Spring 2012

                       Chillies, aubergines, peppers and tomatoes planted in the greenhouse

Garlic, shallots and Japanese onions are doing nicely. Summer onions in the next bed along are just getting going.

Potatoes

Six rows of spuds here plus three rows further up the plot. First and second earlies, Red Duke Of York, Anya, Marfona and Kestrel. We had too many Kestrels (donations from last year) but couldn't give them away. It seems everyone has too many seed potatoes.

Shaping up

A spell of decent weather has allowed us to get stuck in, ready for the coming season. 


Bed prepared where the brassica cage was last year and main crop onions planted. We've left room round the edges to plant leeks which should make digging them out in winter easier (can stand on the path)

Also dug over the legume bed adding a load of compost. The brassica cage behind, in its' new position, still needs the bed preparing.

Even removed some soil from the greenhouse and dug in a load of well rotted stable muck. 

Rainy day

Rained all day today so stayed in and baked a loaf

Finally, the end of the old fruit bed.

Removed eight bin bags of roots from the last section, mostly bind weed.

Before levelling

The finished 6m x 6m bed looks like a lot of bare earth at the moment but I'm so glad to have that one done.

Still getting rid of the raspberry patch

Back in October this area that was overgrown with neglected raspberry canes was just too tough to dig with a spade but now the damp earth is soft enough to remove the rasp roots and crumbles sufficiently to tease out brittle bindweed rhizomes.

Bindweed roots from a single spadefull 

..and every spadefull has been the same

The original fruit bed started where the bean frame now is. The whole bed needed deep digging and sorting through a handful at a time.