It's been busy since my last post. I broke my no sowing decision and set some aubergines, peppers and chillis in loo roll middles in the propagator... and only one of cayenne is still alive. The others were potted on and set in plastic bags on the kitchen windowsill, which captres the first sunlight. Where they died. The cayenne will probably suffer the same fate once they've been potted on, but they have to leave the propagator because they're already getting leggy and need the extra light. I have had better luck with broad beans, peas and sweetpeas. They don't need heat, or even light, to sprout. I now have them in the mini greenhouse by the back door and they are doing fine. Once the ground has been properly prepared they'll be moved to an outside bed and will be covered with a layer of fleece to protect from harsh winds.
The Quackers are hating confinement and I am hating the extra cleaning because they get mucky and track it into their bedding. This is, at least for the two bachelor drakes, the case. Their holding pen has debris netting instead of corregated sheeting, which is still fine for the bird flu restrictions, but not good with the rain. And it doesn't help that they splash out a lot of their paddle pond water when they 'wash'. But it won't be forever, I remind myself.
I've started to take down the chicken wire from the front of the fruit cage, which helps with access to the holding pen where the bachelor drakes live. The frame has been in place for about fifteen years, built by the previous holder, Doug. He holds tenancy of the plot next to the first part of Littlemeadow. The wood is now rotten and spongy, and saggs so that I hit my head on it when walking around. I don't want the worry of maintaining it, and the ducks are big and not bred to fly, so down it's coming. Will show before and after next week.
I've put in beams in the gardeners office (what I call my shed) and looped the spare debris netting and fleece over them to keep them in good condition when not being used. I got the idea from Charles Dowding. It's created humidity in the ceiling, and I now have to keep the window to the ajoining greenhouse open, but no one can see it so...
The paths are drying out and hopefully I'll be able to spread the woodchip I've saved on them. This is low grade stuff, freely delivered at the gates to the site for us to take at no more cost than the work involved to lug it to our plots. I grabbed two massive bags of it before Christmas and stored it on pt2, knowing that I'd need it for this. But I'll need to make the path level first, it's churned up where I've been walking along it all winter. I'll wait until the worst of the winter is done and do the job then. There's still a chance of a good rain and the flooding returning.
There's nothing more to tell you at the moment, only that I'm hoping for a better year of growing, and to be able to share it here. Stay safe out there, friends!
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