Time for a post with some photos. Here is my new raspberry cage which is made from two tripods to resist falling over. I am quite pleased to have come up with this much better-engineered solution than my original method of whacking single poles straight into the hard ground, only for them to inevitably fall over. It has so far resisted unseasonable gale force winds so should do the trick. The netting is from Harrod Horticultural and whilst expensive has withstood the test of time. Excellent stuff. In the foreground, maincrop potatoes.
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| Raspberry protection |
Next up, strawberries are doing well and are now under netting. They are planted a bit too close together really, I will plant my next lot much further apart. They need fresh air and get mouldy and rotten if we have wet conditions, such as last year's wet summer.
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| Strawberry patch |
In the distance behind the strawberries you can see onions and a small row of Salad Bowl lettuce. Here is a better picture of my nice neat overwintered onion rows. They are nearly ready, they look so good it will almost be a shame to harvest them. I think I will put some speedy salad veg in their place when they come up.
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| Neat onion rows |
Here is a closer view of the companion planted area at the front of the plot. Allotments are a haven for all sorts of pests so the carrots are planted in between two rows of garlic to guard against carrot fly. The garlic will come out before the carrots but the chives and onions will hopefully put the flies off the scent too. I'm also using resistant variety 'Flyaway' for maximum protection.
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| Carrots, companion planted with garlic chives and onions |
Finally here's a long shot of the plot. Cucumbers are under the plastic tunnel to the right. The long grass on the far right is my neighbour's fruit bushes, he is, by his own admission, slowing down, and can't keep up with this bit of his plot at the moment, although the rest of it is still in perfect condition.
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| The plot, June 2013. Note huge young dog in background by the shed. |
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