And I'm glad Matron posted something very similar a couple of weeks back, or I'm not sure I would have had the courage to remove the nest. This one is not so advanced as the one she found, but a remarkable piece of architecture nonetheless, with its own little raincap and an entrance at the bottom of the little pod - and inside, perfect hexagonal cells ready for egg-laying...
Unfortunately I could not discourage the wasp, and a few hours later she had made a pretty decent start on a new nest. I removed it again, but I have a feeling this could become a problem...Got a few bits done today between rain showers. I planted out the broad beans I've been raising at home, and I challenge any pigeons to get at them now!
Aww, don't laugh. I hate buying that expensive plastic netting stuff that just gets all tangled up in everything and is virtually impossible to use again. Good old fashioned string is good enough for me. I hope...And I planted out the Golden Marjoram and Tricolour Sage I got in the post a few weeks back, and eight sunflowers as a border alongside the asparagus. The idea is that the sunflowers give the asparagus ferns a little wind-protection - we shall see if it works! Of course, it's still a teeny bit early and I may live to regret planting them out now, but the temperature here hasn't dipped below 5 degrees for a few weeks now and I'm fairly confident...
I also dug over one of the flowerbeds down the middle of the plot, and planted out two Monarda Didyma (Bergamot or Bee Balm) that I bought, plus a few borage volunteers from around the plot, and some poppy and poached-egg plant seeds. As well as looking great, all these should help attract beneficial insects to the plot.
This picture shows my flower border down the centre, with swede seedlings under the netting just to the right of it, and potatoes just coming up to the left (along with a lot of tiny weedlings). The next pair of beds along are more spuds on the left and onions/shallots/carrots/parsnips on the right (extremely weedy and needing a lot of attention!) then after that, on the right, you can see what will be the courgette bed (half-dug) and then the raised salad beds (I seem to have reached a compromise with whatever's digging my lettuces up: I won't fill the hole in, and he won't dig it again) and finally the raspberries.
3 comments:
I found a queen wasp in our bedroom window a week or so ago and had a vision of her building a nest in there - my sister once had one build on top of her wardrobe!
I had a bees nest on the plot last year and thought that was bad enough but think I would rather have bees than wasps!
The sowing and planting seems to be going well. I'm just about to head down and get my first row of direct sown seeds in, actually feeling a little nervous. I can't wait to be past the tender seedloing stage.
Glad you found the wasp nest right away, and hopefully, it hasn't worsen the past three years and infested the entire field. Wasps are, sometimes, hard to remove when they have made a huge nest, wherein you’ll need a pest control expert. Always keep an eye on your plants to ensure that they’re safe from any pests. Use organic pesticides as well to not harm your plants.
Jeffrey Goude @ BugManiacs
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