Last year on the Veg Course we grew a fantastic crop of sweetcorn only to watch the rats climb up the stalks and eat it all. We didn't get any and we did have a lot of rats at that point so this year we have taken evasive action. Sweetcorn is the type of crop that must be picked and cooked as soon as possible to get the best flavour. As soon as the corn is picked the sugars start to turn to starch and the taste changes, becoming less sweet and more like the ones you get in Tescos. Read on to see what we are trying out.

I think May is one of the months that the wildlife plot is at its best and this May was no exception. We had plenty of wildlife that I hadn't seen before on the plot, some that I managed to capture on my phone and some that I didn't. Last year I planted quite a bit more Catmint or Nepeta of varying types because pollinators love them but so do other things. Earlier in the month I caught this tiny little Mint Moth sitting on one of the Nepeta Low Walkers' leaves sunning itself. Apparently they fly at night and in the sunshine which is why he was out when I was.

I was working on the wildlife plot earlier this week when a couple stopped to chat. They were new to the site and really wanted to make their plot wildlife friendly. They have half a plot but realised that once they put all their vegetables in, they didn't have the space to do the things that they wanted to do. I said I would write a blog post about some things they might like to try. So here it is. Six things I would do on a half plot to encourage the pollinators.