Welcome once again to Reads Allotment Retreat, our guide to growing veg in Raised Beds. Work at the allotment is slowly getting going, and the plot is starting to take shape. As I'm still recovering from Back Ache, I'm taking things a little slower than i otherwise would, and just spending a bit of time on the plot. Having marked out the ground on 5 Rods of the plot ( yup, we've taken the other 5 Rods on too ! ) we have started to dig the areas for our raised beds. The initial job involves loosening the turves with a fork, which in turn allows air and moisture into the ground, ready to be dug at a later time. We have found this a good way to progress, mainly because the top 4" or so of soil consists mainly of large compacted roots. Below this to a depth of 1 spit, the ground is relatively easy to dig but does contain a lot of stones/rubble, some quite large. As we progress with the digging, the larger stones are being removed and placed around the base of the compost bin - in a hope to improve it's stability.
These beds have already been prepared - dug to a depth of 1 spit, and thoroughly weeded. Again , large rubble & stones have been removed, but there's still loads to come out. During digging of these beds, we found some rather old but still perfectly formed Parsnips, some up to 2' long! This was great news, a sign of previous cultivation, albeit some time ago. During digging, the aroma of the veg filled the air - lovely. We are seeing too plenty of worms, and as i stated previously, the soil actually smells nice.There's still plenty of hard digging ahead, but by doing a little at a time, we are making fabulous progress. I think what puts some people off with gardening is that it all seems too much. By creating small beds 1 at a time, it gives us a more manageable workload, with realistic achievable targets.
Come back and join us soon. If you have any comments please leave hem for us. We are still learning and any advice will be taken on board. See you all soon.
TTFN,
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