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OK, so the wily little ####s are squeezing behind my net construction into the greenhouse, locating the nicest looking tomato and making an artful exit. I bound the net to the greenhouse more firmly but they can still manage to squeeze through. My neighbours must think I'm a bit weird swearing at and threatening what appears to be an empty greenhouse. Next step filling a juicy tomato with rat poison a la "Danny, the champion of the world"? I probably don't have the heart. Probably...
As you get to know me, you will learn that squirrels and I aren't exactly the best of friends. We had a disagreement about the ownership of a couple of sunflowers about 5 years ago and it has been steadily downhill ever since. Due to the ongoing feud, I deem it necessary to cage up most of my vegetable plants. I am currently growing some tomatoes (gardener's delight and peacevine if you're interested, red ones if you're not) in one of my cloche type mini greenhouses with a net construction firmly fastened to the front to prevent the tree rats from entering. I thought it was foolproof until I just went for a stroll and saw a half eaten tomato wedged between the outside of the back of the greenhouse and the fence. There are no visible signs of entry so I'm a little confused as to what's going on. Surely the squirrels wouldn't be so mean as to steal a tomato from elsewhere and wedge it behind my greenhouse, would they...?
I've been put in temporary charge of my friends' allotment. Doesn't really involve much work when the weather is this bad. All I had to do yesterday was pick some beans and tomatoes so that they'd continue to fruit.
Really drums home the importance of sun though. I have an amazing garden but the southern boundary is lined with several huge trees which cast a shadow over most of the garden until early afternoon. Not even gonna think about the effect of the roots! I've managed to populate all the non-veg areas with relevant plants, most of which are doing very well, but vegetables are a different story. The difference between identical crops (same seeds sown at the same time in the same greenhouse with the same water) that have been planted in my garden and my friends' allotment is huge. Some things crop well in my garden (tomatoes, peppers, beans and peas especially) but some things don't crop well at all (notably root veg). However, EVERYTHING crops so much better at my friends' allotment. Maybe I should gather together an army and plan an invasion...
