About my garden

Friday 26 June 2015

Every girl's dream

Or maybe it's just me.
I have moved to a new home and this is what I have inherited...



Yes that is a large pile of manure!

I've hardly had a minute recently. Time has been taken cleaning and packing and then cleaning and unpacking so I have had no time for blogging. Then I had to go back to work after a week off so had even less free time. It is really getting in the way of things I want to do.


I have inherited some garden which is very well looked after and very fertile. The previous owners had two ponies so added copious amounts of manure. The soil in the cultivated beds is very good and there are some lovely plants.

This is the star at the moment. A philadelphus with a beautiful perfume. One of my favourites since childhood.
I also have a large area waiting to be transformed into vegetable and flower beds. There should be enough room to grow pretty much everything I fancy. This area is clayish soil which is typical of the conditions around here. It is probably quite compacted but I hope quite fertile, given that ponies have been on it! I have dug some of it and it was manageable.

So at the moment I am collecting vegetable peelings and grass clippings in one of these large bays. 

I'm planning to layer some of the unrotted manure on top of this waste as I have such a lot.
There are five bays. One is very well rotted manure which I am digging out to use and the others look quite un-rotted on the surface but it's difficult to tell what is underneath. Building new compost heaps is quite far down the list of things which need to be done, given that I'm still falling over a suitcase with half my clothes in, as the wardrobe isn't big enough. Some rather nice nettles are growing in the top which indicate fertility.



I've been digging out here as you can see. I am creating new beds and adding manure as I go. More of that later. I am slightly concerned that is is going to collapse on top of me so I think I need to did out the one at the side too.
So after develping a good system of composting which worked for me in our last garden, I am starting again. Working with what is here to start with, we'll see what happens. 
I hope to be back with some progress about the new beds soon. All I need is some spare time.