2024 - What I did today

Potted on sweetcorn & district nurse cfb (Grace). Filled a fish box ready for then these 2 are hardened off. Propped up a courgette leaf. It was smothering the avocado. Hand pollinated the first pumpkin. Planted a jalapeño in the chilli bed. The 3 in the chilli grow aren’t doing well. Dead headed everything in the cottage garden. Collected some seeds. Scattered some snakes head fritillary on the wild flower patch.

More pumpkin training. It’s not going well. Potted on stevia. Too cold to do much outside.

Yesterday I fired up the chainsaw and chopped a load of logs from woood I had scrounged. As much to warm me up as anything,as it was freezing.

Today I plan a trip to allotment to see if any of my seeds have germinated, but first ,a long walk wit Kato is called for.

Potted on a lemon and a blood orange. Hand pollinated courgette, pumpkin and watermelon.

The South East corner of the garden had its first mow of the year, The grass/weeds were so tall I couldn't see the dogs when they were passing through. Unfortunately, the grass was too much for the mower and it died!
After that, I continued to weed by hand - nettles, brambles, dock etc. All the usual culprits apart from vinca and montbretia though I'm sure there's some lurking somewhere. At least I can get to the raspberries now.

Watered the greenhouses then drove to London, back Friday.

Planted courgettes in the old pond - only one survivor from the previous planting.
More mowing with the spare lawnmower.
Had a bonfire of all the dry grass and weeds that have accumulated in the past few months. The forecast is for heavy rain tomorrow so its good to get it gone today.
A good day for working outdoors.

Last few days, I've erected my brassica cage and planted kale, found homes around the garden for12 sunflowers. Then the usual watering/feeding and weedng.

Finished digging out a little bed in the cottage garden. Added some hay & shredded cardboard to the compost.

Nature and I are going to fall out big time. Yesterday I found a squirrel in the fruit cage happily eating strawberries. It had chewed holes in the plastic net which I then mended and reinforced with chicken wire. I set a humane trap last night and checked it this morning. He'd only chewed another hole, avoided the trap and escaped. As it is I've reinforced all round  the bottom 8" of the net with wire mesh in previous years.  Today's job, if rain allows, is top reinforce a further 8" around the bottom, although the first holes were chest height so that might not be a solution.  Some big birds are pecking off the heads of my French marigolds too. The other strawberry patch was decimated by mice, so much so I'm considering digging them out and not bothering. 

I'm disheartened.