Spring is here and it's a bit wet.

"A bit wet" is an understatement! Ground's saturated so we're playing Scrabble until the sun shines then going out and sifting soil, sowing, and planting as often as we can. The ground's very heavy and impossible to do anything with until it's halfway dry, and digging it just damages the structure so it's hands (and spades) off for now. On the few dry days we've had, we have been:

Making wee walls:

Been trying my hand at dry-stone walling using the foundations of a water cistern we got rid off. It's for herbs as they need different soil to what we've got here (acid clay) so I made a very big flower pot for them.

Dans le serre tunnel:

Seedlings on a suspended shelf (slug proof and utilises space over a bed). We're sowing as much as possible in pots then transplanting when the weather's good so they get off to a good start. Salad leaves are being successionally sown in the bed at the end.

Soft fruit area now made: nothing much to see yet because they've all been pruned after planting out. Got strawberries at the front, rasps behind, and currants to the right. Also starting the aparagus bed at the far right, and Jerusalem Artichokes are just behind in the field for the pigs -and ultimately us- to eat. Second-hand vegans, so we are.

Actually GROWING SOMETHING!

Deep bed in front, early peas under scaffold netting to keep birds off behind. The bed behind that has a few rows of turnips in, to be cleared off before French beans go in later.

Early potatoes in trenches, mulched with grass clippings. Had to dig the no-dig beds because we weren't able to leave it long enough for the manure and grass to rot down. C'est la vie... pour moi.

Went and got half a dozen fruit trees - here's one looking unimpressive, but wait a year or two and we'll not need to buy another Belchard apple again. We've got 6 established but sick-looking apple and pear trees on the hedge line but they might be a bit crap so we got a variety we like to be on the safe side. Rocks in the background are for a low wall where we can grow herbs.


Chickens and rabbits and something to keep the field mown coming next! Woo hoo!