Garden Update May

I have just realised that I have not been writing my monthly vegetable garden update. Probably the person who will most mind is "future me" as I find it really useful to look back and see how things were going in previous years.

First a flashback to March, when me and my husband tackled recovering the polytunnel. For a few years we have patched it up with tape, but throughout this winter the rips got much worse. Recovering it took 2 days work, and involved watching a lot of Youtube videos, and sheltering inside from the rain once we could, but it now watertight, and hopefully will do a lot more years.

And here it is today

The other thing that seems to have worked really well is covering quite a lot of the patch with covers to prevent weeds. Those that we have removed had a few big weeds, but not the backbreaking weeding that we had last year. Some covers still have to come off, but this is something we will do again.

We found hoof prints in the Spring, and suspect it was our visiting deer. We have set a radio playing in the polytunnel, and hung some diesel soaked rags which you can see below, and so far nothing has been eaten. I have also keeping my strawberries under netting, as we lost them last year. I have trying out using some waste wool from the mill as a mulch instead of straw.  

I am pleased that I have some carrots up, as other years they have nearly all been eaten. These seeds were bought for 50p in the library, and had the seeds embedded in a tape, which you bury so that the seeds are evenly spaced and you don't have to worry about thinning. Seems to be working.

 

 

 

 

There are seedlings growing in the polytunnel. We had a visiting mouse, who must have thought he was in heaven, as he dug up a lot of seeds, and hid them around the place for later. Plants keep coming up in odd places.

 

Apart from the large pests, deer and mice, I am putting down coffee grounds, as I heard that can deter slugs and snails. I am determined not to use any pesticides, which perhaps means that I have to accept a certain amount of loss. We have such lovely birds here, and I feel that using chemicals is bound to get into the food chain and affect them. And my husband is constantly producing a steady supply of coffee grounds.