I planted corn seed a week or so ago and it was all starting to shoot nicely but I came out yesterday and noticed 95% of the new shoots had been cut, sliced, chopped off at ground level. Lucky it’s still reasonably early in the season so I don’t mind replanting but I decided the bed needed some attention to eradicate the pests that may have been responsible for the carnage. Best guess of the responsible pests is either cutworms, earwigs or cockchafers. I set the chooks to work on the bed to cleanse it and will give them carte blanche every night this week to forage and hopefully prepare for fresh planting this weekend.
They had a ball in the bed and I do think the most likely culprits have been cutworms. Fingers crossed the new seeds planted will not face a similar demise!
Fridge proofed sourdough.
Tonight I baked a sourdough loaf that had been slowly proving in the fridge for the last 24 hrs.
I’ve been experimenting on tensioning the dough to get a better loaf shape and it seems to be working well. Little steps towards a good result.
Always on a journey, never know the destination!
Around The Mulberry Tree 
Hens are great for pest control aren’t they?… until they get loose and turn into pests themselves! Your bread looks good. I’m struggling to get the slashes to stay open while my loaves bake. You’ve obviously cracked that one – any tips?
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Hi Sarah, I’ve been using a good old razor blade lately and it seems to have made a huge difference so I’ll stick to that! Thanks.
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What a good idea to let your chickens eat the cutworms!
Your bread is beautiful, I’m so impressed that you are making your own sourdough. I’ve gotten lazy because the local bakery bread has gotten so good.
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Hi Liz, my bread is improving because our bakery is terrible! Thanks 🙂
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