Another of my recent presents was a net cage. It was actually sold as ‘a wondertunnel’, just like a polytunnel but covered with a very fine mesh.

There are so many birds on the site and all of them think that we grow veg and fruit only for their delectation. The pigeons can be so bold – as a row of my swede seedlings started growing they stripped every bit of the soft leaves and just left the thicker veins – the leaves looked like skeletons.

That was the reason I never wanted to grow cabbages, I  knew that I’d just feed the pigeons.

One of my gardening magazines advertised a wonderful Walk-In Wonderwall net tunnel and Frank very kindly gave it to me for Christmas last year. One of our sons came down in early spring and we constructed it – easy (ish) as the instructions said, however not so easy in driving rain. But we persevered and I was able to plant my cabbage seedlings in later. I knew I didn’t want to move it – crop rotation and all that, so I just put the cabbages in one half and lettuce and outdoor tomatoes in the other. I was so happy with the whole idea that before long I constructed two more net cages – using lengths of wood that I got from a carpenter and fine green scaffolding netting bought online.

Imitation is the best kind of flattery – I copied the method of building the cage, the only difference is that the bought tunnel is rounded and my cage has got straight sides. That is, in a way. even better because I can grow taller plants quite close to the sides.