2nd September 2018 - Jobs on 86a

In the last couple of weeks I've been working on getting jobs done to get me properly prepared for a good first growing season next year in 86a. 

I had managed to get a free shed pretty early on but the roof was completely shot so what little roofing felt was left I removed and then I had a while before I could get it fixed.  I got a brand new roll of roof felt from freegle, which was slightly damaged but easily cut out.  I've never done a shed roof before but because the roof isn't too big it only needed 2 pieces and I think it looks good.  Because it's an apex roof I'm going to put guttering at both sides and then bring it together at the back.  I have another wheelie bin that I'm going to convert into a waterbutt and then I need to think about doing one at the back of the greenhouse when I get that up to the plot as well.

The picture also shows where I've removed the pallet fence that was a bit tatty and replaced it with chicken wire.  I will need to keep on top of the weeds that will try and grow up it but I'm going to try and train the brambles along there (while keeping the bindweed down) to get a good crop of blackberries.

Today I was focused on starting to make the beds.  I have enough scaffold boards for 3 beds but I didn't have enough screws and blocks to make them all.  I have made one 13'x4' bed and my plan is for all of my beds to be that size although I'm going to have to think about the space in front of the shed because that will be compromised by the shed being there.  I might end up putting a bed along the front or I might take the opportunity to extend the seating area and maybe add a fire pit to sit around.

The beds are a bit bigger than the ones in 85a, which are 3' wide.  I had some really good boards but a couple had rotted at the end and when we measure them they weren't quite 13' long so it was easier to cut three 4' lengths and discard the rotten end.  I've also found with 85a that while I can lean across the whole bed I tend not to and would rather go all the way around.  I therefore didn't see any reason that 4' beds would be a problem.  I did consider putting chicken wire at the bottom of my beds to deter the moles from digging in the beds but over the last couple of weeks I've noticed holes in the top of the beds and I think the main culprit is currently voles, rather than moles and as such putting chicken wire in the bottom won't help me.  

A funny thing I noticed the other day is that a sunflower had started to grow under the bird feeder.  It's obviously from a seed that a bird has dropped so I've left it to grow.  It's going to end up under the squirrel baffle so I'll have to tease it out to let it grow.  I'm sure the birds and squirrels will eat all the seeds but I just thought it was funny that it had started to grow and decided to leave it there.  



I have got another bird feeder for 86a but I'm going to think carefully about where I'm going to put it.  I want to try and avoid having it somewhere that the squirrels can easily jump to it from something else.  I'll put a squirrel baffle onto it and I'll probably end up with squirrel proof feeders but one of the things I've seen with my current feeder is that they actually jump from the wooden arch to the feeders!  Since I've introduced the squirrel proof feeders the food has definitely lasted longer because in addition to the squirrels not being able to get to it, the bigger birds can't get it either.  

I have made a slow start in 86a for very many reasons.  I do think it's important that the many years of weeds are properly suppressed; many people don't really understand the no-dig principles and think I should have dug the whole plot over properly.  I have stuck to my guns and left the plot covered.  I still have the edges that I need to clear again but it's much less work that it would be to try and keep strimming the whole plot.  I do have lots of dips and troughs on the plot; and in hindsight I wish I had rotivated the whole plot.  In most cases I would say not to rotivate a very weedy plot.  However as I was planning to cover the whole lot it would restrict the re-growth of the weeds and have sorted out the uneven ground.  I'm going to have to try and sort it out after the fact now, probably by using bark chippings.  If anyone has any thoughts on how to fix it, without lifting all the membrane.

Until next time...

Happy Gardening! x