Mr. McGregor goes to work!

Peter, (alias Mr. McGregor) has decided to rabbit-proof part of the allotment with a fence, so watch out all you pesky rabbits! He's fencing off the middle section using chicken wire and four inch fence posts. Trouble is I'd already planted the onions, shallots, garlic and broad beans in there, so when digging the trench we had to be careful not to dig them up or damage them. The wire has to go a foot down below the soil level in order to deter the little blighters from burrowing underneath. It's quite a difficult job now as the soil is heavy and damp. However, yesterday we just about cracked it. All the chicken wire is now in place, there's just some soil to replace and the gates to make. JUST! It's amazing what a different feel it gives to the plot - it's almost like there's a new patch to work in.

I'm still battling with the weeds - in between helping with the fence that is. John said that he was digging up the thistles and perennial weeds and digging the rest in. Seems like a good idea. It's not just me - everyone seems to have a problem with chickweed this year.

Since my last blog I've dug up the dahlias and moved them to their

new home next to the grassy area and the fruit trees. It should make a lovely place to sit and admire!! But who gets the chance to sit? I've been watching the carrots steadily growing and thought I'd risk picking a few

yesterday. They were disappointingly small and when I washed them to put into a casserole this morning they were largely useless - most of them were damaged by root fly. I did however pick a good sized celeriac. There's a lot of roots and waste to

discard but the finished vegetable was still about the size of a cricket ball. I found it not unpleasant to taste raw - a bit like the sweeter root part of a celery plant. When I was little and we used to have celery for tea, the 'knobbly' bit, or root, was the best bit. It was carefully cut into four so that everyone got a piece. We used to dip the celery sticks in salt, and eat them with bread and butter and cheese. Anyway, back to celeriac. Peter deigned to try a piece and declared that it had less taste than a potato. Maybe they'll be like parsnips and need a good frost to make them sweeter. I'm not sure I'll bother to grow them again even though they were easy to grow

and the rabbits didn't like them. I wonder why?

Betty has taken to racing around the plot like a demented rabbit when one or other of us turns up at the plot. But mostly she sits and sleeps in the sun, or barks at Charlie's alsation.

Last month we noticed some ink caps growing beside the old bath.

They're probably edible but we didn't risk eating them. The area down by the bath is still very much neglected, with many weeds, a half made path and still a visible hollow to be filled in. We'll have to finish the path in the Spring otherwise Kev won't be able to access his corner, due to the new fence.

I went along to the gardening club meeting last month. The talk was a 'Kenyan Safari', and the competition was a carved pumpkin. I thought I would enter my magnificent pumpkin, so I looked on the internet for an interesting

face to carve. There are thousands to choose from I chose a simple one which didn't take long to carve and guess who won the competition? Mind you, there were only two other entries!