Since my last post some months ago, I have planted out potatoes (not showing yet) and broad bean plants. I sowed some more in the greenhouse for planting out later, also some pea seeds, but the mice ate the lot! They also ate the beetroot and the shallots seeds that I planted! So now I have planted beetroot, lettuce and spring onion seeds in my hot bed, and some more peas and shallots in the greenhouse, but protected from mice this time. The hot bed is just a cold frame that I dug out, filled with manure, trod this down and covered with a layer of compost.
We had another couple of lots of snow in February and March, with very cold temperatures, so this spring is taking a while to get going. However, I now have mesh over 3 of my 4 vegetable beds. A bit inconvenient - the sides are only about 3 feet high, although the middle is about 7 feet - but it should at least keep the pigeons off. Any plants that need more protection will be covered with fine mesh, which should keep the pea moth and carrot fly off, if the weather ever warms up enough for them to grow!
