Last year I got a small tray of leek plants from the pet and garden shop in Diss at the end of March and they gave me some nice autumn leeks. I looked both times I was in town at the end of March and early April but they hadn't got any this year. None at boot sales either or out the front of Asda or QD. Finally found some on Stowmarket market flower stall. £3.50 and there were more than 30 plants.
Got them planted out on Saturday and covered to keep next door neighbours cat and the pigeons off them.
But on Tuesday morning I found that Bl***y cat from next door had somehow pushed it's way under the net hoop cover, trampled many of the seedlings and left a pile of poo in one corner. - Yuck. Hate that cat! The net cover is now pegged down everywhere along all edges, hopefully the remaining leeks will grow on without anymore disturbance.
Also put the Climbing French Bean plants out. They are much earlier than I usually get them going so needed extra protection They are surrounded by the wire cage that I got to put leaves in for rotting down, (the leaves never did rot down, I put them in a dustbin now). Then I wrapped a piece of fleece around the outside - well pegged. Hopefully that will be enough to protect from cats, birds, any late frosts or high wind.
Thank heavens I did protect from the wind as on Monday morning we had strong gusts of wind in amongst the pouring rain - really nasty weather for mid April.
My home raised leek plants for winter got lost under the courgettes last year which was a bad mistake. I've sown some this year but no sign of them yet - they are one of those things that have never done well for me and when Colin was going round the County bridge inspecting all those years ago he found a house where an old boy always sold huge bundles of well grown leek plants every spring and he'd come home with dozens to plant out.
I've been covering the greenhouse plants with a double layer of fleece every night but thought I'd lost the aubergine plants yesterday morning - I took the fleece off early morning and I reckon it was still too cold and they all collapsed. Thankfully they perked up later - I brought them inside last night as temps were due to be down to 1℃.
Growing food is a constant battle against everything!
But look at the Raspberry canes - with luck there will be more fruit than last year. They are looking so well for their second fruiting year.
Back Tomorrow - when I've stopped crying over lost plants!
Sue
Pesky cats!
ReplyDeleteThose raspberry canes are romping away, well ahead of ours. The thought of picking and eating a sun warmed raspberry has made my mouth water. I hope you have a bumper crop.
I love raspberries and such a crazy price to buy so I'm hopeful for lots
DeleteI have some net tunnels keeping the cats away from my raised bed. So far, they seem to be doing the trick.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you'll be in for a decent crop of raspberries this year. Xx
I thought a net tunnel would protect the leeks - blinkin' cat!
DeleteI remember once planting some seedlings in a tray and leaving it in the greenhouse. I looked out to see next-door's cat creeping in through the partly open door. So I went outside, entered the greenhouse, startled poor puss who ran under the shelves I had at the back of the greenhouse, knocked down a small watering can which upset the tray of seedlings, water went over cat and cat exited straight through the glass of the greenhouse. Amazingly the cat was no worse for wear and had the audacity to come back later in the day to admire its handiwork.
ReplyDeleteGood grief! Must have been one of it's nine lives gone surely?
DeleteMy toms, peppers and aubergines are in an unheated propagator, double covered with fleece. French beans out on the wooden bench and double covered. 1C in the greenhouse overnight.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I brought the plants in last night - very chilly
DeleteCats can be a menace.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really thought much about veg in the tiny space I have but green beans rather than runner beans sounds a very good idea, thank you. xx
She's a lovely looking cat but I'd love to keep her out of the garden
DeleteFind a proper coffee shop and ask for some spent grounds, scatter them around your plants as it keeps cats away and also fertilises the soil, win win situation. I tried it for the first time last year and along with planting a patch of ransoms at the pesky creatures entrance point it has worked. Jan in Castle Gresley
ReplyDeleteI need to find something separate to knock my old coffee grounds into rather than just adding to the compost caddy then I could try that tip
DeleteThere are a couple of cats here but they don't come in the garden - Betty keeps them away. We do have pigeons though, which are a blimming nuisance. You're going to have a ton of raspberries!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely not getting a dog to keep Crumble out of the garden!!
DeleteCats can be a real menace. I have my smaller plants under the rigid mesh shelves that came with my 'mini-greenhouse' last year, they seem to be doing the job of keeping Ginger and his little black friend off my seedlings, they are almost the right size to cover the beds.
