable Fran & husband Alan who invited me into their shed to keep dry – & for a cup of tea which was very civilised – if a little crowded.
Fran dispenses gardening tips like confetti – lots of really useful information, including which size netting butterflies can and can’t get through (good old Wilko comes up trumps again) & not to leave the plank flat on the soil as it will attract slugs which will then scoff everything in sight.Jane arrived as the rain stopped & after we had a tour of Fran & Alan’s plot – utterly fabulous – we set about sorting out the bean canes. Half an hour, some string, extra canes & another substantial shower later, we have something of which we can be rather more proud.
As a finale we sowed RUNNER BEANS (Reg-next-plot) down one side & CLIMBING FRENCH BEANS (blue lake) down the other. We also put in a short row of RADISH (cherrybelle), CARROTS (early nantes), TURNIP (snowball) & LETTUCE (mixed).
We picked a bucketload of radish – some of which has gone to good homes, as there is a limit to the number of radish that a person can consume. We have a tip for rabbit owners – they LOVE radish leaves, although our research also shows that neither young inquisitive dogs nor fat & otherwise greedy cats are quite so keen.I also put a row of marigold and nasturtium seeds in between the garlic plants, thinned the carrots and hoed up some weeds.
On inspection of the broad beans, the blackfly seem to be present at some of the tips, so I pinched them all out (lightly steamed for tea – yum!) & got filthy whilst fishing out a few small potatoes for tomorrow’s dinner.
Going to rinse the worst of the wet soil off before I got in the car, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a thoughtful plotholder has provided a tablet of soap and nail brush by our nearest tap!
Civilisation, indeed!
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