Tamed

Here it is at long last. Two days of pretty solid work and I now have a blank canvas of a vegetable bed.   The asparagus is weeded, the raspberries are weeded, pruned and mulched, and the weeds have all been put to use.   I’m having a cup of tea and chocolate biscuits to celebrate.

You might note a strange black plastic hummock on the far right of the picture.   That is the accumulation of weeds from the rest of the plot, piled up and permitted a controlled rot under plastic for a season.

This vegetable garden is perched on granite and the rock is quite close to the soil.   So there is little one can do growing wise. Except the brambles which think it’s a marvellous space for spreading.

So instead of just hiding it as I have usually done, I’m going to take a few seasons to place lots of weeds and soil here and gradually build it up and turn it into a good space for more soft fruit.

Give me two years and it will look a treat.   For now it looks like a giant black sausage.   Held down by rocks.

And this weather is going to test their sticking ability. It’s blowing a gale and as I worked this morning, a light snow was falling. Just a few specks, nothing Minnesotan in volume.   But it was enough for me to add a layer on top of my layers and for Artur to take one look at the day and climb into his current box in the potting shed and sleep.

No rest for me; I want to collect sticks, finish the fencing of the fruit trees and maybe, just maybe do a spot of strimming.   You can tell I have been fuelled by chocolate.