I saw them arrive & showed them round the plot & we chatted about crops & pests & techniques, & we met Julie (2nd best plot) & teacher Barry, besides Jody, & then walked down to see John Badger at the bottom, then I bid them farewell with a lettuce a-piece having had a lovely time, & I am very much looking forward to my return visit in a couple of weeks or so.
Back to the weeding, & trying to knock the first couple of beds into shape (this year’s roots where the overwintering onions & garlic have stopped me completing the raised beds). It’s all a bit of a mess at that end, but it looks better now – especially under the strawberry cage, where there are not only masses of flowers, but also some small green fruit – brilliant!After a break at the clubhouse, I planted out two CUCUMBER (burpless tasty green f1) besides a stiff mesh fence for them to climb up. Not having grown cucumbers before, I’m not sure about how big the plants grow, but have taken Julie’s advice on the mesh – the theory is that they scramble up it & the cucumbers are both easy to spot & safe from slugs.
I also planted out the SQUASH (olive & red kuri), making sure that I’ve given them plenty of room each – although I’ve no doubt that they’ll still have spread everywhere come August.
The last job was to tie a few of the peas in to the strings where they need a bit of a hand. With the bed weeded, it is now easier to see the extent of the pigeon damage – which is pretty catastrophic with regard to the brassicas right across the board.But there is something most peculiar about the pea damage. Out of those sown, there are a couple of varieties which have been absolutely devastated, (on the left in the photo - planted out the same time as the ones on the right) yet other varieties have not been touched at all – don’t they taste very good? I had no idea that pigeons were so discerning!
How heartbreaking to have the peas attacked like that.
ReplyDeleteI'd lend you one of our sparrowhawks but I haven't seen them recently (report from neighbour that one - probably the male - killed himself flying into a conservatory recently). Damn shame, just before breeding time too.
I'll be sure to make a note of the ones that the pigeons have left alone, for next year, Bilbo!
ReplyDeleteYes, a sparrowhawk would do the job, but would scare the other birds too, I think, and I would not be without the little robin who was with me again today 'helping' to plant out the tomatoes!