Protecting Brocolli - from coke bottles to a cage

Have been down the allotment twice since last posting, for about 5 hours each time. Last week, I dug a new bed and transplanted some beet spinach onto it. I also battled with a large sheet of polythene in the rain for a time -trying to build a tent but only creating a huge soggy sail - before giving up and sitting under my brolly for a few minutes. I did some very satisfying hand weeding, though.

The amazing surprise of the day was a blast of delightful sunshine for the last hour or so, and during the 10 minute walk home.

The photo shows my rather feeble attempts to protect my brocolli. I am thinking hard about what design of brassica cage to make. Since I have a lot of offcuts of timber from the building site out back, I am thinking of a waist-high cage, made from 6 uprights of 2 x 1-inch wood, with similar cross beams, so there are three "n" shape structures, then there should be planks around the bottom of the uprights to serve as a raised bed. For the lengthwise top pieces, I may go a little wild and nail on two extraordinarily long tree branches which I tugged back from a woodland walk last week.

I gathered these branches last week whilst "going sticking" - walking in the woods to get dry wood for the fire. (Because there had been strong winds the night before and I thought some branches might have blown down). I spotted these two fab pieces through the intermittent rain from under my rather urbane - but nonetheless very welcome - black umbrella. I even tugged one of the branches out of the swollen and rushing little river, which was a spot of excitement.

Hopefully I will post a picture of the yet-to-be-created brassica cage soon!