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This weekend was spent tackling the over grown plot which will eventually become our vegetable garden. Although it rained quite a bit today, all in all the weather was kind to us and we managed to get quite a lot done.
The first task was to cut back the giant mass of tangled brambles to ground level. My dad kindly lent us a set of sharp loppers which made short work of the thick gnarly bramble stems. The rose gloves that we purchased last weekend proved to be an excellent choice of hand protection. After clearing the bramble foliage away, Rich began the tough job of digging out the root clumps. By leaving at least a foot of stem visible whilst cutting the brambles, it made it easier to see where we needed to dig to remove roots.
It is much easier to visualise and plan the vegetable beds now that we can actually see the ground. I potted up broad beans this afternoon, feeling confident that they will be planted out in our vegetable garden very soon. Oh that feels good!
A couple of robins took a lot of interest in our hard work, keeping close by and diving on worms that came to the surface of the soil. I’m relieved that no wildlife was disturbed by our work this weekend, all in all a productive and positive weekend.
Vision and optimism are essential for gardeners and you seem to have both.
I started my broad beans in pots last year as their bed wasn’t ready, and they did very well.
BB in pots on the go here, also
I can visualise some lovely beds in that space , now :-)
Thanks Karin & CW. Managed to get some more roots out today, should have some beds finished very soon.
Roots are a nuisance. It’s much slower going if you have a lot of roots to remove. When we first moved in we had a couple of apple trees in what we now call our veg garden. They were old and unproductive, so we got rid of them, but their roots took a bit of effort to shift.
The roots that bother us most now are couch grass, and bindweed. There was bindweed springing up everywhere last year, but we dug up as much as we could whenever we saw it, so we hope there will be less this year.
Well done on getting stuck in!
Is there a way to remove old roots with out breaking your back? I’m just digging up the plot in my new green house and the new area of the garden we are developing we have had a digger in to sort but the green house was already put up. There are hundreds of thicker roots (probably from the trees) still small enough to dig/pull out but it is back breaking. I’m not going to plant anything in the soil in the green house until nex year as I will probably not have time before the season is over. Any ideas/tips would be helpful. Ty.