greentapestry : End Of Month View ~ March 2012

Tuesday 3 April 2012

End Of Month View ~ March 2012


Just as I was about to turn the bedside light off  and drift off to sleep last night himself observed that he thought that there was a spider on the ceiling directly above my head. Now he should know that it would have been wiser for him to keep silent but his comment saw us swapping places, in case the spider should could dangle down in my direction overnight. Swapping places is what the months seem to have done, with March being unseasonably warm whilst April has got off to a chilly start.

The main news of the month from the allotment is that bunnies have got on to my plot! I knew that they were in the vicinity but up to now had not noticed any tell tale signs of their presence until a couple of weeks ago. The tell tale evidence -  the green shoots of garlic and shallots had been seriously nibbled around the edges. Having grown both crops for some time with no problems I ruled out the usual suspects and after speaking to my allotment neighbours, the verdict is that the interloper is a rabbit. Needless to say efforts will now need to be made to thwart this creature from doing any further damage. Elsewhere on the plot work has been going on preparing the raised beds and ground for this years crops. There is not much in the way of edible pickings although great excitement when towards the end of the month I noticed that the purple sprouting broccoli is doing its stuff. There is some potentially most exciting news affecting our allotment community but for now my lips are sworn to secrecy. Maybe I will be able to divulge all next month.

The warm weather resulted in a sudden rather than imperceptible launch into from winter into spring. I prefer the latter option but the weather gods decided otherwise this year. There are flowerings ahead of their time including bluebells which I always associate with May. Giving me most excitement at the moment is the pear tree we planted last month. It is always so exciting watching leafless branches morphing into growing and green. Hopefully there may be the first fruits later this year but thereby hangs another tale.

The greenhouse continues to fill so no doubt soon the fun and games of moving an ever increasing numbers of plants to fit in the same space will begin. I am trying to keep track of my sowings on the blog using the pages facility but have already fallen behind in recording. Will have to remedy this situation soon. March was remarkable in that I did not bring the fleece out once to give the greenhouse residents overnight protection although the tomato and sweet pepper seedlings have come into the house for the hours of darkness.

Finally I can congratulate myself on my self restraint this month as I have only one new plant purchase to report - a chaenomeles speciosa 'Geisha Girl'. April might prove to be a different proposition with at least one tempting plant sale on the horizon.

Thanks as always to Helen over at 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog', who came up with the excellent idea of the end of month view.

11 comments:

  1. Rabbits can be so destructive so I hope you can get to grips with your new pest. Can't wait to hear about the exciting news, you've got me wondering what it can be now.

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  2. I hope you solve your rabbit problem! They can be the very devil on a veg plot.

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  3. Oh those devils...I have to cover or net many crops and plants or spray with a humane spray that makes the plant taste nasty...keeps me hopping though...our weather sounds a bit like yours...

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  4. Bloody rabbits.

    Saw the snow in Scotland on the news and the forecast temperatures following a Summery March, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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  5. Good luck with the rabbit problem. I think I prefer squirrels.
    The March sunshine has gone to my head and I have emptied my greenhouse of tenderish plants to make room for seedlings. If in April youy hear a loud scream from down here you will know that a frost has arrived!
    Is your new purchase a Quince with real aromatic quince fruit (rather than the boring Japanese ones)?

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  6. Rabbits on the allotment doesn't sound good. Hope they don't cause too many problems. Like the sound of that plant sale. Love Chaenomales someone nearby has hedge made from one and it's so unusual.

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  7. As you know I have had problems with rabbits at the allotment. If you dont mind chemicals there is a product which you spray around the perimeter of your plot or bed and it keeps them off. It really works and you dont have to spray very often. I am trying to remember its name and will look when I go to the plot but that wont be until the weekend given the weather. It is easily available from garden centre - bright yellow spray bottle with a picture on the front of a cat and rabbits head and some other pests.

    I also had some success with garlic spray. Boil a whole bulb of garlic in water - it will smell horrid - then strain off the liquid and use this as a concentrate. You dilute it. It also works well for slugs and other pests but not whitefly.

    Now that all the other plot holders have moved onto the site from the old site - surprise surprise they are putting up rabbit fencing although only down one side which makes no sense to me.

    Thanks for joining in again this month

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  8. Hello again, Anna. I haven’t followed your allotment postings too closely but I might guess that if it’s a community thing you’re getting a new (or bigger) tea/coffee/lunch break shed :-D

    My Granny used to have terrible problems with bedding plants being eaten by rabbits at her little cottage. I sowed nasturtiums for her once and they flowered!

    As Helen says, something round the perimeter of your plot is an idea and I don’t think fencing always works anyway. For cats, putting down big cat manure can work (See Silent Lion Roar Manure in garden centres and Amazon) so maybe there is a natural predator solution for rabbits too :-)

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  9. Pesky critters, good luck with your anti-bunny efforts Anna! So far in the garden, just a few bluebells emerging from their lovely green foliage, but I believe in some parts of the country they are out in swathes already - very early indeed.

    We've had pretty much constant rain overnight and into today. A welcome sight of course but hopefully we will get SOME sunshine over Easter.

    Jeanne
    x

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  10. I have seen rabbits recently so am netting everything over just in case - some years it is worse than others. I always wonder that Dicentra, which look so fragile, can survive over winter to flower again - mine isn't as far ahead as yours, hope this recent drop in temperature doesn't stop it in its tracks.

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  11. Anna - the anti-rabbit stuff is called Cat-a-pult!!!!

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All your comments are much appreciated and treasured. I wil try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment, but it may take me a few days, especially when I start spending more time in the garden and at the lottie. I know that you will understand :) I am sure that I will also visit your blog if I have not already done so. If you have any specific questions I will either reply to them here or you can email me at : thegreentapestry@gmail.com

Namasté

- Anna.