So what has been happening in the giornaledibarganews vegetable garden? Actually, not a lot really.
Most of the main planting and seeding has been done and this last month the weather has not been all that kind for growing.
The giornaledibarganews vegetable garden is down in a valley and temperatures at night time have been unseasonably low making growing conditions somewhat slow.
As can be plainly seen from the images below, things are taking their time but the maize and beans have now sprouted and are starting to show themselves above the bare earth.
The potatoes in the top field are still suffering from too much water still lying towards the end of the field where any potato’s in that area will have by now rotted but in the rest of the field the plants are doing well.
Unfortunately the fact that they were dug in by hand can now be plainly seen by their wavy lines stretching out across the field. Maybe next time a guide string stretched across the field while digging would be a better idea.
The local wild animals have started to make their presence felt again.
I wrote in the last article: “So this year having the electric fence protecting just half of the field means half of the work. All that was needed was just to think a little more deeply on which plants were liable to be eaten by the animals and which ones are more likely to be left alone. Obviously the ones in danger, like the potatoes and the maize need 24 hour protection but when was the last time that you saw basilico or chard or beets or zucchini being chewed on by rabbits, deer, wild boar or porcupines?
Why didn’t I keep my big mouth shut ? The chard or beets were mercilessly chewed to the ground by some hungry browser.
Another rethink is needed for the electric fence.
On top of that larger animals have been coming through the fence and breaking it. Not a lot we can do about that as probably they are wild boar, notorious for their insensitivity.
Keane alludes to “…wild boar, notorious for their insensitivity.” Who would have guessed that the Lega Nord was also active in the animal kingdom? Whoops — I forgot il Trotta!