A day in the garden

Taking advantage of a work free day I was out this morning clearing space for the raised beds I intend to use to start some food cultivation. Being fortunate enough to be surrounded by trees, it's easy to forget sometimes that we are on a large estate and not in the middle of the countryside.

With most people out at work the only sound was the wind blowing the autumnally dry leaves off the trees, and in the warm morning sun I set to work clearing the ground for the planters. I was fortunate to have been given the remnants of my father's old pine kitchen ceiling, which provided a good material for the sides of the planters. All the other wood came from offcuts and pieces spared from the wood burner.

The image shows the topsoil I have accumulated ready to fil the planters. Being underneath overhanging trees, there is a layer of rich, crumbly soil which is easy to work and should be full of nutrients.

The first step once the ground was clear was to hammer in the corner pegs, which I cut the bases to a point to make driving easier.

As you can see, I treated them beforehand in an attempt to preserve the wood, although I was reluctant to treat the main timbers for fear of contaminating the soil and eventually the food.

Once these were in the sides were screwed on and some soil thrown in to create....

...a finished planter. Not bad, but my time was slowed down by working in a restricted space and having to move rocks and stones to work in. Now I only have to build two more!

The next stage will be to get a load of old tyres to plant the potatoes in. I used to work as a gardener for a famous architect on his country estate of 200 acres. One of the tasks I enjoyed most was the produce growing which kept me and the head gardener in food year round. The architect on the other hand didn't know one end of a spud from the other and would only use the food garden as an interesting stop on his tour of the estate.

Our garden is much less grand however, and measures just 20m x 6m (about 70 ft x 20 ft). Here you can see Tower the cat contemplating the jungle that existed before...

.... the blank canvas I have created by clearing the weeds over the last few weeks. What slowed me down particularly was the previous owners decision to concrete half the garden meaning that I had to remove over five tonnes of concrete and brick before hitting soil.

In the photo you can just make out the woods behind the house which should be a useful source of ash trees for my next project. Watch this space.

Having read a few other blogs of a similar theme lately I have decided to make this blog one of positivity, and as such a whinge-free zone. That doesn't mean I'll avoid being opinionated and passionate; quite the opposite, but rather I intend to focus on the opportunity and not the challenge.

Out in the wider world, I happened to drive past the Ratcliffe power station this weekend, where protesters were attempting to enter the site and shut down the unit, which is claimed to be the most polluting coal fired station in the UK. My admiration for their effort in taking direct action is immense, however I fear they will find themselves, as so many other protesters, facing anti terrorism laws, bent to suit the needs of whichever 'enemy' is at the gate.

Until the next time...