Entries Tagged 'Pests' ↓

It was the last thing you would expect to see on a desert island. Maybe it was soon to be food?

Eeek! I have just found a mouse in the composter. It scared the life out of me when I opened the lid. It ran off across the garden though and not up my leg!

It seems we have them at this time of year and the composter is their favourite haunt.

As long as they stay outside they are fine.

The birds starting gathering on the roof one by one and they kept on going……….

If you don’t eat up your food, there is always something else that will. Eco-systems are us.

Well, this weekend I have been doing the compost. Every year I empty out the composter and sift through it to get the big lumps out and then use it for my planting and as a soil improver.

My garden is not the best soil, as it seems to have a hard base one spit down. So I try to improve the surface with my own compost.

I have also been fighting the ant as they have been trying to consume my Peony Roses. I think I have got on top of the ants before they ruined them, but it was a close run thing and now I am fighting a running battle all around the garden because as soon as I move them on from one of my plants they are trying to set up home in another one. Ant powder is my friend at the moment and I am using a lot of it.

On another note, I now have bees setting up home in the garden. That?s always good as it shows they like the garden for its flowers and they have decided to be near where they feed. I will keep an eye on them and see what they get up to over the summer.

Recently it has been wet and windy at the plot. Truth is I have harvested almost everything that can be harvested at the moment. There are still some courgettes growing and pumpkin/squash, but they need a little more time.

I have made a decision that I will be focusing on my garden next year. I have a new job and it will allow me less time to spend at an allotment. That doesn?t mean to say I wont be posting information and pictures, just that I will be more selective about it.

As for growing veg, that will be on the back burner for a while. I?m hoping once things settle down I will be able to get back to it. I?m not giving up the plot, mothballing it maybe. I intend to cover it with all the cardboard I have been saving. That way if I feel particularly vindictive one weekend I can lift it and go on a slug pogrom and add nutrients back into the soil. I?m actually curious about how the soil will look after being covered for so long. I will still be composting at the plot otherwise I wont have soil for my plants.

So, don?t be strangers, I will still be around and posting. I may even decide to grow fruit/veg in pots as an experiment.

I went to a show at the weekend in between cloud bursts and saw the birds of prey exhibit. They were wonderful. I could do with some of them over my plot to deter the pigeons.