Making progress

This was part of the plot before we started today, (we've done more now) it's really making progress and just from cultivating some of the land the drainage has improved massively. The nice weather has also helped and my drainage trench at the back of the plot. We've been making small steps forward the last couple of weeks but looking at the photographs really helps illustrate just how much progress we have made. Mini is loving going down to the plot now and getting muddy, last week I had to stop her from eating mud off her spade, aren't kids lovely!?

So far we have broad beans and early peas in the ground and some new raspberry canes. I have parsnips and tomatos coming up in trays and the potatoes are spread out in trays to chit. I have prepared a large pot with peat so I can have a bash at growing some blueberries a much rated superfood so it would be good if we could grow some and I've also made up some large terracotta pots with compost ready to grow herbs.

I'm really keen to grow the things that we like to eat, it's pointless growing stuff we don't enjoy because the likliehood is that it will get wasted. I'm really getting into my cooking these days too and I'm really looking forward to when I can make things with our own home grown produce.

Our wider family has grown this month too with the safe arrival of our nephew, baby Ole James. Perhaps when he is a little bigger he will be able to come gardening with us but certainly by the time he starts weaning we are hoping to have some fresh delicious fruit and veg to serve up to him yum!

Preparing the beds

This is what the tree looked like when we first went on the plot some of the very low branches were at Mini's eye level which wasn't safe and also caused a lot of shadow
This is the tree now I have pruned it and trimmed off some of the lower branches, this should raise the canopy a bit and make it safer

After many discussions about how we will lay out our plot and several different plans I think we have finally agreed this years layout. We've also been split between making raised beds which would be my preferred option and digging the ground, my husbands preference. So as in all things an element of compromise is required. We have settled that for this year the main four rotation beds will be in the ground with the other areas planted in raised beds and even some pots and compost growbags for fruit, salads etc.

This week it's done nothing but rain here, and it's been a busy week workwise and family wise so we haven't done much physically on the plot. The amount of water is amazing and after so much rain it is really collecting in the uneven areas, it makes me wonder about how we will get on next year if we actually have winter veg in the ground but I suppose it is trial and error. We have however made further decisions about varieties we want to grow and I now have a stack of seed catalogues. We visited our local plant nursery to take a look at some different fruit trees and we are planning to have one apple tree this year and some some raspberry canes, possibly some strawberries too. I'd also like a pear tree in the future and a few outdoor grape wines but you can't do everything at once. I'd also like to grow blueberries maybe next year but you need a specially prepared peat bed and with everything else we have to do in our first year this is a future development plan.