ReplyDeleteIf I leave even a square foot uncovered Crumble leaves me a present
DeleteI so understand the frustration.......all the hard work and fiddly leek seedlings....this year because of circumstances at home I'm awarding myself a sabbatical from veg growing, part of me will miss it but the other part won't!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
I just don't seem to be able to get a good lot of leek seedlings from my sowing of them
DeleteI had no idea a cat could do this much damage to seedlings. The cat has lots of property to roam, yet they choose to damage young plants. The coffee grind suggestion (above) is new to me and sounds worth trying. Your raspberry plants look outstanding. A friend recently replaced windows and he took the old windows and made a few box frames for planting seedlings. Cats in my town are kept in the house because the coyotes hunt them for food. Small dogs are at risk too.
ReplyDeleteTheir four paws may be small but they manage a lot of damage!
DeleteThere are several cats that use our garden as a short cut. They poo on the flower beds, despite me sticking short sticks into any bare soil to keep them off, they poo in the middle of patches of mature plants (what else would my thyme patch be for, other than a litter box?) and when they can't find anywhere else to their liking they scratch up the grass and poo on the lawn. They ignore the gravel in my front garden, which I always assumed was something they would like. I have to cover anything I am trying to grow for food. If I find poo I remove it and cover the area with strong curry powder, but they just do it somewhere else the next time. It's so annoying.
ReplyDeleteWe often have cats in our garden and the soil gets dug up and thrown onto the borders along with plants and bulbs. Mind you, we also have foxes and magpies who also do the same. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI love cats and have had many of them, however, they used to come indoors to use the litter trays even though they could have gone outside in my garden. Now they've all gone (hopefully to kitty heaven!) I picked up some of the metal drawers from large freezers dumped at the local tip when I was up there - they sit neatly over seedlings which grow through the square mesh. They don't show once the plants get bigger and anyway it's better than cat mess. I also turn metal hanging baskets upside down over my tubs and plantpots to keep them out of there (yes they do use them otherwise). Apparently they are terrified of cucumbers but putting those around your garden would cost a fortune (if it works and I've seen video's which would suggest that it does). Anyway, my raspberries are taking over the garden this year and need tidying up so that's my job for tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your days with us I'm sure it's an effort and I want you to know it's much appreciated. Elaine
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry about your plants - since Daisy died the nearby cats think they own this place. They are out all night (I have wildlife camera pictures to prove it) so goodness knows what they hunt and kill. As you quite rightly say, they are little sods and if I let a dog roam free on someone else's land I would be in big trouble.
ReplyDeleteThere was frost here last night too.
Naughty pussy indeed! I love my cats but understand it is a real pain when allowed to roam other's gardens and cause damage. Hopefully with their collars on our two don't roam far...I know Kitty doesn't leave the boundary, and Wilbur (the naughty one who escapes) is a welcome visitor a couple of doors up where they like to watch him on their wildlife camera.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem is wallabies and wombats, rather than cats. I had some beautiful bok choy I was going to harvest for our dinner that very night: looked out the window to see a wallaby chomping away! and a wombat broke into my greenhouse and ate all the parsley...yep, a constant battle against either the animals or the frost.
ReplyDeleteOur old cat would never have dreamed of doing her business in the garden, she would always run in to use her litter box. Yes, we had a very strange cat. Our yard is well fenced with material (metal) that other cats (feral) can't climb or sneak under. Sorry for the loss of your plants.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
What a bad cat! I find them somewhat annoying. The one from our new neighbours keeps coming into our garden and scaring the birds.
ReplyDeleteGrowing things here is a challenge as there are deer and bunnies a plenty. We are trying to come up with something that would allow us to grow things but also have the wildlife in the garden.
That is extremely annoying. There are dozens of rabbits in my neighborhood (which is odd because it *is* a city) and they definitely eat anything, starting with my tulips. I was tempted to buy this little pseudo-greenhouse but if it fell apart, that would be even more irksome! I do love raspberries, however. I tried to grow some once but somehow all that survived was poison ivy! https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/Home-Garden/Outsunny-6-x-3.5-x-5-Outdoor-Portable-Walk-In-Greenhouse-with-Clear-PVC-Cover/22351169/product.html?opre=1&option=37206490
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