Pushing up the daisies

Due to the extreme crapness of my corn sowing, I have 4 flimsy corn plants. pffff. This will be my challenge to resolve for next year I see!
So undeterred I planted around it my little squash plants, butternuts and Qld Blue pumpkins. And then a row of Cobra climbing beans up some trellis that fell off the back of a lorry. That looks really cool! And a new row of green beans.
To plant all that, I uncovered the tarped area that had been protected for the last few weeks. It was really easy to turn it over, and it was full of potatoes! Volunteers that had grown around the edges during the spring! I think they were Charlottes from last year. In any case I got about a big salad bowl full of spuds! Ate them in salad yesterday, they were divine. So sometimes you can get something for nothing!
The tarped area had been turned into a mini resort by my resident friend the vole. As I lifted it all up I saw him scuttle away under the beans. I saw him twice on the weekend, he's really cheeky. I couldn't bring myself to trap or kill him - they say that they only live a few months. How sad. I almost got to stroke him but he managed to scurry a little further away. He's not that shy, I managed to shoo him under the raspberries, as i was afraid of walking on him. I know that they do some damage in the garden, well I don't really have bulbs of precious ornamentals and I think he is mainly living in the compost, that's where his tunnels go. I figure that he couldn't really eat as much as me, so I am willing to share a little with him.
I also had the chance to give the garden a good tidy up, getting a lot of bindweed out. 2 wheelbarrows full of weeds, oof! It is looking much tidier though, I really feel like I have kept on top of things this year, hoeing regularly, putting in borders, it all helps make it look nicer. Despite only occasional rain, mulching is helping to keep the moisture in. (But probably encourages Mr Vole a little too much).

Labels: beans, planting, potato, pumpkin, spring, squash, vole