I don't need no shed

See, all you need is a bit of floor space and a good tolerance for mess and soil EVERYWHERE. I sowed some pink coneflowers, some runner beans and potted up the iddie biddy tomato plants and two squash plants. I then got a bit carried away and tried to sort out a massive house plant that looked like elves had been stealing it's soil in the night. jobsa goodn. I found it all quite satisfying actually.

I went down to the plot later and wanted to get down to some proper weeding of the beanie beds. However, every time I plunged a fork into the soil I seem to hit an ants nest and the ants would just erupt. Aggh, ants everywhere, terrifying! I can't stand them, really. I remember as kid jumping around on a bouncy castle and getting covered in ant bites. I couldn't stay and weed the beds, just the thought that one might try and run up my leg! yak! Those ants have got to go. I still can't bring myself to use insecticide though, but I came very close today.

So what's left? Boiling water? That'll cook the plants. Cold water? Would that do anything more than irritate them? All I know, is that they HAVE to go.

Beanie Beds: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good. I've finally rigged up the supports for the future runner beans and for the sugar snap peas. I'm still starting the seedlings inside and planting them out when they get 4" or so high. Or they are evicted to make room on the window sill for the next thing which usually happens first...

The Bad. These broad beans really don't look good. The flowers all seem to be going manky and there's small black blotches on the plants. I don't know what it is, or what to do.

The Ugly. The 3 bordered beds are completely infested with ants. I was doing a bit off weeded at one end when the soil just erupted with ants. I've read somewhere that I can put them off by watering the infected area with water that's had cloves soaking in it. Anyone got any other ideas?

Evil Weevils

19/04/07 Edited to submit evidence of weevil attack:

My poor legumes bed. I had planted out the broad beans I started up inside and sowed a few more broad beans and all my peas (a few of the peas under cloches). But disaster! The bean/pea weevil (don't know if they are the same) have been nibbling round the edges of everything that wasn't protected under a cloche. Now everything has doily leaves! The broad beans I started up inside and the peas under cloches look like they will cope but everything else? I doubt it.

I was reading around and it seems a common problem this year. It seems the only things, well, the only organic things to do is to try and squish as many as we can while we're there and start some more off inside to plant out when they're big enough to cope.