Unexpected scream brings husband running

[westernind]

I've been gardening this morning, planting out the cucumbers, and rigging a net of jute string between the eucalyptus and old house bricks, for the young plants to start climbing. Jute is so much nicer than the nasty green polypropylene stuff, and actually better, due to its innate non-slip nature. I also used it to lash together a tent of bamboo poles for the runner beans.

Then I disentangled a nest of old hanging baskets, including one that was self-watering. It has a cone-shaped reservoir underneath, and a wick that runs between the reservoir and the main basket. Aha, thought I, this must be the wick. But no, it wasn't. It was the scaly tail of a desiccated, mummified, flattened dead rat.

Comments

[ghatanothoa.livejournal.com]

arghhhh arghhhhh arghhhhh!!!!!

How are the cucumbers doing though.. are you planting them out in the garden or pots in a greenhouse? I am doing the latter but only because of the giant population and ingenuity of the local slug population.

I am just building up the courage to create my first runner bean construct. With a degree in engineering I have to get it right first time as a collapse will never be lived down :-P

[westernind.livejournal.com]

They're in a bed - we only have a weeny garden so no room for a greenhouse. The bed is in full sun, and I'm hoping the slugs prefer to lurk in danker spots, and I potted up the young plants so they're now a good foot tall, with several pairs of leaves. We shall see!

I've done a simple A-frame for the runner beans. They're not too heavy, and I buried a good foot of each cane's length, so I'm optimistic. The outdoor tomatoes are more of a problem. Every year they're been OK until the fruits expand, and then gravity wins.