Thursday 24 May 2012

The Three Sisters - Part 2

Since the weather has warmed up a bit I have risked completing the Three Sisters bed.

Last week I had to put into action the anti-frost protection plan that I had prepared: I swathed the Sweet Corn and Squash in several layers of fleece, kept in place by the circle of Clematis netting and a few clothes-pegs. The plants had to endure two nights of very cold conditions, but they have survived. The forecast is now for a spell of warm and sunny weather with night-time temps of not less than 10C, so I considered that it was reasonably safe to put out the rest of the plants.

I have basically mirrored the arrangement I installed earlier, with one Butterbush squash underneath a plastic cloche and surrounded by six Sweet Corn plants:


Actually, the only spare piece of Clematis netting I had was not as long as the other one, so I had to content myself with semi-circle rather than a complete circle.


Since these photos were taken, I have closed the gap with a wire shelf taken from one of the mini-greenhouses, so all the Sweet Corn plants are now protected.


Incidentally, when I judge that the plants no longer need protection I will certainly remove the cloches and probably the Clematis netting as well. Not sure about the latter, as it may provide useful support for the corn, which I know is vulnerable to strong winds.

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P.S. Jane and I will be going up North to help her Mum to re-establish herself in her own home after her recent illness. We expect to be away for about a week, so I may be a bit quiet on the Blogging front for a while...

6 comments:

  1. I think that the corn should be OK without support. It needs wind to pollinate it.

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  2. Looking good - hope you get your warm weather.

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  3. Looking good, I'm trying something similar with (eventually) a 4x4 grid of sweetcorn and 4 squashes, one in each of the largest spaces. It's my first year growing veg so I'm not sure how it will work out!
    I really enjoy reading your blog and hope you have a good week and you have someone to look after your garden in your absence!

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  4. It's looking good. I haven't got any of my sweetcorn, squash or beans out yet.

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  5. Does you soil extend beneath the frames? I'm interested in watching the progress.

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  6. The arrangements look good.
    I am mentally wondering whether i can do this on my terrace garden.

    So much hard work to protect our plants.

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