Week 26 - Overview

Some of the plants are doing well, and others are struggling. The abundant amount of recent rain has really changed the quality of the soil, it now feels moist and healthy instead of the dry sandy conditions that we have had for over 2 months. There is now more water in the soil than we would expect for this time of year which will be a huge benefit if we get any summer weather! It feels like March or April weather for the past few weeks and it shows in the garden.

The Extensive Plot is fully cultivated and all of the cool tolerant plants are thriving, while the warm season courgettes, beans and sweetcorn are struggling.

Only one more bed to Double-Dig!

The Polycrop Plot still has 2 beds that need to be cultivated and planted.

Week 25 - Overview

We have received some rain over the last few weeks, but it remains quite dry further down in the soil. It is amazing how quickly the land on this hill drains. Most things have really grown in the past week, especially the brassicas and beet family plants which thrive in the cooler weather we have had. We continue to harvest the greens from the polycrop beds and sampled the first of the peas, which are exceptionally sweet.

View of the Extensive Plot (from the south-west) with 8 beds planted.

View of the Double-Dig Plot (from the south-west) with 5 beds planted.

View of the Polycrop Plot (from the south-west) with 6 beds planted.

Week 15 - Overview

Some of the people involved in the gardening course, digging one of the beds on a cold but dry April afternoon.

This bed is being double dug, with the top spade depth of soil removed and then the lower level loosened with a fork and any stones removed.

Week 14 - Overview

General view of the context of the plots with four lazy beds of the Extensive Plot in the prepared. This field has been grazed by cattle in recent years, and has probably not been plowed for decades. The infrastructural works for the eco-village is currently underway with the storage and working yard visible in the background. This whole field will be taken up by allotment gardens and a nursery, and will look very different in a few years time.

Four Extensive beds have been prepared by cutting out a 15-25cm deep block of sod, with soil still attached to the grass roots and turning it over in place so that the grass is upside-down. This grass will rot down and provide fertility. The top surface was then chopped up with a sharp spade to produce a seedbed.
The top layer of sod has been cut off the top of the double-dug and single-dug (Polycrop) beds and most of it is set aside in a pile. This will be covered and compost down in to a nice loam for potting soil for the next season.

The first of the double-dug beds, with sod shown removed to the right. The sod from the paths between the beds was removed and chopped up on top of the lower dug section. This will put some fertility deeper into the soil.

The soil here is very stony, particularly in a 'hard pan' layer about 20cm below the surface. We are trying to remove most of these stones. This pile alone is from one third of a bed.