Posted: Wednesday 14 December 2011
by Pippa Greenwood
It’s been very windy in many areas of the country and my hillside has felt like a wind tunnel.
It’s been very windy in many areas of the country and my hillside has felt like a wind tunnel.
Recently, on a particularly blustery day, I ventured out to secure stray stems that had come away from their ties, using padded wire and tree ties from my capacious pockets. A few bits of fleece flew away because they weren’t pegged down enough, but luckily I was able to rescue a piece from a fence on which it was snared.
A number of branches and stems crashed to the ground from nearby trees, so I gathered them up, to use for kindling and firewood. I then cut out any growth affected by apple and pear canker and coral spot, and set it aside, for burning.
Next, I got down on my hands and knees, to adjust the soil around the bases of my winter brassicas - cabbages, cauliflowers and purple-sprouting broccoli. The stems and foliage were in perfect condition, but the wind had loosened the soil around the roots.
I restored my brassicas to their upright position with one hand, whilst firming down the soil with the other. For someone who never uses a kneeler, it made for very wet, blackened knees. But I told myself that all the effort would make the harvested crops so much better.
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