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Andrew netted my entire vegetable
garden last summer and that improved my
vegetable crop, even in the winter. We
used recycled hardwood to make a garden
surround, raising the vegetable and herb
beds and increasing drainage and soil
warmth. Then Andrew put up
a sturdy frame that has been sunk deep
into the ground and attached to the
hardwood. Around that he attached
bird netting on three sides. The
fourth side is already enclosed by the
concrete wall of the neighbours’ car
shed, which we painted white on our side
to better reflect light onto our plants
in the garden. Andrew built
a hinged door for access and added a
bolt. It all looks like some very
fancy chicken run!
The
netting has been a real blessing. It
keeps the birds from eating the
tomatoes, but our biggest problem was
domestic cats. They are a real
menace here. Not only are they
very partial to native birds, but they
dig up the garden terribly their mess
makes many plants inedible. Nearly
every house in our neighbourhood has at
least one cat. Not us!
The
netting of the vegetable garden meant
that we had a bumper crop of vegetables
last summer. The runner beans
looked like something Jack had planted,
the courgettes snaked out over the
paths, and the cherry (miniature)
tomatoes hung like bunches of grapes on
their vines. We picked produce
every two days, and in one afternoon’s
picking alone we worked out that the
tomatoes we had in our basket would have
cost over $200 to buy in the local shop.
We are still benefiting from the litres
and litres of roasted tomato pasta sauce
that I made in the summer and stored in
containers in the freezer. |
