Message from Opa

Wanted to say great work and good, interesting results.  Excellent pics.  You ask for crop suggestions:  Runner Beans babes, runner beans.  They grow quickly, cook beautifully (if not left too long to toughen) and they freeze well and I LOVE THEM fresh picked by the boot-full.

 

Love Ya

 

Ops.

Message from Opa

January

Time to get the black polythene sheets down to kill the weeds and brown the grass for easy digging

LoL

Opa
xx

Message from Opa!

Trenching :

If you haven't seriously started digging your plot consider trenching. It save all the weeding and cleaning of grass etc and can be useful for burying small bits of rubbish.

Method:

In your first cut dig a trench the width of the plot. A trench is a long slit as deep as the length of the spade and about a foot wide. Put the first spoil up on the ground behind the first trench, leaving you with an empty trench for the next cut. Taking the next cut to the depth of the spade turn it and put the top, complete with all weeds and/or grass to the bottom of the trench out of sight and ready to rot down. Repeat the process for each cut, ensuring that the weeds and soil are burried in the bottom of the trench. When you have finished the plot, leave it to settle for a few days then lightly rake over the rough earth making it ready for final raking and planting.

Good digging. I want some produce as a reward.

Love

Ops

From Opa

If you want to reduce the hard slog cultivating the plot in year 1, just choose what you can manage to dig and cover the rest with thick black plastic sheet, first cutting down anything that would pierce the plastic and ensuring no light can penetrate. Leave for the whole year, thru winter, and into spring. When you go to dig in year 2 the ground beneath the plastic will be weed free and easy to dig.

Happy horticulture

Opa
xx