Sometimes in the garden you have to make difficult choices. Take my fennel for example. It seems to be like some kind of crop in my garden where it doesn’t seem to want to stop. New bulbs seem to form around the base from plants sown last spring. I’m tempted to leave it there to see what it will do, but it has a place in my carefully worked out crop rotation cycle and leaving it here would play merry havoc with my brassica placement.
Also making things difficult are the ladybirds who seem to love it, and hang out there. Who doesn’t want ladybirds in their gardens right? A garden with ladybirds can cause aphids to quake with fear. But the march of progress can’t be ignored and the crops need to rotate. The last frost date – give or take a week or two is just around the corner and there is a back log of seedlings in the greenhouse. Oh my goodness – I feel like one of those developers trying to build a motorway across the habitat of a rare tree frog or something. Oh no. But the ladybirds haven’t been destroyed or anything, they just need to find some other corner of my garden to kanoodle in. I’m sure there are plenty of suitable places.
Ok I feel bad now. I’m going to have find some ladybird friendly plants and put them around my garden where they can live happily ever after, and maybe somewhere for rare tree frogs to ease my guilt. It is so hard to please everyone in the garden.
But I have pleased my family – the fennel is fabulous and we are eating it in almost every meal at the moment. I shall probably pickle what is left after we have had our fill. But it isn’t just us getting fed, the garden is making its demands known…. You can check it out in my recent video from the garden.
Come again soon – I’ve been doing more weeding and digging, and a bit of digging and weeding.
Sarah the Gardener : o )
Wow, those artichokes look amazing!
Thanks. I am looking forward to eating them.
Cheers Sarah : o )
My fennel is doing the same. Massive bulbs .. Scary looking. I also have to start removing stuff for spring / summer plantings. Always gives mr the guilts too 😀. Love that artichoke
Hi Julie, I wonder how the fennel will cope as a more perminant plant… I’m considering giving it its own spot – but that would mean more digging…. : o)
Great artichokes! I planted a few from seed almost a year ago now, and no sign of stalks yet…
Thanks. From what I remember (I’ve had artichokes in my garden for about 7 years now) the first year it was about the plant establishing. After that those same plants are still going strong and I’m getting more artichoke than I know what to do with!
Cheers Sarah : o)
I’m sure the ladybirds will find a new home in your garden. Too bad they can’t take care of the rust.
That’s an impressive amount of fennel, too. Your spring garden is coming along beautifully.
Hi Alys. I’ve seen the ladybirds elsewhere since I removed the fennel so they’re still there and I hope they stay.
Cheers Sarah : o)
I hope so too. If they have food, they will.