Last week was horrendous but more on that later.
We have had some rain, making the top layer of soil quite moist, but when Martyn tried digging, at a spade’s depth, the ground was still hard and dry. Any digging will remain on hold.
The main activities at the moment are bed clearance and some harvesting.
There was one bit of planting that we wanted to complete last week. Our local garden centre announced that they had onion sets and garlic for sale.
Fortunately, we had managed to prepare a bed ready for planting. As it had previously been used to grow peas, it had been well watered, and Martyn had managed to run the tiller over it.
Before planting, we spread fertiliser. Then, shallow trenches were filled with multipurpose compost.
Before planting, I first spaced out a block of garlic, and the cloves were then pushed into the compost.
Then, six rows of onion sets were spaced out before being planted in the same way.
Once planted, the bed was covered with a mesh tunnel to protect from pests. We don’t grow onions in the same ground as in the previous year, as most onion pests overwinter in the soil.
A second generation of allium leaf miner emerges in late summer and autumn, and the pupae overwinter in the soil until the following spring; therefore, it is a good idea to cover the onion bed early to try to reduce the chance of the pupae overwintering in the same bed as the onions.
The sweet Williams that we planted several weeks ago have really enjoyed the recent rain. The trouble is that it has also activated weed seeds. I gave the bed a hoe to knock back the growth of the seedlings.
Most of the quinces have grey blotches on the skin which we thought meant the fruit was spoiled, so we picked a small number as a test. Most of the blemishes in the test sample were only skin deep, so we harvested more. We’re hoping that these fruits are the same.
When I was clearing the squash bed, I found another butternut squash hidden in the dead leaves.
So why don’t I want a repeat of last week?
To start with, on Sunday, Ruby had a tummy upset. Some sort of 24-hour thing.
On Tuesday, once her tummy had settled, we decided on a walk in the park. When we are walking, Ruby is always on an extendable lead so she can run about, but is still attached to us. Ruby is very good off lead, but she doesn’t like dogs running at her. If they do, she is likely to run to try to get away from them. As it is, when she sees other dogs on the loose, she likes to come close to us, which is what happened on Tuesday.
We had not long been walking when we noticed two off-leash Staffordshire terriers.
We were some distance away from the dogs, but Ruby came between us.
One of the dogs suddenly decided to run at us and attacked Ruby. Martyn had to kick it to get it away from her.
At that point, I saw that the second dog was charging at us, so I scooped Ruby into my arms. The dog then jumped at me, snapping at Ruby’s hind quarters, so Martyn had to dispatch that one too.
The dogs were with a group of four children who you would expect to be at school. One boy of about 13 years old freaked out and started shouting abuse and behaving erratically because his dogs had been kicked, He wasn’t at all concerned that they had attacked Ruby.
At this point, three other people, who had witnessed the incident, came to check that we were OK, and the group with the dogs moved off.
We checked Ruby over, and although her hair was wet where the dogs had hold of her and that she was terrified – as were we – she wasn’t actually injured. I’d brushed her hair before we went out, and her hair was fluffed up, so I think the dogs got a mouthful of hair. I think that protected her as I was expecting blood.
After a while, the group with the dogs decided to return and follow all five of us and they began throwing stones, so Martyn phoned the police.
I think that the group realised what we were doing and headed into some bushes, so when the police arrived, they had disappeared.
We had taken a photograph of the group, which we gave to the police, and after taking notes of what had happened, the police headed off to see whether they could spot them. I didn’t hear anything, so I guess that they didn’t find them.
They are also going to keep a lookout when on patrol. I also contacted the dog warden who also has a photograph.
So that’s why I don’t want to repeat last week.
Although Ruby escaped serious injury, she was really frightened when two dogs ran up to us in exactly the same place on Wednesday. I picked her up, and her heart was racing. I think the owner of the dogs thought that I was overreacting until I explained.
Anyway, on Thursday, Ruby had a treat and we took her to the garden centre, where she loves to explore in the dog section.
The items that interested her most was, strangely, the dog beds.
She checked out the balls and the chews, but did not attempt to pick anything up, so we didn’t have to buy anything.
She also checked out the dog bowls, even though they were empty.
A video of Ruby’s visit to the garden centre is posted here.
We did buy something – some spring bulbs to replenish our pots. Something dug up and ate lots of bulbs last year, so this year we need to work out how to protect them.
Just to finish, here is a video of Ruby’s spa day.
That’s all for this week, so as always, until next time, stay safe and stay well.
I am still managing to join in with Harvest Monday on Dave’s Our Happy Acres blog.
I am so sorry about your experience. I am sure poor Ruby is traumatized. It does look like she enjoyed the garden center. Glad you are getting a little rain.
We were traumatised too Bonnie. I was imagining lots of blood. WE are now having lots of rain.
What a horrible experience for you and Ruby, especially when the children returned – really frightening.
I’m waiting for my garlic to be delivered which will force me out to the allotment. It’s been so cold and grey we haven’t visited for a few days
I noticed a tiny shoot on our garlic, Belinda
Poor Ruby, I can imagine how scared she was. It’s good that you have a delicious harvest.
She’s still wary when she sees another off lead dog, Nadezda as are we.
I am so glad to hear you all got out of that situation safe! It must have been scary indeed. I’ve got a few onion sets planted with more to come soon. Thankfully I was able to fork over the soil before planting them.
Our soil is more workable now after some rain, Dave. The next thing will be that it’s too wet
oh, bless her! words don’t seem to come easily to describe how that awful experience has made me feel! It does remind me of a time when my Collie was attacked by a pack of Jack Russells and I swear it was the thickness of her fur around her neck that saved her as their teeth could not penetrate it.
We are now looking into means of protection, Debbie but falling short of the spiked coats sold by Amazon. It looks equally dangerous for owners,