Friends have been nothing but supportive over my little project to create a vegetable plot in the garden.
Marianne and Steve know a thing or two about this as they have a thriving allotment near their home in Ramsgate, freely admitting they practically live there. (That's it above).
They're thinking that the space I'm planning might soon expand once I get in the swing of things. Their offer of seeds of crimson-flowered broad-beans and Magnum Bonum is one I might well take up once I know what I'm doing and what produce I need.
My friend Kate suggests I may have left it a little late to plant most things in the veg patch - adding that I should go for salad stuff and could also try spinach beet.
I'm a little worried about animals getting too interested in the plot once it gets going. My daughter Dorothy had a close encounter with a badger at the weekend, which scampered off into the garden, and I saw a fox walking up the lane last night. Are they interested in this sort of thing (foodwise I mean, not in a philosophical way).
Kate says badgers like digging up lawns to look for worms most and hers ignores the veg patch. Jan, a long time friend from Leeds who now lives in Bingley, thinks the rabbits are the critters to keep away from the veg garden - so no lettuce/carrots.
She also says: "Beans are really good to grow - runner beans as well as broad beans - bugs seem to pass them by and bees love the flowers. Ten to a dozen plants don't take up much room - supported on canes they produce a glut of beans that means you can put loads in the freezer for t'winter."
A salivating thought. All that's needed now is a bit of action on my part.
It's coming, it's coming.
