It took most the morning for the rain to show up, and then struggled to commit to anything beyond intermittent sprinkles. I elected to invest time in small light tasks.
I had been soaking chard seeds, so I sowed, fertilized, and mulched two rows, one in each of two different raised beds.
I also tightened the slack bird netting wherever needed. The past few years have allowed me to reduce the amount of netting I use for each bed.
I tried rigid frames covered with netting, but that required covers since the squirrels climb the frames.
Using conduit as corner posts gave me the best results. It’s affordable, durable and lets me stretch the netting taut yet leaves it flimsy enough that squirrels won’t climb it.
Last year, I tested different heights for best protection. My discovery was 2-2.5 foot tall netting provided as much security for the veggies as 5 foot tall, allowing me double coverage from the netting I have by splitting width.
Today, I cut down the conduit, mostly to gain more poles for other beds. The visual results were astounding. The netting itself mostly disappears with a short distance. The conduit was the only obvious since of the fencing. With their height reduced the entire lot looks significantly sharper.
I also netted a bed up in the side yard, since I noticed someone nibbled on the kale and mustard sprouts.
*shakes fist angrily at the air*
Perhaps over time, I’ll find a prettier option than conduit, but I can definitely live with the current cleaned up look…
our cattywampus cottage 