Raspberry Supports

Well, the wood's been sitting there for five months, and the raspberry beds have been nominally finished for longer (nearly a year), but the raspberry beds are now complete. Really.

Except for re-stitching the nets where the old stitching has split. One day, maybe, they'll be done.

However, I have now added the horizontal supports that allow us to stretch wires along the beds, onto which we have tied the raspberry stems. They're about 70 and 130cm above ground level, which is about right for the current height of the canes, but can be moved later if needed. I'm glad to have this done: some of the canes were getting a bit battered by wind, especially the tallest (about six foot now).

Liz collected some new flowers for the house.

Mixed vase. © Ian (2011).

We managed to squeeze some other odds and ends into the dry bit of the weekend (which began at 1500 on Sunday): repotting the Christmas tree (not looking happy—again). The last one didn't look well last summer, and eventually died. The replacement is now looking a bit bare at the bottom, which is unsettling, so we've replanted into a deeper pot, in hope.

The second-early potatoes (lifted a week ago) are now washed and ready to store. The space they liberated is partly re-sown: a patch of salad leaves, two rows of spring cabbages ('Frostie' F1; 3" by 6"), a couple of rows of Zlata radishes, and about 40 turnips ('Golden Ball'; 6" by 12" spacing). The cabbages are just there to germinate; we'll move them to their final spot once the potatoes currently occupying it are out. Everything else is a quick crop, and will be replaced in autumn/early winter by overwintering alliums. There's still about a square metre unused, between the turnips and the maincrop Golden Wonder potatoes, but otherwise we're still fully occupied.

The onions, though, are on their way out. Almost all the foliage has fallen over, and is yellowing. A bit of dry weather would help!