Where I'm @ right now.

Ayup, I'd just like to post about the journey so far that way everything I do from now on is up to date and you get to see what I've managed to do so far. The initial blog shows you what the plot looked like when we took it on, basically scrub land it had been left to its own devices for over a year.

The plot after our first week of cutting back and strimming, I'd also managed to double dig a patch about 4 meters square.

RAISED BEDS

After the shed build one of the first things I did was decide that I was going to use raised beds wherever possible as they are easier to maintain and much more child friendly as it should stop the kids running over everything.  I could also knock a small one up just for them to plant things in. After a lot of asking and searching for the right materials ( by that I mean free or a mega bargain ) I came across these.


An absolute bargain @ £2 each.

purchased from a local farm shop there 8ft x 9 inches and 3 inches thick


The construction couldn't be easier either some big screws or nails do the job. They're nice and heavy so there not going to warp or twist and as its treated timber it should last a god long time. So then with just one cut I have a bit of variation in what type of bed I end up with an 8x8 square,  8x8 split down the middle, 8x4 rectangle or one which I'm working on at the minute is going to be a long 24x4. It couldn't be easier.

Then I managed to get my hands on a load of this "Black Gold"

And it was god stuff too full of life loads of  bugs and worms, i couldn't believe how much was going on in such a small space.

I had already started off my onion sets and garlic so it was easy enough to transfer them to their new home.

   

So this is pretty much what it looked like after my first planting session i was really pleased with the results doing a little bit at a time just concentrating on one or two beds and making sure i get those finished before i move on has worked for me. there's a real satisfaction when i get one finished and it motivates me to crack on with the next one.

 Another one of the beds I have decided to dedicate to strawberry's and rhubarb (which is under the manure). Half the bed is currently common garden strawberry's and my plan is to fill the other half with the white alpine variety.  

 It wasn't long before we had a few visitors to the plot.

So a quick fix has been set up to keep the little nibblers at bay. It'll do until I get a chance to knock up some proper cloches.

Just lately I've been concentrating on building more new beds as the spring will soon be upon us. In the picture above I will cutting a board down to fill in the two small gaps either side of the central bed. this to minimizes the number of boards i have to use and cuts down on the amount of space dedicated to path!  When this ones complete I'm thinking i may keep  it as a big square and use it as my potato patch.

DOUBLE DIGGING

Just the other day i decided to start another new bed which I've split down the middle one half  of which I'm hoping will be for the asparagus which I've just set off from seed. from what I've read up on it likes good free draining soil and benefits from a deep bed. As you can see from pics of the original plot it was covered in thick grass and even though its been covered over for month the sub soil was a mesh of thick roots. 

But soon enough with a bit of hard graft they were gone and i got down and turned all the soil over a good spit and a half deep, you can see the bed now looks half full and i haven't added anything that's just loosening it all up and airing the soil. As with these raised beds the idea is I never have to walk on them thus keeping the ground as loose and friable as I can.

Then with a little more manure before the snow its almost there I've just to get my hands on a few bags of compost now to finish off.

FUTURE PLANS

The plot from a different angle showing just how much there is still to do.

The builders had thrown over a few more pallets so i took the opertunity to begin a new fence which in the long run should help keep the " waskily wabits " at bay.

The aria which i have left covered over and the space taken up by the old shed I'm hoping will soon be the home of my future DIY Poly tunnel, I'm going to need a little more help for this project though so I may have to wait until the days are longer and warmer before I can entice my little helpers down.


Well that's roughly were I'm up to now just looking forward to getting some things in the ground. My next post will be about the things which I've got going already @ home I'll show you what seeds I've purchased so far and how there getting on As usual there'll be loads of pics. ( and maybe more manure video's ? )

Cheers Chris.

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