Back at Thanksgiving 2010 I told you about the visit from the deer with an appetite for chicories. They ate the radicchio and red stem dandelions and nothing else! Having been grazed to the ground, the radicchio was staging a remarkable comeback.
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| Radicchio, third column from left, 3/11/11 | |
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| Radicchio, protected by glass panel, 3/22/11 |
I had even progressed to trying to out think the deer, leaving that one panel on to protect the radicchio. It was developing into a beautiful head, and I was starting to plan a lovely spring salad display for the family Easter get together. Yesterday was the first day in a five day forecast with lows above freezing. Well of course I was smart and removed ALL of the glass panels. And, yep, this morning the radicchio was ravaged. Only the radicchio. When will I learn? I will go over to the park now to cover it again. One more time. Maybe I will get another recovery. But then again, maybe I should give up on radicchio.
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| Ravaged radicchio, 3/30/11 |
It sounds like some netting might help. I've got some chicory in my wildflower/annuals bed, and the deer get it every time. It does come back later in the year when there are plants around it to hide it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder that I should try protecting it this year!
Hi Alan, I have started cardoon and artichokes, and see that you grow cardoon. Have you eaten any before? Should my 4" starts have frost protection for another six weeks? Your pictures look great! I got two artichokes to over winter by keeping the pot on the porch.
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