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Allotments are good for the soul
Was feeling horribly stressed this morning. Went down to the allotment and cleared the strawberry bed of weeds. Took me a couple of hours and reduced my stress levels greatly. Chatted to one of the other allotment holders who thinks that my beans are being eaten by flea beetles rather than pigeons. He could be right. The bird netting doesn't seem to have made a difference yet and I'd have expected to see a few undamaged young leaves by now.
Checking now - not flea beetles, (but he was right, it isn't the birds) - definitely "pea and bean weevils" - the damage looks exactly right. The little scallops out of the edges of the leaves are a perfect match. Unfortunately, they are easier to prevent than to eradicate. Fleece over the beans as soon as you plant them will do the trick as it stops the adults from arriving, and hoeing around the plants will disrupt the lifecycle. It looks like hoeing to salvage as much as we can and using fleece to protect later beans that we plant out. Older plants don't suffer as much damage, but young plants can sometimes be killed by them.
Anyway, in spite of the weevils, I still felt better for all the weeding. Managed to get some productive work done on the computer. In the evening, Waveney and I went to the local stables and collected many sack-fulls of well-rotted manure. They're glad to be rid of it, we're glad to have it! Over the next week or so, this will be used to enrich the raspberries and blackcurrants, prepare beds for the tomatoes and courgettes and squashes and possibly get ready for a new strawberry bed later in the year. (Apparantly, you should move strawberries every three years to prevent virus and disease build-up)
It's a steep learning-curve. It's rare that a day goes by without me consulting the three or four books on growing fuit and veg that have taken up permanent residence on the lounge table. Hard work, but very relaxing. I actually found myself lamenting the lack of weeds this morning, as I wouldn't have an excuse to spend as much time there tomorrow. The manure has now solved that one!
I really need an allotment icon in addition to the gardening one. I'm just not sure what should appear on it...
Checking now - not flea beetles, (but he was right, it isn't the birds) - definitely "pea and bean weevils" - the damage looks exactly right. The little scallops out of the edges of the leaves are a perfect match. Unfortunately, they are easier to prevent than to eradicate. Fleece over the beans as soon as you plant them will do the trick as it stops the adults from arriving, and hoeing around the plants will disrupt the lifecycle. It looks like hoeing to salvage as much as we can and using fleece to protect later beans that we plant out. Older plants don't suffer as much damage, but young plants can sometimes be killed by them.
Anyway, in spite of the weevils, I still felt better for all the weeding. Managed to get some productive work done on the computer. In the evening, Waveney and I went to the local stables and collected many sack-fulls of well-rotted manure. They're glad to be rid of it, we're glad to have it! Over the next week or so, this will be used to enrich the raspberries and blackcurrants, prepare beds for the tomatoes and courgettes and squashes and possibly get ready for a new strawberry bed later in the year. (Apparantly, you should move strawberries every three years to prevent virus and disease build-up)
It's a steep learning-curve. It's rare that a day goes by without me consulting the three or four books on growing fuit and veg that have taken up permanent residence on the lounge table. Hard work, but very relaxing. I actually found myself lamenting the lack of weeds this morning, as I wouldn't have an excuse to spend as much time there tomorrow. The manure has now solved that one!
I really need an allotment icon in addition to the gardening one. I'm just not sure what should appear on it...