Slight change of plan. I looked at the test area of nettles that I pulled up a couple of weeks ago and nothing is growing. Rather than pull up this valuable food-source, I decided that the best strategy would be to grow Kidney Vetch plugs and plant them in the areas where we pull up nettles. We will need to make rabbit protectors out of chicken wire, too.
The good news is, there are loads of other wild flowers growing alongside the nettles, so it is still quite diverse.
So instead the workday was spent just pottering about, picking up litter and enjoying being outside in the peace and quiet surroundings.
Very small amount of litter, mostly drink cans. No dog poo bags!!
The contractor has put a new pipe in the leaky bit at Berrybanks. It now needs a major clear-up, but Lawford Brook is no longer flowing onto the greenway – yay!!
Next workday is Monday at 9:30am, down at Berrybanks clearing off all the brash and burning it. We can try and make this bit look OK and I might get a wildflower seed-mix to give it a fighting chance over the summer. The banks that we cleared are starting to green-up but I don’t know what it is that is growing. There are a few small clumps of nettles and I think it will be worth pulling these, just to stop them going to seed. It just gives everything else a chance.
Paul