Today I attacked docks and marsh grass with the ditch blade. Found a very wet patch down near river in NW so dug a hole 2 spade blades deep about 5m in from fence and it promptly filled with water. Clay at the bottom so could be a possible site for a pond. Dug out a bit more to see what happens.

Just planted in seed tray in the tunnel Nasturtium, Melon, Ridge Cucumber and Aubergine.

I have started reading Oliver Rackham's magnum opus "Woodlands". Published in 2006 it was his last work - he died in 2015 - and is a summation of a lifetime acquisition of knowledge about trees and woods.

His "History of the Countryside" was fascinating and this one seems very readable as well. 

Another dusting of snow over the weekend - quickly gone here on Monday (it was only a dusting) but still visible on the distant hills of Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor today.

Dug over more of the veg patch and cleared some left over piles of grass clippings from a day's mowing last week.

Planted in seed trays/small pots Celeriac, Savoy Cabbage, Italian Courgette, Bush Courgette, Butternut Squash, Galia Melon and Winter Squash. 

Dug out a possible flower bed around the sundial and put in a couple of sprouting tubers from No4 garden (possibly lilac - long pointed leaves). Also planted half way between to two Red Cedars a fir seedling found in garden - presumably from the fir trees on the corner of the factory entrance in Dutson Road. 

Finally, in March 2018, while GD is dusted with a light sprinkling of snow laid over the incipient spring, I manage to start this blog. 

Finished off on Thursday by doing some peening, then yesterday and this morning it rained. This afternoon got out to get a bit of general tidy-up mowing done. Now to rake, pick some daffs and home for tea - really must get back into the Kelly Kettle habit. Must also stop using the car to get here - always an excuse, usually something to carry or collect in the way of boat stuff etc to/from the shed.

Also last Thursday attempted my first grafting - a Beth and a Lanson Harvest pear onto rootstop from Endsliegh described as "wild pear" but looking most like blackthorn (it had thorns!). Am not confident they will take, very difficult to fix in place - need three hands. Forgot that I had the Medion grafting compound until today after I had decided to use anhydrous lanolin instead.

Planted cauliflower and two types of tomato (Alicante and little ones) in seed tray in tunnel.

At last some progress

After last entry finished getting polytunnel tensioned next day and sides buried in. Much more work than I anticipated. Had t leave the doors for later since when not much time up here - combination of weather (rain , frost and a couple of days with light snow) and over busy preparing for another project (GH launch) which then got cancelled at the last minute because of the snow.

SO this week I have finally got back to work. Made and fitted doors to tunnel - not without some trouble as they are a bit too small for the frames so a gap has to be filled for the bolt to work and I think the fram might have moved slightly out of true as it all settled over the last weeks.

I did manage to dig a potato patch a couple of weeks ago and have now done some more. Set spuds to chit in the tunnel. Planted tomato and cauliflower seeds and put up shelves in new shed. Tidied up around the raspberries. Planted the oak and the ash that Euan brought me a couple fo weeks ago - the oak turned out to have its roots all rotted off so not much hope there. Today I transplanted 6 ash seedlings growing under the oak by the stream down to the NE corner. Had to leave a couple as too big to dig out.

Need to get my blades peened but boat varnishing calls...

At last a couple of dry days. In odd moments during the last fortnight I have managed to clear almost all the overgrowth in the apple orchard (except the top corner where the silver birches are) and an area down in the NW between the slope and the willows where it is very wet. Potential site for coppice of hazel, ash and willow over there. Cleared most of the dead dock flower heads on the water meadow and some of the reedy marsh grass that has infiltrated.

First daffs have appeared and are brightening the front room at No4.

Yesterday decided to tackle covering the polytunnel. Started digging the trench around about 11:30, that took a couple of hours in the sunshine. Then after lunch persuaded Jane to come and help get the poly over the hoops. Fortunately the light wind was in exactly the right direction and with two of us it sailed on very easily and we got the ends nailed to the top of the door frame and good tension. This all took a lot of time though as we had to apply the heat tape to the hoops before covering. It was 3:30pm when the difficult bit of tensioning it onto the doorframes started. Jane was a help but she was getting very cold and obviously not happy so I sent her home - she later admitted that she had been wanting to assert herself and say she didn't want to stay but "didn't want to let me down". No help is better than reluctant pissed off help!

By 6:30pm it was getting pretty dark to see what I was doing and I was struggling with the pleats so decided to risk calling it a day and hope the wind didn't blow up overnight and that the today would be fine weather again.

Which it didn't and it is. So now it is lunch time and I've got 2/3rds of the way down each door frame and have tensioned it into the trench at the sides. Next job finish down the door frames and trench in the ends - but first lunch.

  • You are here:  
  • Home