A quick visit to the plot, it was my birthday and I had a new Hori Hori knife that I wanted to put to use! I also wanted to collect some baby leeks and kale to add to mashed potato for a bit of a birthday tea of sausages and mash.

I’ve seen and heard about Hori Hori knifes a lot in the past. It’s always useful to have a knife with you and I mostly have used my penknife. This is fine for small bits, I’ve even used it on the odd occasion as a bit of trowel, but the Hori Hori knife is purposely made for such things. So a birthday present of this knife was really good and a big surprise.

I used it to trim the baby leeks I pulled, the cut down some bits of bramble, and to have a small dig about in the mud (although it was really way too wet for such things resulting in a rather muddy knife).

The netting around the leeks was a small attempt to prevent allium leaf minor, I thought it had done its job but today’s visit showed it had failed and some of the leeks starting to show signs. I never covered the top of the plants, and it was only scaffold netting, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, I was maybe hoping that small measures might had put them off. It says to use fine mesh of 0.8mm, and so come March time I may see about covering the onions that that.

Last year the leeks recovered mostly and so I’m hoping the same might happen this time too.

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