Monsters in the swamp (or frogs in the pond!) On Thursday 25 February our pond went crazy! Over 40 frogs appeared as if from nowhere and started to mate leaving huge “piles” of frog spawn. Spring has arrived! The earliest we have recorded frogs laying frog spawn in this pond in the 20 years since […]
If food waste was a country it’s carbon footprint would be the third largest behind the USA and China. Therefore it is very important that we don’t waste food. There is always some waste such as vegetable peelings, apple cores, banana skins,etc and the way this is dealt with in many cities is to transport […]
I’ve just had the joy of turning one compost heap into a new bay with the help of our new puppy Charlie. The compost looks fantastic this year, probably due to the introduction of chickens to the garden last year which has resulted in a lot of chicken manure rich wood chip which I have […]
Our old wood store has seen better days, is in the wrong place and looks ugly so the challenge was to build a new one close to the back door where it is easily accessible, gets the morning sun to help keep the wood dry, is more pleasing on the eye and has a smaller […]
I’ve not blogged in a while but I aim to put that right as I make a concerted effort this coming year to make progress on my diploma. Over the last few years I have been learning the art of grafting fruit trees. One of the first trees I grafted was a Topaz and now […]
So, following on from my previous post, here are some of the plants that my research has come up with for companion planting with fruit trees. I would welcome any comments from anyone who has tried any of these and I will report back on my experiments. – daffodils. These are early flowering and attract […]
I have recently been researching what is best to plant under fruit trees. Traditionally many people have grass with a clear patch immediately below the trees as most fruit trees are relatively shallow rooted and it is thought that grass, and most other plants, will compete with the tree. Following my Permaculture Design Course (PDC) […]
All Hallows’ Church is near the top of a hill (in fact, it is opposite Hill Top Street!) and the garden faces mostly south and west. It is very exposed and the garden edge is a wall with a drop of several metres. I had already identified wind as an issue and we have planted […]
After I completed my Permaculture Design Course (PDC) I decided to obtain a 1000l IBC (industrial bulk container) to capture and store water in over the winter months ready for the summer. It is a bit ugly so I tucked it away behind one of my sheds (I have two!) and ran a hose pipe […]
Over the winter I have read about a number of greenhouse projects and so I thought I should do something about ours. As readers are aware, much of my garden plot is on an old cinder tennis court and we have found that raised beds on cinder don’t work particularly well. It’s the same with […]
