After an abysmal start to the day the sun eventually broke through the clouds by around noon and then it shone the rest of the day. In fact, it was jackets off, sleeves up and sun cream needed by mid-afternoon and then a slow walk home, taking photos along the way.
This is a quick photo blog of how yesterday went. I had a meeting on site at lunchtime, so I was pleased the rain had stopped by then. Corral 2 has been properly measured and all the remaining blackcurrant cuttings have been planted among the edible hedging. I think I planted 110, possibly more, blackcurrant cuttings among the sloes, elders, raspberries and blackberries.
It's quite difficult to see all the new trees and fruit bushes but you can just make out the plastic spirals - the edible hedge has now been planted around two sides of the barn. Left of this photo is the Buddleia, which will need cutting right back at the end of this year.
Does this count as biomass, I wonder? Since having the corral properly fenced, the logs have all had to be moved again so we really do need to look at getting them cut up and used in other ways - likewise with the pile of branches and twigs behind them. We've been using that as kindling for the camp stove but it could take a while to use it up at that rate.
The temporary path leading to what will be the willow walk is still in place and now needs to be kept under control until such times as it can be properly developed. Judging by the tracks, the deer seem to like it.
I dragged a few bits of log from the pile and have started marking out a flower bed in the wild garden. There is so much to do and I know exactly what I want at the end of it all but it has to fit with the lie of the land as it was when we bought it, so this fits nicely into the plan.
The area behind corral 1 is where the first of the vegetable beds will be going. It's quite well drained but will take a lot of work to get the beds built and filled, then they all need protected from the wildlife. We don't want the deer or the rabbits grazing on anything. While clearing bits of ground yesterday…
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that's a lot of work to be doing by yourself. Don't overdo it and hurt yourself.
ReplyDeleteI treat it as my garden and invite anyone who cares to help. That's the good thing about life projects - it doesn't matter how long they take to do them. :)
Deletelooking good, great having a long term plan to keep going back too
ReplyDeleteWe filled our raised beds by turning them into compost beds , saved moving compost from the heap to the beds , if you get the mix right it can be quite a quick process
good luck .
Hi S, great t hear from you. The long-term plan has been long enough, eh? At least this time some prat can't come along and spoil it all for us. :) Hope you are all doing well and still enjoying your new (although not so new now) life.
Deletebeen here almost 3 years and almost...almost! fully set up now , the veg plot is the last project to be focussed on and I think now it will be next year. We have had good results from the polytunnels but the outdoor space has been hit and miss so a rethink was needed
Delete3 years! It seems no time at all but does make me wish that time could be grown. I think any outdoor growing project is a constant rethink when battling the elements and balancing the books on a next to nothing budget, in our case. But it's liking what we're doing that matters. :) Good luck this year and for many more to come.
DeleteDo uou get those pesky biting midge things where you are? All looking lovely and enjoy the photographs!
ReplyDeleteAh, the infamous Scottish midges - yes, we do get them here but it's still quite early in the year for them. I have a cunning plan to deter them with my homemade 'myrical' midgeaway spray, so here's hoping I can perfect it quickly.
DeleteI love that I've found this blog. Straight talking and no nonsense. I"m looking forward to reading more.
ReplyDeletePleased to have you on board, Summerdays - are you in our forums, where the day to day stuff gets logged? they are at www.frugalforums.co.uk Hopefully 'see' you there, too. :)
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