Winter is well and truly over, judging by all the activity in the greenhouse! While all this growing has been taking place, the vegetable garden has been given the complete works. I have completely covered it with blood and bone which has been lightly forked in and watered, and then covered it with compost. All this has been done in readiness for the arrival of the semi-hardy seedlings which have been hardening off after their tropical beginnings in the greenhouse. Lettuce (mesclun, and my fave pick-as-you-go lettuce called ‘Canasta’), cauliflower, broccoli, parsnips and beetroot have now all been planted out. Beans and an early sowing of parsnips, which were planted before the winter set in, are almost ready to harvest. The raspberries, which were cut down to the ground, have sprung back with a vengeance, so it looks as though there will be spares once again for neighbours and friends. Strawberries are flowering, and the fruit trees have burst out in blossom seemingly over night. It’s now time to mulch, mulch and mulch.
Pine needle mulch – organic, plentiful, sustainable and free
People seem to have a preference for different mulches depending what they grow, their soil and how accessible their garden is. This is where, in my opinion, you can’t do better than pine needles. They are so easy to collect, carry and spread, and although they do get moved about by the wind and birds, and perhaps they get tangled up in the plants, they are worth any frustrations you might have been told about. I swear by them now, and would not revert to pea straw or any other mulch. We have gathered up over 50 big bags of pine needles, and I still want more. I can manage them myself, which is not to be said for pine nuggets. Pea straw has been my previous favourite mulch, but it gets mouldy and dusty and often starts sprouting.
I have to say I’m a complete pine needle convert.
Scarecrow with attitude!
We love attracting birds to the garden, but I despair when I see my tiny precious vegetables absolutely ravaged to nothingness. I use netting covers, but I don’t have enough to cover everything in the garden, so I have made a scarecrow with a difference.
She is swinging on a wire, so when the wind blows she really looks like she’s going to take off. So far so good as far as the birds go as my cauliflowers and broccoli remain unmunched.