Clearing and re-planting

Runner beans

Over the weekend I've got up most of the King Edward potatoes and disposed of the plants in the bin - not wanting to add blighted material to the compost heap. I did the same with the pea plants, which had developed black spots on the leaves and remaining pods, and then died off.

That left a fair bit of space in bed one, where there are just a few French beans growing, so I dug round them and planted more French beans there and in half of the potato overflow bed. The other half has been planted with lamb's lettuce. In bed two, where the Epicure potatoes were, I've planted two rows of kale and one of rocket.

I also did a bit of scything and shearing, partly just to keep the place tidy, but mostly to feed the ravenous compost heap. I noticed some earth sticking out halfway up the heap, which I thought odd, and on investigating found that it was full of ants, so they've evidently taken up residence in the compost. I don't know if this is a good thing or not - possibly they'll stir it and keep it aerated, but possibly they'll drive away the red composting worms who do most of the work.

The runner beans are doing well, and I picked just over 6 oz for supper.

Mowed grass

Garden in sunlight

Today I mowed the grass and sheared round the edges of the beds, providing a lot more green material for the ever-hungry compost heap.

The neighbour to the south has trimmed a lot of his trees and hedges, so a lot more light is getting into the garden now - I hope the courgettes like it. The larger ones are just coming into flower, and there are flowers appearing on the tomato plants as well.

Pottering

Despite a steady drizzle I pottered about for an hour in the garden after work. The holly and some brambles were encroaching on the path to the compost, so I cut them back, and added some more nettles and goose grass to the compost heap. The compost continues to be warm to the touch, and the rate of decomposition seems very high. I keep adding green waste alternating with layers of crumpled newspaper.

I also re-potted some thyme and a chilli plant. The season hasn't been favorable to the chilli, but it might survive the winter if I bring it indoors.

Produce: Over the weekend I pulled up five more garlic bulbs which looked as if they'd finished growing - only one was visibly mouldy, and I hope the others will dry and keep. I had a good portion of peas, about four ounces (shelled), very tasty, and there are about twice as many pods left on the plants. However, some of the plants are starting to go yellow, and they may be moribund.

More sowing, potting on and planting out

Tomato plants in final pots

The two largest tomato plants are now in their final pots, and will sit outside in a sunny corner by the house. It's a bit sunnier after I pruned some hawthorn hedge and cut a big bough from an ash tree nearby.

I planted out another courgette seedling (only one out of three germinated from the second batch), and I put three chitted seeds in the bed to make up the six originally planned for (its actually seven, but two chitted seeds are in the same spot. I'll pull out the weaker one if necessary.) I'm not very impressed with the germination rate of these courgettes.

Lastly I planted another row of carrots in bed six, the radishes that were there temporarily having been thrown away yesterday. That finished up the packet of Early Nantes, and nearly finished the Nepal F1.

Putting a few more weeds on the compost heap I noticed that the top is warm to the touch - probably mid 30s C is my guess.

Dry day at last

Garden, post-tidying

Compost heap, rotted down quite well

Refilled

A nice, sunny day today, and the neighbours have given me a key to their shed, so I can borrow their mower. I borrowed their mower, and eventually worked out how to start it. Once running, it made short work of the long grass, even the lumpy bits. Sadly it also made short work of a frog who I didn't spot and who didn't get out of the way in time.

I sheared the grass round the edges of the beds, and a lot of nettles and fumitory which was growing between the fence and the long row of beds at the bottom of the garden. The clippings have filled the compost heap to overflowing, even though it had sunk about two feet since I last filled it up (three weeks ago). I'm pleased that it is composting so fast - it must be hot composting, although I haven't got a thermometer to check it. Mild weather and lots of rain is probably just right for fast rotting.

Quite a few weeds went into the heap as well - I hand-weeded the carrots, onions and leeks, and I harvested the last of the first batch of radishes, and composted the tops.

Scything

A bit tidier

I'd been wondering whether to borrow a lawnmower from one of the neighbours, but I left it too long and the grass shot up to knee-height. So I borrowed a scythe, and mowed the larger patches of grass the old-fashioned way. Good exercise, that.

This produced enough grass cuttings to fill up the compost bin, when mixed with six or seven scrunched up newspapers. I will urinate on the compost heap when I remember, to add a bit of phosphorus and nitrogen. 

Compost

The reason I didn't post all of yesterday's exciting news at the time is that a friend turned up with a lot of roof laths (for kindling) just as I'd finished in the garden. When we'd unloaded those, we went and collected a couple of dustbins full of well-rotted pig manure, which I added to the small amount of compost already in the first compost bin. I sprinkled a few cress seeds on top, as a test for persistent herbicides, which can be present in manure, but since there were lots of nettles growing out of the pile I got the manure from, I doubt this will be a problem.

The other compost heap has been topped up, as well - more long grass from around the beds, and some nettles and goose grass which were growing over the path to the compost heaps, and some newspaper (a bit of 'brown' to balance all that 'green'.)

Digging finished

Small bed for runner bean wigwam

The last of this year's planned digging is done, a small bed under the apple tree for runner beans. I've dug in some of the compost from the first heap since beans are greedy plants, but I had to pick through it and put a lot of half-rotted stuff back in the heap. I should really have waited until it was all properly composted. 

The beans will be planted in late May or early June, so there is time for a quick crop of something else. I'll probably transplant the turnip seedlings there.

Flowers!

Pot and bed in front garden

There's a tiny strip of flowerbed and two large pots by the front door, so I planted some flower seeds there. Honesty, hollyhocks and aquilegia in the bed, and sweet william in the pots. All the seeds were provided by my parents from plants in their garden, so mad props to them.

While I was out there, I also hoed the weeds from the gravel. These will be added to the compost heap, but only when they've dried out completely. I don't want to add living weed root sections to the compost heap for obvious reasons.

New compost bin

New compost bin

Tony, the neighbour whose bow saw I broke (full story), gave me some old sections of fence for firewood. Since the wood was still quite sound, I used some of it to make a new compost bin. This is in an area right at the bottom of the garden (not shown on the layout) which is shaded by large trees, overgrown with ivy, and where the soil is full of half-bricks, old tiles, metal junk and bottles. Because of this I've just been using it for general garden waste - there's a big pile of the turfs I removed to make the beds, and another of woody prunings.

Having more than one compost heap means that I can leave the first to rot down without adding more fresh material, and it will be ready to use sooner.

Leaf mold

Making Leaf mold

I gathered together the fallen leaves from under the cherry and apple trees, and bagged them up into bin liners. The weather has been very wet recently, and the soggy leaves will rot down in a year or two to make a fine soil improver called leaf mold. The leaves directly under the cherry were still dry, so I moved them onto the grass to get wet, and I will bag them in a couple of days.

This was brought on by today's purchase of a spring rake. £2.99, made in China. It has a slightly flimsy feel, but worked well enough.

Garden layout

Here is an updated garden layout diagram, showing the new blackcurrant and other features such as the former site of a shed, now just slabs, and the compost heap.

For the thrill-seekers, here is a picture of the compost heap:

Compost heap.