The first of the winter storms has just arrived at Stephanie’s Kitchen Garden and this week we will be clearing up the aftermath. Storm Angus has swept across the country causing gardeners everywhere to open their curtains and despair at the mess it has left in its wake. It has ripped leaves from the trees and scattered them wide across the garden. We also have a few branches down and our first job of the week will be to clear and tidy away with our leaf rake.
Our structures in the kitchen garden are all securely pegged down, and on the whole have survived the storm intact. Only the occasional piece of fleece has become unpegged, but it is easily secured again. Our stormproof brassica cage has once again proved the success of its design and kept my precious sprouts safe. The nettting, designed to collapse in high, strong winds, has done its job well leaving the metal structure undamaged. The net will be simply hooked back up onto the frame, taking a matter of seconds; a vegetable gardener’s blessing.
Our little broad beans, planted out last week under netting to stop snacking pigeons enjoying a feast, have been slightly flattened by the winds. This week, we will add a fleece cloche, which will give them a bit more protection over the coming months. Last year at this time, several storms hit the garden, so any protection we can give to our overwintering plants will help them to survive and save us work at the same time.
