Why these tasks seem such a good idea around 8.00pm, I've no idea, (something to do with an embrocation or two I suspect), but we started on a patch of near derelict ground about seven yards by three, so that would be twenty-one man/lady hours of digging and sorting!
The raspberry plants are all very old, probably near fifteen years old, and last year they were pretty dour, so it wouldn't be too great a loss! Looking at older pictures of them, there's hardly any grass intertwined, as Mrs Scroblene spent a happy hour or three weeding them a couple of years ago! We need more room for spuds next year, and this will be an ideal way to get the three more beds we need, when we give up our half-plot (across the way) in October!
We finished on Saturday morning, and it took less time than we thought, as it wasn't couch grass, but just incredibly tight - er - ordinary grass, and the raspberry roots were just stifled! In some spots, I couldn't even get a fork in, and had to bash it until a crack appeared!
So we eventually got all the greenery and raspberry roots out, and I finally spent a happy couple of hours with the Terrex Fork, and got even more depth, then manured it all from our stash, formed the two paths and finally tilled it late on Saturday. We're trying mustard green manure on the three beds and will give them a chance to get back to normal by next year!
Our garden in Africa once looked like that so we gave our pet gardener a packet of lettuce seeds and told him to plant a few each week so that we would have an unending supply of fresh lettuces following on from each other for the few months ahead. Instead the silly **** planted the whole packet - and about 6 weeks later we were overrun with them and had to give many of them away.
ReplyDeleteThat also explains my predilection for lettuce soup recipes!
That's a good job done. You seem to have found a door too.
ReplyDeleteA man who knows his manure!
ReplyDeleteAlways sow for succession, Reevers!
ReplyDeleteYour guy presumably sowed for recession!
It's the guy next to us, who likes to keep that door in place, Mr H!
ReplyDeleteIt's actually part of his compost heap!
We've never grown green manure before, Thud, but it's better than letting the ground revert to grass and weeds, as mustard just smothers everything, apparently!
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ReplyDeleteOur gardens are pretty terrible.
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