“Fresh dirt under my finger nails”- ‘the sun’ by Maroon5

After months and months of worrying, calculation and foul weather; a job has been done!

All 12 raised beds are now full of dirt!

All of them were filled with last years leaf mold, garden waste, anything that I could get my hands on. So as to prevent me from having to shell out for huge amounts of compost. This was really starting to bug me.

Today offered a lovely opportunity to get a big job done. With three beds containing poop and potatoes, that was useful. There was still one and a half bags of leaf mold left. So this was used to layer up three of the 1mx1m beds, in that they were bulked up. Then, each bed of the nine got composted. I had hit the garden centre this morning, doing two trips and feeling on a mission. I was going to get this job done, it felt right today.

In the two trips, the large bags were carted to the plot and placed in situ. A quick wardrobe change-had to put the red wellingtons on- magic spade in hand, and off I pootled. Leaf mold was shovelled into where it needed to be. Then one by one, each bed was filled. It has to be noted that I am aware that beds do sink so over time and will need to be filled up. So these beds are not entirely filled. But full enough.

Whilst it is bright-there was a funeral today, in Blighty-it is windy! Very windy. I found myself stopping to stand still, so as to now keel over and into the dirt.

Filling the beds is a huge, huge landmark. Very important, if the plot as a whole is going to work. Means I can think in detail now as to what gets planted, when and how. My initial thoughts are of Ma’s fenugreek and spinach; perhaps some chard too. It’s no good filling it but not using it. Squashes will be going into the beds, but it is a little early yet.

The game is well and truly on!

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit