Oak bank work

Still on the grass? Fraid so.

The challenge with this late winter early spring work is you have to do so much weeding at the same time.

And this oak bank has been rather neglected. I suspect I cut the grass back same time last year and never plodded up to this terrace again.

I’m secretly pleased there is so much grass up here. It means there is actual soil. That’s a rare thing as this part of the farm is pretty much rock with a thin scraping of soil.

The metal barriers you can see are trying to contain the oak trees I transplanted way back.  They have barely grown. I think less than an inch a year.  But I’m patient. They might take off. At least they aren’t dying in this incredibly hostile environment.

And as an improvement on last year’s work, at least I have mulched in between the eragrostis rows.

I had plenty of material.  It took half a day to get the darn stuff all over the beds which needed mulching.

From the lawn I hauled piles of grasses with this tarp (complete with cat who found it hilarious to surf along) down two terraces to the car.  Then I shoved the lot in and drove up to the top of the property.

It’s a bit of a building site with Etienne and Bebère’s vans cluttering the road,  so I weaved my way up very carefully and then shoved lots here on the oak bank and the rest up to the top potager and Jean Daniel’s asparagus bed.

He gets asparagus for the first time since I planted these crowns. So it’s mulch and weeding and careful preparation for the great April event.