Ants in the Compost Heap, Greenhouse Construction

Compost Material to the Plot.

After six hours on the computer try to figure why things that should have worked were stubbonly and with malice aforethought not working, I thought a little trip to the plot was called for.

Val’s been trimming stuff in the home garden so I carted the compost bag around with me. First thing I noticed was my hand fork by the compost bin on plot 29. Since it is an expensive Wolf one, I’m normally quite careful about putting things away. Big oops, but no harm done.

So, pull the sheeting off the top of the bin and there, in the turkey litter I’d put on the top, are a number of holes or runs. A bit like you see when you lift a slab with an ant’s nest under it but much larger in size.

Well monster ants were not my first thought, no I thought maybe Benjamin Bunny had moved in. A little later, maybe a tenth of a second, I thought it is much more likely to be a rat. I’m not one of those people who is terrified of rats, although I have a healthy respect for them.

Bravely, in fact with courage worthy of a medal, I took a six foot pole and stirred things around. No snarling rats appeared or, thank goodness, monster ants swarmed out. So I dumped the compost materials on the top and put the sheeting back on.

Greenhouse Construction

Next job was to start cutting down the beams that will form a base for the greenhouse. The new bow saw made it fairly easy but I still new I’d done some work when I finished. Some are near perfect and some are a little rotten at the ends. Cutting off the rotten ends should preserve them. I stacked them off the ground to let them dry off a bit. May well give them some preservative before they get put in place.

Weather

It was cooler today and the wind had a definate chill but it was sunny. Wonderful. Tonight you can see the stars clearly and it’s supposed to be dropping to minus one so I’ve just put the paraffin heater on half for the night. Got to keep my little onions warm.

Talking of onions, the last of the seedling onions up in the bedroom are ready to move into the big wide world. Trouble is that the greenhouse is nigh on full. Where are they going to go?