Wiring the compost bins

Our furry veg-stealers (aka rabbits) have still been burrowing under our compost bins, near the hedge. We dug out the oldest bin deeper than usual, put a piece of wire fencing cut to size across the bottom of the bin and covered it with a layer of soil up to the normal level, putting the extra compost on the plot to do some good. We then turned the other bin into the newly wired bin and found a large hole under the rotting stalks and leek tops but it looked disused. We dug that bin out, filling in the hole, lined its base with wire mesh and covered that with some soil too. That is now ready to receive any fresh cuttings and trimmings, though there won't be much just yet.

I feel as though we may be making progress. There were no fresh dropping that I could see and none of their incursions made it past our fence and onto the plot, so nothing valuable, like the last of our leeks or our slowly growing broccoli, was eaten. I can get on with a plan for this year's planting now.

Still filled

The rabbit hole I filled in is still filled in. There may be another hole deep in the bottom of the only part of the hedge that is thick and prickly. I have shoved a thick off-cut of fence post into the hole to see what moves. If that is active then a lot of digging will be needed to get at the main hole and continue to discourage the rabbits from our site and our vegetables.

I'm starting to think about the plot plan now too.

Changes, roof and old foes

The new year brings a sense of anticipation to allotment holders. Our first seed catalogue has arrived and we have discussed a set of changes to our plans, mostly growing more variety and less stuff easily bought like onions.

The rent for the plot has gone up so this year I expect the council to do their job in engaging pest controllers if they are needed. I will not stand by and lose most of our produce without a fight.

I have heard that Rob on the next plot has given up his two plots. I'm a bit surprised, but everything comes to an end eventually. The pests, weather damage, rent increases and other commitments have driven him away.

Today we replaced the felt on the shed roof. It was easier than I thought, went very well and looks good. It was not a moment too soon as a damp patch has appeared in the corner of the shed.

The rabbits are back. They have dug a hole in our compost bin. I'm going to encourage them move out over the next few days.

Edit: I returned to the plot to start the blitz on the rabbits. Their hole was deep and steeply sloping down, but now it is filled in. I expect they will dig it out, but I will fill it in again with rubble, gravel or anything else I can find. Eventually I hope they take the hint to move on.

Garlic, leeks and parsnips

The last week or so brought frosts that didn't really give all day, but the weather broke with a warmer, windy and very wet day, so the day after the ground had properly thawed. We went to gather some more leeks and parsnips. The ground was as claggy as you might expect and it will only get worse until the spring. We need to stay off the land as much as we can now.

The leeks were in beds covered with netting to keep the pests off, which we have not had to do before. The leeks are really tasty, but not as big as we would like. If we leave them now they won't grow much and we are ready for them. We finished off the first bed and I packed up the canes and netting from the covers.

Jean dug some parsnips. They have done very well this year with great long roots and not very woody in the centres of the really big ones.

I pruned the black currant bushes - probably rather later than was ideal. I planted loads of prunings both near the moved raspberries and in the hedge bottom too. Too much of the hedge is elderberry and it is dying back leaving a bare and useless hedge. I think a hedge that produces black currants would be great. We will see how well the prunings do - I'll need to cut down the weeds in the hedge bottom to stop them out-competing the currant bushes.

Jean planted some garlic. Again this might be a bit late, but it will probably do well in the spring. Sweet, home grown garlic is too good to miss, so if it doesn't grow I'll try some spring-planted ones.

The broccoli is still looking good in its covered frames. No sign of spears yet, but it is probably still too early.  It would not be there without the covers. Norman on the next plot has had cabbage, sprouts and leeks all eaten to the ground by pests. Some were covered but not perfectly. We still think it is rats. The ground is very soft after the rain but there were no animal tracks we could see. People are putting out rat poison and it is still been taken in volume, so it feel like a losing battle.

As the rent for the plot relentlessly goes up year on year, maybe the parish council could spend a little getting some help dealing with the rats. The water bill for the year (previously quoted as a major cost) must be low this year - no one needed to water much this year.

Fat parsnips

It has been a couple of weeks since we visited the plot. It looks fairly tidy and mostly in good order. The rats seem to have left us one way or another. The felt on the shed needs repairing - job for a calm, dry day. I hope the wooden roof under the felt is intact so we only need to cover it with some more felt. Broccoli is looking good, so we might get some spears in a couple of months or so, just when fresh veg is hard to get.

Today we took some leeks and some parsnips. The leeks are not quite as big as previous years after being badly eaten in the summer. They are, nonetheless, quite respectable and some may yet fatten up some more. Cleaned and trimmed they look great. The parsnips are huge. They seem to have benefited from the extra rain this year. Their leaves are dying back so we pulled seven to bring home, the straightest ones are pictured (I'm not going to show the worst ones now am I?). The really big ones can get a bit woody in the middle, so we discard the core. All of these were cut up into chunks or chips, blanched and frozen ready for making into stews and soups. We have hardly touched the crop so parsnips will be available all winter and most of next year from the freezer I think. The flesh seems white, soft and creamy and the smell of freshly cut parsnip make my mouth water.

Autumn

The leaves on the trees are turning golden and beginning to fall. The hedgerows are full of red berries of hawthorn, rose hips, rowan and white beam. We collected up the remaining onions from where they were drying on greenhouse shelves, ready for taking home. A few were soft and headed for the compost bin, but the crop is far better than I realised. Now stored in the cool, dark cupboard at home they look as good as last year, which was a good year.

The leeks on the plot are slowly fattening up. We might have been tempted to take a few by now in previous years, but they have been so small that we have waited. I think they will be fine and a good number too. I hope their slow growth, even slower than most years, will make them even tastier.

Our first proper try at growing broccoli is looking good, though they do seem to have some white fly. The plants are looking sturdy and growing taller. They are protected by frames and netting to keep the pigeons off, who, I'm told, like broccoli. No sign yet of any spears to take, but that might not be until January or February.

The asparagus was yellowing so it all got cut back to the ground, before any storms rock the roots and cause damage. Monty Don suggests covering the ground with compost to feed the plants for next season, which I will do, compost topped up with blood, fish and bonemeal. Mind you, Monty Don suggests covering everything with compost or digging compost into everywhere, which would be nice but our compost heap doesn't make enough for a fraction of what we would need. 

Jean sowed some spinach which grew slowly. We decided to plant it at home in tubs to make it easier to look after and pick. We'll see how that goes.

We are still feeding poison to the rats, who dutifully consume it. One dead rat has turned up on Geoff's plot, but still they go on. I think we need to use a different tactic.

Greedy rats

I have now used a full tub of rat poison and started the next one. Each time the suggested dose of poison has gone completely. When I put down a tray with some in, the tray disappeared too. I feel like I'm feeding them rather than poisoning them. Something, maybe the rats, ate the last of our sweetcorn, so the stalks got pulled up and the patch dug over. I'm beginning to wonder if the rats are also under the shed, so rat proofing the spaces around it with wire netting or bricks might be on the cards. I wish I'd thought to do it when we put the shed up - it would have been much easier. I'm also wondering about the best way to stop creatures burrowing into the bank below the hedge. That really lies outside of our plot in the adjoining field, but a bit of netting might benefit us and the farmer.

This allotment is beginning to feel like a battlefield and a minor civil engineering site this year. I hope we get back to better times next year.